As far as we know, there aren't many cars that can do donuts and are powered by a 3-cylinder engine. And even fewer of them are as modern as the BMW 118i, the new one, that is.
This is pretty much guaranteed to be the last rear-wheel drive compact BMW hatchback. They've already made a front-wheel-drive 1 Series sedan in China. And the way we see it, you need to buy one if you are a true petrolhead.
The F20 generation is not perfect, but it solves some of the space constraints of the previous generation, while the mid-life facelift adds better engines.
Unless we are mistaken, the 118i model replaced the 1.6-liter engine turbo with a slightly smaller 1.5-liter. Being part of the new family of modular BMW engines, it shares the cylinder unit with the 2.0-liter and is thus down to just three cylinders.
There aren't any significant benefits, but the 118i is a decent way of having your cake and eating it at the same time. You see, while the performance is similar to a Golf 2.0 TDI, you will never have to listen to diesel noises in the morning.
Marek from Poland kindly did a review of the F21 LCI ( that's what you call a 1 Series facelift) with the 3-cylinder engine, even though everybody is obsessed with the M140i.
And in doing so, he probably filmed the only donuts ever performed with a modern 3-banger BMW. As a reminder, the 3 Series also has this engine, but nobody cares.
So what's it like? Well, it's firm but not uncomfortable, plus the cabin is relatively nice. But apparently, it can't compensate for the cornering understeering using acceleration. Even though Marek doesn't prove this, we know his daily driver is a Miata, so we believe him.
The run-flat tires are annoying, as on many other BMWs. But we are surprised by the practicality of the 1er, as this 3-door is fitted with an optional cargo barrier. How Skoda-like!
The 1.5-liter turbo engine delivers 136 PS and 220 Nm of torque (162 lb-ft). That will get you to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 209 km/h (130 mph) with the automatic. There are many areas in which a far cheaper SEAT Leon 1.4 TSI is better, especially fuel consumption and trunk space. Which is to say we'd buy a 1 Series... but not this one.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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