Reference Auto

With the top player in the luxury car market Audi and Mercedes-Benz (which is placed third after BMW) coming out with cheaper offerings, BMW doesn’t want to be left behind (but storm the market) and has rolled out its entry-level compact hatchback, the 1 Series car, with a 1.6-litre turbo petrol and a tad powerful 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine for a price of Rs 20 lakh-Rs 29 lakh.

The 1.6-litre turbo petrol model will be available in a base trim starting at Rs 20.9 lakh (showroom price Mumbai). The base 1.6-litre turbo petrol model belts out 138 PS and 220 Nm torque and will be mated with a ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The petrol 116i of the 1 Series comes only as a base variant but has a slew of gadgets that a car with a price tag of Rs 20 lakh should have. 

There are two trims offered with the diesel spec version – the Sport Plus and the Sport Line.

Standard frills in the BMW 1 Series cars are fog lamps, automatic headlights, rear parking sensors, a start and stop button, a CD player with aux-in compatibility, Eco mode, six airbags, ABS, BMW’s Brake Energy Regeneration system and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Also being offered with an eight-speed auto box, the 118d turbo diesel model of the 1 Series is more powerful compared to the petrol one as the company knows that diesel cars are more popular. The diesel variant offers 144 PS power and 320 Nm torque between 1,750-2,500 rpm.

The 118d Sport Line has dual-zone climate control, a sliding front armrest, electric seat adjust with memory function, BMW’s iDrive controller, a hands-free facility with USB interface and comes with a few more features than the petrol variant.

Other than the features on the standard petrol and diesel models, the 118d Sport Plus has more offerings like keyless go, rear air-conditioner vents and a sunroof. It also gets 17-inch alloy wheels, which are bigger.

All BMW 1 Series cars will be offered with four different driving modes – Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Eco Pro, which adjust the way the engine, gearbox and steering function and this is a big plus for a car in this compact luxury category.

Luxury cars, which are priced below Rs 30 lakh, have been on demand lately and comprise almost 30 per cent of the segment’s sales where growth has been phenomenal.

According to the luxury car maker, the new 1 Series car will be locally assembled at the Chennai plant of the company via completely knocked down (CKD) kits and will vie with the recently launched Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

So, with sales of the 1 Series car hinging on features and pricing fronts, BMW could storm the luxury car market in the festival season and beyond.