Photo: SB Medien
Now that winter seemingly left the Green Hell, testing of new cars car finally resume on the famous track. One of the first BMWs that hit the track this year is the upcoming F52 1 Series Sedan, a car that is rumored to use the UKL platform.
If that’s true, the front-wheel drive platform won’t do it any favors in challenging its rivals from Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The A3 Sedan and CLA-Class both also use FWD layouts and the differences would be left to pricing and interiors where the Bavarians aren’t the best in the field at the moment.
We are still hoping BMW will keep its traditional rear-wheel drive setup to make the difference in this segment as well, even if it means less room inside the cabin and bigger expenses to manufacture.
The thing is, all of this FWD philosophy is being rolled out because of the UKL platform that is extremely modular and can be worked over in a lot of ways. At the same time, the B-family of engines is fitting the same description, plants sharing up to 40 percent of parts between petrol and diesel alternatives.
The range will be made up of different output 1.5-liter 3-cylinder plants and 2-liter 4-cylinder units. Power will go from 136 HP to 231 HP on the top of the range models. If the M Division will enter this segment too, expect the power to go up even further, into 300 HP territory.
In this case though, xDrive will probably be mandatory, unlike the rest of the line-up where all-wheel-drive will be available as an optional feature.
Production should kick off towards the end of this year so a world debut is to be expected in Frankfurt this fall. Pricing will most likely start under the $30,000 mark to deal with its rivals perfectly.
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