BMW 1 Series Sedan for China – more details revealed

More details on the new BMW 1 Series Sedan have been revealed by Chinese site Auto Home. The China-only model was first previewed by the Concept Compact Sedan during the 2015 Guangzhou Auto Show, and was first revealed to the world back in July this year.

For China, three variants will be made available – 125i Sport (blue car), 120i Luxury (grey car) and a base 118i (white car). A turbocharged 2.0 litre petrol engine will make its way into the 120i and 125i, providing 192 hp on the former and 231 hp on the latter. The base 118i meanwhile, will pack a 1.5 litre turbo mill with 136 hp on tap.

Interestingly, the power figures seen here are nearly identical to the B38 1.5 litre three-cylinder and B48 2.0 litre four-cylinder engines fitted to other cars built on the UKL platform, such as the 2 Series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer that are available in 218i, 220i and 225i variants.

Power will be sent to the front wheels, making it the first BMW sedan to do so. Transmission options for all three engines will likely include a six-speed automatic, and possibly a six-speed manual.

The source also provided information on the car’s dimensions, where the 1 Series Sedan measures 4,456 mm long, 1,803 mm wide and 1,446 mm tall. The wheelbase is stated to be 2,670 mm in length, making it 20 mm shorter compared to the rear-wheel drive F20 1 Series hatch sold in Malaysia.

As you can see in the photos, there’s a wide selection of alloy wheels ranging from 16 to 18 inches in size. Additionally, the visual and equipment differences between the variants are detailed as well. According to the site, halogen headlamps will come as standard, with LED units likely reserved for higher variants.

Other items such as the front fog lamps, heads-up display, safety sensors, door handle illumination, reverse camera and exterior chrome trim are also part of the equipment list, and will likely be dependant on the variant/option chosen.

Even though the 1 Series Sedan has already made its debut, it will only be officially launched in China in early 2017. The model will be manufactured in the country by the BMW-Brilliance Auto joint venture alongside the X1 and 2 Series Active Tourer.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • Why does China get all the good stuff? It is longer than a Honda City and wider than a Honda Civic while lower than both. Can you imagine how many of these would be snapped up by the young urbanites if made available here?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 0
    • Am I the only who thinks the 1-series sedan is what BMW Malaysia need to beat MBM? Price it below 150k here, even the Honda Civic will be threatened.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
    • Itchibawa on Sep 06, 2016 at 8:35 am

      CLA > all

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 9
    • Dr Mamak on Sep 06, 2016 at 5:33 pm

      Front wheel drive garbage.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 4
    • China has a huge market that is still growing. Their economy is big and is in a good state. All these means is Chinese people are bloody rich!
      Moreover, China has the manufacturing and R&D capability to produce a version of BMW design for the local market needs.
      Simple!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • jinggo on Sep 05, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    Jilaka…. only for china.. wtf!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 1
  • suddenly Proton Pesona looks so handsome !

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 24
  • Stanley Free Makan on Sep 05, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    Can I have this car for free?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 7
  • Bmw is seriously making all kinds of ironic garbage just to push sales. Sad

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 14
    • sdddd on Sep 06, 2016 at 11:05 am

      That is what Marsily done so successful, CLA, A class, B class, GLA……all are garbage Marsily..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Looks like a baby 5 series and definitely better than current design language whereby they are adamant to connect the headlights to the grill. You can laugh at how ‘improper’ BMW this is being a front wheel drive but they are willing to swallow their pride for China market.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 1
  • Bring to Msia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 0
  • CKD here, sell $130k

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 30 Thumb down 1
    • Sunny on Sep 05, 2016 at 6:34 pm

      same money. still VW Jetta better

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 28
    • AutoFrenz (the original) on Sep 05, 2016 at 7:19 pm

      Totally agree…this is like low cost cars made for other asian countries…in the mould of vios, city, avanza, innova…the car does look pretty…even better looking than most bmw sedans…bring it in…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 0
  • heybadigol (Member) on Sep 05, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    Proper BMWs have 50/50 weight distribution, and all torque go to the rear half, or in Xdrive models, majority of torque to the rear. Also, I think the Mercedes CLA looks sexier. In the end, the 1 series sedan is handsome, but lacks the Merc’s style. But hey, if BMW makes money selling FWD cars, then uses that money to make their RWD cars better, than why not!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 4
  • Come to malaysia Please, this will sell like a hot cake. Because many big head with so little salary also want to pretend that they are rich and own a luxury car.
    Same idea as AMG A45, those owner think they r driving a super car and forgot it is a hot hatch.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 22
  • wawasan2020 on Sep 05, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    Beemers version of bezza?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 13
  • AutobahnGeeks on Sep 05, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    mehhhh, bored of Bimmer design language
    come out with something fresh like the Merc/Audi did.
    last time I love is the E46 & E60.
    others just mehhhh,

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 8
  • FWD beemer?! What heresy is this?!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 7
  • Jonn Dol on Sep 05, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    Looks like a decent offering from Bimmer. They should consider to introduce it around the other Asian region because judging by the looks of the overall package, this car is a worthy opponent to the Merc CLA & Audi A1 sedan.Bring it on!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 1
  • pocketrocket on Sep 05, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    Wahh better than our audi A3 1.4 tfsi which only downgrade to 125hp from 150hp.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • Dear Proton, pls collaborate with BMW to rebadge this car as next generation proton waja

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 5
    • Dunwan. Later after warranty, spare parts price macam cilaka and need to wait 2 months to get. Then after 6th year electronics all fail one by one.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • Basheer on Sep 06, 2016 at 7:20 am

      But please no triple front lips, fake body coloured exhausts and other tacky stick-on parts. Try to learn about elegance, class and good taste in body styling.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • The 1 series hatch already has horrible rear legroom. With an even shorter wheelbase you can just imagine how spacious the sedan will be

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • 4G63T DSM on Sep 06, 2016 at 12:30 pm

      Nice comment…accept missing a few things.

      The Sedan will very much likely have way better interior space…yes..despite the shorter wheelbase.

      The hatch is RWD with a longitudinally mounted engine with a rear differential, while the sedan is FWD with a transversely mounted engine. That in itself makes for a huge difference in interior packaging.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • seancorr (Member) on Sep 06, 2016 at 12:17 am

    This would sell like hot cakes here but sadly since its a JV with Chinese engineers this 1er sedan will not be available outside China. Can imagine the 118i going against the A3 1.4TFSI, 125i going against the 1.8TFSI and finally add on M-Sport to go against the Sportline variant.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Jobless on Sep 06, 2016 at 7:13 am

    Is this coded F21, to fit in between the F20 1 series and F22 2 series coupe? If so, it’ll probably be sold around RM180k to RM220k depending on equipment levels if introduced into our market. But as it is there is some overlap in pricing between the BMW 1, 2, 3, X1 and X3 models which may be confusing to some but considered as plenty of choice for others.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Now this is a peculiar one….. Y make it China only??? Its a good looking car this, and you can see a huge market for one of these even here in Malaysia. Not that I’d be able to afford one if it is anyway. But yeah, should make it a global car.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Sep 06, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    utterly horrible horrible car

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
 

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