Slightly bigger and greener, the big news is new variants
THIS IS THE NEW, SECONDgeneration 1-Series, which goes on sale in September, priced from Rs. 13.9 lakh for a 116i ES. Take note:
it’ll be BMW’s last small, rear-drive hatch for the foreseeable future, as Munich switches its small cars to a front-drive chassis, dubbed UKL, to boost cabin space and reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The other big change will be more variants (see box), compared with today’s two hatches and a coupé and cabrio. A 1-Series Gran Turismo will join the fold, bringing a dose of 5GT practicality to the range. There’s also a taller people carrier in the pipeline, sporting a massive boot and versatile seats.
A Z2 sports car is also part of the plan and the breaking news is that BMW have gone cold on the plan to make it front-wheel drive. Rear-drive warriors rejoice!
But fi rst the new fi ve-door. Munich’s made sure nobody will be scared by the look of the longer and wider hatch. We’ve seen the car in the metal and can report it’s remarkably same – again from the A-pillars backwards, but that
pumped-up nose is unmistakably new. There’s a hint of sharknose to the forwardleaning grille and check out the ‘squarcle’ shape of the bulbous headlamps.
Cabin quality is improved and the longer wheelbase frees up more space. But rear drive means it’s hardly a Golf rival for knee-room.
All models come with stop-start, while the adoption of BMW’s eight-speed auto means the new 1-Series can be hybridised should the market demand a petrol-electric premium rival for Lexus’ CT200h. Mind you, that mightn’t
be necessary when the new, regular 116d Effi cientDynamics is the fi rst BMW to duck under the 100g/km CO2 rating by a single digit, averaging 26 kmpl.
