Exclusive to the Chinese market, the BMW 1 Series Sedan has been “tailored specifically to meet the needs of Chinese customers,” says BMW. Developed in association with its Chinese partner – BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd, the 1 Series Sedan has undergone intense testing both on the Nürburgring as well as in the wide-ranging climatic and road conditions of China, said the company.
Speaking at the launch event in Shanghai, Dr Ian Robertson, BMW AG Management Board member, responsible for Sales and Marketing at BMW, commented – “We sold over half a million cars in China last year and this, our biggest market, continues to offer great potential. Our customers in China have been asking for a smaller model to meet their specific needs and we’ve worked hard with our colleagues here to make sure this car not only meets but exceeds those desires.”
The BMW 1 Series Sedan was developed at BMW headquarters in Munich with the support of Chinese engineers, is offered with a choice of three power units. To begin with, there is a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine (125i) with an output of 170 kW/231 hp and 350 Nm of torque @ 1250 rpm, paired with an 8-Speed Steptronic transmission. With this engine, 0 – 100 km/h happens in 6.8 seconds, and top speed is limited to 250 km/h. The same engine in the 120i guise produces 141 kW/192 hp of power and 280 Nm of torque @ 1250 rpm, paired with an 8-speed Steptronic transmission. Here, the car sprints from 0 – 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, and maxes out at 235 km/h. The engine range is rounded off with a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder unit in the 118i Sedan, producing 100 kW/136 hp of power and 220 Nm of torque @ 1250 rpm, paired with a 6-speed Steptronic transmission. The 118i sprints from 0 – 100 km/h in 9.4 seconds, and its top speed is 212 km/h.
There is Comfort, Sport and Eco Pro driving modes to choose from. BMW says that the automatic climate control, heating and ventilation system has been optimized to the specific climatic conditions in China.
Safety kit includes Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), front and side airbags, side head/curtain airbags and three-point automatic safety belts on all seats. All variants come fitted with tyres featuring emergency running properties. Options include Driving Assistant including collision warning with city brake function and the Parking Assistant.
Buyers can choose between Basic, Sport Line and Luxury Line. There’s also the BMW Connected with Open Mobility Cloud to keep the user connected with devices such as smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.
While the 118i gets an option of 16- or 17-inch alloys, the other two variants ride on 18-inch ones. The car measures 4,456 mm in length, 1,803 mm in width and 1,446 mm in height. Wheelbase measures at 2,670 mm.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Note: Comments that are unrelated to the post above get automatically filtered into the trash bin.
