2020 BMW 1 Series ditches rear-wheel-drive

MANILA: With the passage of time and evolution of the automobile industry, rear-wheel-drive systems have kinda become a uniquity on the high-end and performance oriented cars. Amidst the chopping and changing, the BMW 1 Series hatch is one car that had kept its core intact.

The BMW 1 Series hatchback continued to feature a rear-wheel-drive for good 15 years before finally ditching in its newest iteration. So, with the 2020 BMW 1 Series, the German automaker has decided to do away to the skidding and bring in more space inside the car. But that’s what the customers want in that segment. One certainly won’t be drifting on track in a 1 Series hatch, right?

The reason BMW has presented behind ditching the rear-wheel-drive is, “most customers can’t differentiate between front- and rear-drive, anyway”. Well said, BMW. They certainly can’t, especially when they are the customers who want a hatch for their grocery shopping.

However, there are still people who want a small car with fun loaded up to the brim. So, with the changes made, the 2020 BMW 1 Series comes with ample space inside for the occupants, 20-litre of extra boot space, and an electronic tailgate.

There is quite a bit of juice under the hood of the new 1 Series. The hatchback gets an array of engines with power output ranging from 116 PS to 306 PS. The new range starts with the three-cylinder turbo 118i which gets a price tag of £ 24,430 (Php 1.62 million), while the top-of-the-line model is the M135i that has been priced at £ 36,430 (Php 2.42 million). The new range also comprises of three diesel variants, one of which has been claimed to return a mileage of 25.5 kmpl. Furthermore, BMW will also be releasing an all-electric trim very soon.

While the 120d diesel (190 PS) and the M135i (306 PS) come equipped with a four-wheel-drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, the lower end models get a front-wheel-drive along with a six-speed manual unit. Talking about performance figures, the top-of-the-line M135i can do a 0-100 kmph run in no more than 4.8 seconds before topping out at 250 kmph, which is the electronically limited top speed of the hatch.

Thanks to the new lightweight parts like aluminium hood and tailgate, the 2020 BMW 1 Series is good 30-kg lighter than the previous-gen model. On the inside, there’s is the head-up display, 3 Series-inspired dashboard layout, and sports seats. BMW will start selling the new 1 Series in the UK from September 2019.

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