BMW has just thrown its hat into the ring of one of the most tightly-fought of all market segments in Australia, that of the upmarket hot-hatch. Not that the1 Series models haven’t been major players since day one over 10 years ago, it’s just that BMW is looking closely at the activities of Audi and Mercedes, and sees big things happening.
So there’s going to be a big emphasis on the BMW M135i and its slightly tamer, but still quick, younger brother, the 125i. The Australian branch of BMW would like to see close to 50 per cent of 1 Series sales made up of these two halo models.
BMW is hanging its hat on being the purest of the hot hatches, pointing out the 1 Series use a longitudinal front engine driving the rear wheels. Both Audi and Mercedes use transverse engines and all-wheel-drive in their fastest models, the 45 AMG is already on the market, the Audi RS3 is on its way downunder as we speak.
Let’s start at the top of the BMW range, the M135i is often called the M1 by Bimmer enthusiasts, it’s only an accident of history that sees that name being reserved for the BMW M1 supercar of the late ‘70s and early 80s.
This $62,900 (plus on-roads) hotrod is powered by a 3.0-litre straight-six that puts out an impressive 240 kilowatts of power and 450 Newton metres of torque. This lets it jump from rest to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, driving through an eight-speed sports tuned automatic transmission.
Track time spent at Queensland’s Lakeside Park racing circuit out of Brisbane was intended to let us push the M135i to its limits. Unfortunately heavy rain on the notoriously bumpy surface, that has fences rather too close in places, meant we backed off to make sure the cars stayed out of serious trouble. The electronic traction aids remained on and their flashing warning lights let us know things were really happening under the hot M135i.
Slightly down the scale, but still pretty potent, with a zero to 100 time of 6.2 seconds, is the four-cylinder turbocharged BMW 125i. Its 2.0-litre unit also drives through an eight-speed sports auto and has peak power and torque figures of 160 kW and 310 Nm respectively. Not to be sneezed at in the performance stakes.
BMW 125i’s price of $48,900 puts it in the reasonable class of affordability. We also got to punt the 125i at the Lakeside Park, where we found it most capable and controllable, despite the fact that nature turned against us.
Want the looks and prestige of driving a BMW 1 Series, but are a bit short of the folding stuff? Then the 118i with a starting price of just $36,990 (don’t forget to factor in the on-road costs, contact your dealer for a quote) has a turbo-petrol 1.6-litre engine (100 kW / 220 Nm) that’s more than adequate for day-to-day driving. One of my favourite features of the low BMW 118i is that it offers the comfort of cloth trim, instead of using the more fashionable leather.
You can get the same 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine in a higher state of tune (130 kW / 250 Nm) in the $41,900 BMW 120i. This used to be called the 118i, but has a power increase of five kilowatts, hence the new name. (Note that if you’re looking for logic in BMW models names you will struggle to find it. All we can say is that the bigger the number the better the performance.)
Sports exhausts are standard in all models to add a bit of aural interest to the little Bimmers. BMW engineers assure us the sound is all genuine as the company doesn’t agree with the sometimes artificial sounds being created by competitors’s engines.
A turbo-diesel powered 118d will be launched in Australia in July, we will supply details when we drive it. In the meantime we are assured it produces five kW more than the engine it supersedes.
All BMW 1 Series models have benefited from a facelift to give them a bolder look. Standard equipment levels have been increased, yet prices have gone up by only small amounts. Again, speak to your dealer or click onto the BMW website for details.
Interestingly, the facelift has largely been done by a young Australian designer working for BMW in Germany. Calvin Luk did sketches of his family’s BMW when he was a young lad, some found their way into design competitions, and he is now in the company’s design studio. The biggest features are slimmer lights and larger front openings, daytime running lights (DRLs) are used in all variants.
The taillights work really well; while following a similar theme to the superseded model, they may well signal the start of a new theme, time will tell – BMW certainly won’t comment, though.
Gloss black details outside and inside are part of the facelift add some sporting pizzazz to the latest 1 Series.
As before, BMW Australia has worked hard at combining buyers’ most popular choices into a series of packages. Titles like M Sport and Urban Line give strong cues to the directions taken.
The complete 2015 BMW 1 Series range is:
118i: $36,900
118d: $40,300
120i: $41,900
125i: $48,900
M135i: $62,900
Note: These prices do not include dealer or government charges. Contact your local BMW dealer for drive-away prices.
