BMW 1-Series Hatchback launched in India

BMW has just launched the 1-Series hatchback in India. One petrol variant and three diesel variants make up the 1-Series range in India. BMW has gone with a diesel variant bias for the 1-Series, in keeping with the demands of the luxury car segment, which favours diesel engined cars. The 1-Series hatchback will be built at BMW India's Chennai assembly unit, from imported completely knocked down (CKD) kits. 

Here's a variant-wise round up of the pricing that the 1-Series comes with for the Indian car market. All prices reflect ex-showroom Delhi figures, 

• Petrol 116i - Rs. 20.9 lakhs
• Diesel 118d - Rs. 22.9 lakhs
• Diesel 118d Sportline - Rs. 25.9 lakhs 
• Diesel 118d Sportline Plus - Rs. 29.9 lakhs

The car's petrol engine is a 1.6 liter turbo petrol motor, the likes of which is also used on the Mini range. The motor churns out 136 Bhp-220 Nm, and is mated to an 8 speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels. The car gets a top speed of 210 Kph while the 0-100 Kph sprint is managed in 8.7 seconds.  An ARAI certified fuel efficiency figure of 16.28 Kmpl is what the petrol engine 1-Series brings to the table. 

The 1-Series' turbo diesel engine is a de-tuned 2 liter unit that's also found on many other BMW cars. On the 1-Series, this engine outputs 143 Bhp-320 Nm. Transmission and drive details remain similar to what's found on the petrol model. The diesel edges the petrol model in performance, marginally so. An 8.6 second nought to hundred sprint and a 212 Kph top speed are the key performance details of the 1-Series.

An ARAI certified 20.58 Kmpl makes the diesel powered 1-Series one of the most fuel efficient BMW car sold in India. The BMW 1-Series will go head to head with the Mercedes Benz A-Class and B-Class hatchbacks. Price wise, BMW has the Mercedes Benz car models well covered. With BMW losing its leadership position in India to Audi, and slipping further to allow Mercedes Benz occupy the second place, the 1-Series is a crucial launch for the German luxury car brand.