I was looking forward to Monday, 12 Dec 11, not because I missed my work so much but rather it is the first day of BMW Fascination Roadshow. I was there on Monday in order to beat the weekend crowd, which would facilitate photo taking. In addition to catching a glimpse of the futuristic BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car as shown above, I was there to collect the Team BMW finisher pack for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore and to see the all-new BMW 1 series in flesh (or rather metal).

The 1 series model on display is the 118i Sport. It comes equipped with the aggressive-looking Xenon light for both low-beam and high-beam. According to the technical data, the 116i Urban comes fitted with similar headlights as well.

Looking at the dashboard layout, the 1 Series makes you feel like you are in a vehicle that is of a higher class. The chunky steering is nice to hold and it comes with red stitching. The upper dashboard is laid with soft-touch plastics but is letdown by the material at the lower portion (especially the glovebox), which feels a little hard. The plastics on the internal door panel should have utilized better soft-touch material as well. On a more positive note, the thick interior door handle gives a substantial feel to the car and the supportive rear bench can accommodate 3 adults comfortably. The red stitching throughout the interior reminds the passengers that they are in the sport version which sprints from 0 to 100km/h in a mere 7.5 secs.

After surveying the 1 Series, I proceed to claim the finisher pack at the ticket counter, which consists of a pair of BMW slipper and towel. Both items feel