WHEELZ & ROADZ
ENGINE AND PERFORMANCE Our test vehicle came equipped with the 2.0 litre turbo diesel coupled with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The engine is reasonably refined and barely audible at cruising speeds. It is only when you bury your right foot in the carpet that you hear it growling. The gearbox is silky smooth in Comfort setting, and gets very responsive when you put it in Sport or Sport+ mode. There is another ECO
PRO mode for efficient driving which encourages you to drive with a light foot for conservation of fuel. The 118d accelerates from standstill to 100kmph in 8.6seconds and the acceleration ends at 212kmph. Not bad for a car that claims a fuel efficiency figure of 20.58kmpl. The fuel efficiency observed by us was about 18kmpl under mixed driving conditions without the use of ECO PRO at all. The handling is sublime and is sure to put a smile on your
face. The earlier 1 series was a wholly handler but the new one absolutely trumps the competition. This is where the advantages of rear wheel drive shine in. The baby bimmer stays planted and allows you to have fun. Your talent would run out way before the 1 series would let go. More experienced drivers may put it to Sport+ and laugh away through the tail sliding action. You cannot do this in any other hatchback in the country. The 1 series is the undisputed
Engine
Transmission
Max Power
Max Torque
Ground Clearance
1995cc, In-line 4 cylinder Turbocharged Diesel
8-speed Automatic
143 bhp@4000rpm
320 Nm@1750-2500rpm
157mm
24 / OCTOBER 2013
MOTOWN INDIA SUPPLEMENT