BMW 1-series coming next year

BMW has revealed that it will be bringing its 1-series hatchback (codename: F20) to India late next year. The current-generation model has been on sale in international markets since September last year.

The 1-series is the smallest and most affordable car in the BMW range, which is why the company sees great potential for the five-door hatchback in the Indian market.

Encouraged by the booming sales of the X1, and also possibly in response to Mercedes’ plans to launch the A-class hatchback – a direct rival for the 1-series – in India, BMW hopes the 1 will carve out a new niche for itself here as a powerful, premium, rear-wheel-drive hatchback. The car will be locally produced at the BMW plant in Chennai, so expect prices to be in the range of around Rs 18-20 lakh.

The design is striking, if not classically attractive – the shark-nose treatment with the forward-leaning kidney grille, the clamshell bonnet and the large, recessed headlights, give it a premium look, and you can’t mistake it for anything but a BMW. The surface treatment along the sides isn’t as conflicting as the previous 1-series and, as a result, is easier on the eye. The tail-lamps have also been pushed to the extremities of the rear to allow for a larger tailgate aperture.

Based on the same platform architecture as the 3-series, it shares some major components with the saloon, including its front MacPherson struts and multi-link rear suspension.

It’s not as small as it looks in the photographs, though. At 4.2 metres long and with a wheelbase that has been stretched by 30mm over the last 1-series, this car’s dimensions are more mid-size saloon than small hatch. This points to a roomy, comfortable cabin. Expect cabin quality to be closer to the X3 and 3-series as well. Helping distance the 1-series from ‘junta’ hatchbacks is BMW’s rear-wheel-drive layout.

Internationally, BMW sells the 1-series with 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, and even a turbocharged 3.0-litre, six-cylinder petrol in the 135i, but Indian cars might share engines with the X1 in the interest of costs. This means a 2.0-litre, 181bhp diesel and a 150bhp, 2.0-litre petrol, with the distant possibility of a hot, 168bhp, direct-injection petrol option.

The 1-series could be an inviting proposition for someone who already owns a BMW and wants a small, yet premium hatchback to punt around town. If BMW prices it right, the 1-series has the potential to dispel the misconception that premium cars have to be premium-sized and could propel the German carmaker’s sales to another level.