DaGaffer
Down With That Sorta Thing
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2003
- Messages
- 18,517
The 1-series hatch always looks like its carrying too much weight too far back so you end up with a kind of nose-up stance at the front (the surfacing is also all over the place, but that's a Bangle thing; you either buy into it or you don't, but BMW are abandoning extreme surfacing now).
Transverse engined hatches, by throwing the centre of mass forward, tend to have a more nose-down stance and that gives the impression of dynamism. I tend to look it like a bike, most hatches are like a racing bike with the weight hunched like the bike rider over the front wheel, whereas the 1-series looks more like a recumbant; it might be effective, but its a damn site less pretty.
The coupe 1-series works better because the impression of a tail (the boot) takes weight away from the rear wheel, pushing the cabin towards the centre of mass.
Transverse engined hatches, by throwing the centre of mass forward, tend to have a more nose-down stance and that gives the impression of dynamism. I tend to look it like a bike, most hatches are like a racing bike with the weight hunched like the bike rider over the front wheel, whereas the 1-series looks more like a recumbant; it might be effective, but its a damn site less pretty.
The coupe 1-series works better because the impression of a tail (the boot) takes weight away from the rear wheel, pushing the cabin towards the centre of mass.
