[updated 21 May 05]

NEW BMW 1 SERIES
Okay, so I am a bit...



...biased given that BMW is the principal partner of BMW ORACLE Racing, our America's Cup team, but the new BMW 1 Series is the cat's meow. Don't take my word for it -- ask Leslie or Meg.

Have been trying to work out what cars to drive when we move to Valencia. I have access to a team car as we are supplied a number of cars by BMW. But Leslie and Meg need something, and we have looked at a number of options:

Mini
Ford Focus
Renault Clio
VW Golf
VW Touran
BMW 1 Series
BMW 3 Series (wagon)
Mercedes C-Klasses (wagon)

Renault Clio is cheap to obtain in Spain, but, ugh, no thanks -- life is too short. Ford Focus is okay, but no great bargain, especially in terms of quality and re-sale value. VW Golf is a great little car, but muy commun and not a good re-sale value in Spain. Touran is a perfekt family car, but, alas, too big for Valencia. Mercedes C-Klasse is a fine wagon and Leslie has had one for years, but it also is large for Valencia, not very sportif, and, well, it does not seem correkt to drive one with BMW as our sponsor.

So this week Meg and I stopped at the big BMW dealership near her school and checked out the remaining choices: Mini, the 1 Series and the 3 Series. The 3 is fine, but like the C-Klasse is a bit big for tooling around the cramped streets -- to say nothing of parking garages -- of Valencia and Puzol.

The Mini is, well, cute, and well-suited to a single person or young couple living in the Big City. But the backseat space is cramped; even Meg said she felt claustrophobic sitting in it.



Actually, the Mini might be a good car for me to have for the commute back and forth from Puzol to the team base (25 mins), and for zipping around to meetings during the day in Valencia, where parking is at best hard to find. They say the Mini is a go-kart for adults; or a motorbike with a roof and sides (don't even ask -- I would kill myself on a motorbike). The dealer is having a Mini breakfast tomorrow; I think we will attend. But back to Leslie and Meg....

So that leaves the 1 Series.



The dealer's sales rep, Herr Malte ("call me Quick-Chicken") Krickhuhn has kindly lent us a 1 Series for a few days; and to make a short story even shorter, all three of us love it. Has enough room four four adults, including backseat leg room, or two adults with three kids in the back. The hatchback has ample space for groceries, and the rear seats fold down flat and level with the back making a surprisingly large cargo space should you need to haul a new TV, etc., home. Yet is is smallish and much easier to park than a wagon.

The car is sporty to drive, and even Meg has pronounced it a "head-turner" and "very cool." In the showroom almost immediately she preferred the 1 Series over the Mini and the 3. Now that we know what we want, have to figure out how and where to get the best deal....


Leslie heading to the store today -- out with the old (black
C-Klasse wagon) and in with the new (silver BMW 1 Series).
And, yes, it certainly is greener here than in Valencia.



Checking out the Mini with Herr Krickhuhn at the
BMW Niederlassung Hamburg this (Saturday) morning.