After much speculation and spy pics, BMW has finally and officially taken the wraps off the BMW 1 Series sedan at the 2016 Guangzhou Motor Show. It is the youngest car of the sedan family from the Bavarian manufacturer and sits beneath the 3 Series sedan.
The 1 Series sedan will go on sale in China next year with prices ranging between 180,000 to 260,000 Yuan (approx. Rs 17.84 lakh – 25.77 lakh). It will go up against the Audi A3, Mercedes-Benz CLA Class and Citroen DS5 LS in China. Indian launch of this compact sedan is unclear, but will surely make it to our market once BMW decides to take the model to international markets. It is currently being specifically manufactured for the Chinese market, but is likely to be introduced in India as well.
The 1 series is based on the ‘Compact Sedan Concept’ which showcased last year at the very same motor show. The compact sedan is based on the front-wheel-drive UKL platform of BMW which also underpins the entire Mini brand.
By the appearance, the 1 Series is unmistakably a BMW. With gaping kidney grille upfront, double round headlights with LED, taillights inspired from the new 3 Series, strong creases and character lines and a shark fin atop the roof. The 1 Series sedan measures 4,456 mm in length, is 1,803 mm wide and 1,446 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,670mm. Available with up to ten different colour options, the 1 Series Sedan gets additional two exclusive body colour – estoril blue and luminous gold.
On the inside, there is the typical BMW interior design. The dual-tone beige and black colour combo on the dashboard, an 8.8-inch floating infotainment screen for the BMW’s iDrive, atop the centre console. There are steering mounted controls and heads-up display, with the centre console slightly oriented towards the driver. It also gets an auto stop/start and brake energy regeneration, which work together with one of the three driving modes - Comfort, Sport, and Eco Pro.
BMW 1 Series sedan is offered with three petrol engine options in China. The three variants of the compact sedan are – 118i, 120i, and 125i. Under the hood of the 118i is a 1.5-litre TwinPower turbo three-cylinder engine which develops 136bhp mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Whereas the 120i and 125i packs a 2.0-litre TwinPower four-cylinder engine which produces 192bhp and 231bhp respectively and coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission.
