BMW USED CARS

The airbags are triggered by impacts coming from the directions shown in the illustration. Note that the supplementary protection against lateral impact is available only on vehicles equipped with optional door-mounted airbags.

Indicator lamp in instrument cluster
The indicator lamp comes on from ignition key position 1 to indicate that the system is operational.
System operational:
* The indicator lamp comes on briefly. System malfunction:
* The indicator lamp fails to come on.
* Indicator lamp lights up for approx. 4 seconds, goes out briefly and then lights up again.

A system malfunction could prevent the system from responding to an impact occurring within its normal response range.

Please have your authorized BMW Retailer inspect and repair the system as soon as possible.

ABS enhances active safety by helping to prevent the wheels from locking under braking. When the front wheels slide, the driver loses steering control over the vehicle. Traction loss at the rear wheels can cause the rear end to break into uncontrolled over steer.

ABS is designed to meet two essential requirements during every application:

* to help provide vehicle stability on all types of road surface (asphalt, cement, dirt, moisture, snow and ice).
* to help to retain steering and maneuvering capability under the same conditions

However, certain important considerations must be borne in mind in connection with these requirements: Not even ABS can suspend the normal laws of physics. ABS alone can not prevent accidents when the brakes are applied without an adequate safety interval between vehicles, when the car reaches excessive rates of lateral acceleration in curves, or if aquaplaning occurs. Responsibility for these types of situations remains in the hands (and feet) of the driver. You should never allow the added safety of ABS to lull you into a false sense of security, or mislead you into taking increased risks that could affect your own safety and that of others.

While not nearly so popular as the International Automobile of the Year Awards, once annually a jury of 65 automotive journalists from 30 countries gets together to decide what the best engines are. The International Engine of the Year Awards celebrate engine technology, giving honors to engines in 12 specific categories, including the overall International Engine of the Year award.

This year the top position went to Volkswagen for its TSI Twincharger, which can be found in Volkswagens like the Golf, Scirocco, Eos, Jetta, Touran, Tiguan and the Seat Ibiza Cupra. It makes 178hp and 177 ft-lbs of torque from a turbocharged and supercharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder. That is an impressive 127.1 horsepower per liter. Possibly even more impressive, the engine gets an average fuel-economy rating of 45.5 mpg.

The Megane estate (sorry, Sport Tourer') is a big car.
Bigger, obviously, than the Megane hatch, but also... just big. 456cm long, to
be precise: longer than the Golf estate, a full 10cm longer than the Ford Focus
estate and, tellingly, nigh-on as long as the Mondeo estate from the Nineties.
The rant that cars are getting inexorably larger is a well-trodden one, but it
might not be a bad thing in this case: if you're in the market for a LaSigniDeo-type
estate, take a poke round one of these first.

I was rather looking forward to
the i20. What better for these constricted days than a new supermini from
Hyundai, new entrants to the respectable mainstream and maker of the i30?
Hyundai owns Kia, after all, and I raved about the Soul last month. Nothing
embarrassing about Korean cars any more. So the i20 had to be a canny way to
cut our cloth to suit the times.

But the path from
preconceptions to first impressions is a rocky one. Parked on my street, where
the new Fiesta and Ka looked alluring, the i20's styling falls a long way
short. And inside, this base model is a mildly depressing place to be.