BMW 1 Series 118d Sport Plus

Forget Compact luxury and all that.
here’s another way to look at the 1 Series. It is the cheapest rear-wheel drive car you can buy. (For god's sake don't point to the nano. Or eeco). For `22.65 lakh for the petrol 116i or `25.6 lakh for the diesel 118d (a caveat, this fully-loaded edition is `32.50 lakh) you can experience that wonderful drug called oversteer (still thinking of the nano now?). not only does power go to the rears but you can completely turn off  all the electronic nannies and,  most importantly, it has a normal handbrake that you can yank to lock the rears and provoke the tail into a slip 'n' slide. Fun? You bet!

And once you get the hang of drifting, when you’ve worn out the tyres (maybe  the  differential too),  you can throw some more money at it, bump up the power, and have even more fun. In my books that’s a compelling enough reason for the 1 Series particularly the 116i considering the petrol is so stripped out from the inside you can’t possibly use the ‘l’ word to describe it. Forget iDrive, there’s not even a lid for the cubby holes!

So you will want the diesel and with 141 bhp on tap, the tail will come out  when  you  floor  it  hard  out  of  tight  corners.  bmw’s  diesels  have always been the sportiest in their segments and it's no different here. It is mated to that fabulous 8-speed auto that feels no slower than a twin clutch automatic but with better smoothness and refinement. And with the 2-litre motor being not too different from what you'd find in a 320d, finding a good tuning box or ecu re-flash to release a further 40bhp and get the tail to dance properly isn’t going to be a bother. I must add that all this tuning business does void your warranty, so ...

Look closely and you will see the gaps in the wheel arch being rather more  than  what  you’d  expect. The jacked-up-for-India ride height does the already polarising  styling no favours, but together with the softened dampers delivers a very nice  ride  quality. And even though it blunts the handling. the inherent sportiness of the chassis cannot be cloaked and it is right up to the task of encouraging and indulging in some tomfoolery.

Specification


engine In-line 4-cyl, 1995cc
Transmission 8-speed automatic
Power 141bhp @ 4000rpm
Torque 320Nm @ 1750-2500rpm 
Weight 1395kg
0-100kmph 8.6 seconds
Top speed 212kmph