BMW 1-Series

Expected Launch: August 2013

Expected Price: Rs. 18-20 lakhs

BMW 1-Series Preview

Now that Mercedes-Benz has launched the B-Class in India and also confirmed its plans to roll-out the A-Class here, BMW has announced the plans to bring the 1-Series hatchback to India. At the launch of the new facelift X6 in New Delhi, BMW India president confirmed that the smallest car in the BMW range will come to India by mid-2013.

The 1-Series hatchback is available in both petrol and diesel guise and is based on the new 3-Series platform. It is available in both three-door and five-door variants, but only the latter one is expected to arrive here. The 1-Series (F20) 116i and 118i gets a 1.6-litre petrol engine developing 136bhp and 170bhp respectively.

The diesel engine displaces 2.0 litres and produces 116bhp, 143bhp and 184bhp depending upon the variants. The 1-Series is loaded with features from the segment above, it gets parking assist, lane departure and collision warning, cruise control, smart phone and music player integration with Facebook and Twitter apps,OptionaliDrive and BMW ConnectedDrive. It remains to be seen how many of those features make it to the Indian market.

At the time of the launch around June 2013 the 1-Series will come to India as a CBU (Completely Built Unit); however, the CKD operations will begin by end of 2013 at the company’s Chennai facility. This will be the least expensive BMW in India – the starting price of this model will be around Rs 2 lakh cheaper than the X1 crossover and in direct competition with the A-Class.