After selling the ridiculously quick FK8 Civic Type R as a straight swap for Tara’s new Toyota Hybrid, I was now (temporarily) running her old Ford C-Max. Spec-wise the C-Max was an awesome car, with a panoramic glass roof, heated seats, an iridium-coated windscreen and the full Titanium X spec. But dynamically it was a sack of spuds.
The C-Max was also seven years old and was starting to develop a few wee niggles, so it was time for a change. I wanted something rear wheel drive practical for the bikes, so I started looking at BMW estates. I have a lot of time for Chris Harris and his approach to his own cars, and started looking for a spec he would approve of: clear glass, cloth seats, a thin-rimmed steering wheel, tyres with a decent amount of sidewall, and a good engine capable of future improvement. I found the perfect spec – all of the above, plus one lady owner from rural Wales.
As I was coming from the Civic Type R, I decided to acknowledge the slower pace of my new wagon with the plate G22 SLO.
The BMW has been awesome. It isn’t as crisp past the limit of grip as the GT86, and it’s not as limpet-like on the twisties as the Civic Type R, but it’s very fast, dynamic, comfortable, smooth and economical. It can be eye-wateringly quick when you want it to be, and still returns 45 mpg on a more relaxed journey. Perhaps more importantly for every day use, BMW have just got everything right with the F31 – like Chris Harris’ much-loved Alpina, it has analogue dials rather than a screen, an intuitive dashboard where everything is where you expect it to be, and an awesome engine and gearbox that perform like a DSG hot hatch, but without all the noise and drama.
Grant Gibson 