BMW 118i Sport Line 2015 Review

BMW 118i Sport Line and 120i Sport Line
Road Test

An upgraded 1 Series range arrived in Australia three months ago, but BMW already plans to shelve the 1.6-litre turbo currently powering the base models in favour of a three-cylinder engine arriving later this year. Can the 1.5-litre triple match the silky smooth four-cylinder for power and NVH? It seemed fitting to benchmark the entry-level 118i and its slightly upmarket stable mate, the 120i, ahead of the new engine's arrival.

There's no real badge cachet to be gained by owning a 1 Series BMW. You can tell people 'I own a BMW', but as soon as they see a 1 Series parked outside, the game's over.

Yet many of the less conspicuous traits that make BMWs what they are still apply to the 1 Series. If anything it's a purer vision of BMW character than, for instance the X1 or the 2 Series Active Tourer.

That's also what separates the most affordable variants of the 1 Series from its archrival in this market niche, the keenly priced Mercedes-Benz A 180.

Two BMWs were tested for this review, arguably representing the 1 Series in its quintessential form. Both the 118i and 120i were powered by the same 1.6-litre turbo engine, but in two different states of tune, and both came with ZF's eight-speed automatic transmission as standard.

From the start the 118i impressed with its NVH suppression and commendable ride quality. In urban commuting duties the 118i could have been any other well-fettled semi-prestige light or small hatch. In contrast with the 120i, the 118i was really quiet – almost Toyota-esque in fact. Curiously, the 120i lacked the same level of noise suppression. The audibility of the engine was higher, as was tyre roar on coarse-chip bitumen, and even the gentle brushing of pads on disc rotors could be vaguely heard at very low speeds, all of which may be attributable to having a sunroof – a $2000 option – fitted to the 120i.

The 118i returned a fuel consumption figure of 7.5L/100km average over the week in our possession. That's a good but not brilliant number, given the Volkswagen Golf 103TSI we tested over the long term was averaging 7.1L/100km – and without the same mix of freeway driving and soft-pedal eco operation around town that the BMW saw. Admittedly, the BMW is powered by a larger-displacement engine – larger by about 200cc.

For much of my weekly commute the 118i was in ECOPRO mode, which can be frustratingly slow when cars around you are storming away as soon as the light turns green. In contrast, the better performing 120i was more driveable in this mode, but naturally it couldn't match the 118i for fuel economy, posting a figure of 9.0L/100km. Admittedly, the 118i did see more open-road touring.

The 118i is altogether nicer driven in Sport mode, feeling quite a lot zippier. But most buyers will probably opt for Comfort mode, despite there being little effective 'comfort' over the Sport mode.

In Sport mode the engine of both 1 Series variants was sitting on about 2500rpm at 100km/h, so freeway driving is probably one place where ECOPRO can be justified. The fuel-saving mode holds the engine ticking over at about 1800rpm in eighth gear at the open-road speed limit.

While the 118i is impressively quiet – and Comfort mode is a nice fit with the car's carefully damped-down noise, vibration and harshness – there's enough vigour and character in the engine, when switched to Sport mode, to match the little BMW's excellent steering and ride/handling balance.

Driving through the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, the engine provides plenty of fun and refinement, however you choose to operate it. There's a surge of power from the mid-range up, but there's also enough torque to carry the day at lower speeds and in easier driving situations – holding a gear on a hill, for instance.

The automatic comes with a sequential-shift plane for the lever, but no shift paddles. Response to driver input was good and the lever felt ergonomically like an extension of the driver's arm in the way few do. Whether being shifted manually or just left to its own devices, the transmission was fuss-free and efficient.

Another virtue of the ZF transmission and the way it has been calibrated for the two cars is it didn't get confused by manual upshifts at the redline. At maximum engine speed it merely shifted up to the next gear automatically, but didn't shift up again immediately if the driver manually dragged the lever back at the same point in time. Many cars will shift from second to third, say, followed immediately by fourth, leaving the driver in the wrong gear with not enough revs in hand. But the BMWs only shifted the once – to third in that same context.

Also, the transmission was clever enough to give you a lower gear on kickdown, even if the driver was holding a gear manually. It's undeniably one of the better automatics around for driving right up to the limit and was very competent when it came to giving the driver the right ratio for the prevailing conditions.

Ride quality was very good overall. Both the 118i and 120i absorbed bumps well and body control was generally exceptional, but the small footprint of the 1 Series did mean both cars bounced around a little on poorly maintained country roads. There was very slightly sharper impact harshness felt in the 120i, no doubt due to the different wheel and tyre combination 45-series tyres on 17-inch rims for the 120i, versus 55-series tyres on 16-inch rims for the 118i.

There was plenty of feedback through the steering wheel and the 118i nosed into corners with the same zeal as a bloodhound on the scent of truffles. Despite the car's tenacious front-end grip, it remained stable at the rear as well. It was the same story for the 120i. With power applied through a corner and braking concluded in advance, either car would essentially rocket out the other side of a bend in a four-wheel drift – it was that neutral.

The driving position in both the 118i and 120i was brilliant. Controls were well placed and easy to use, with the Driving Experience Control rocker switch placed on the centre console near the driver's left knee, for instance. A lever handbrake seemed like an anachronism when the BMW has an engine-start button on the dash, but it remains testament of sorts to BMW building drivers' cars still.

If there was one problem with the driving position, I found that having it set up to suit me seated behind the wheel made leaving the car a little harder. It could be slightly squeezy for some if the wheel was drawn back closer to the driver and set for an optimal view of the instruments.

The BMW's instruments were easy to read, but the infotainment screen did suffer from being called upon to display multiple feeds from sat-nav, audio, phone, et cetera, forcing the user to change screens for different purposes. At least with the latest iteration of iDrive it's made easier, although the driver still has to take eyes off the road to read the buttons for the different facilities (on buttons forward of the single-point controller).

What set both BMWs apart from other cars of similar size and price were the front seats, which were very well shaped and featured side bolstering that bordered on aggressive. They held the occupant in place very firmly, but remained quite comfortable.

Entering and leaving the rear of the 1 Series is easier than I recall of the A-Class; and that may be a factor in the purchase decision for families with older kids. Adults of average size can squeeze into the rear of the 1 Series, although kneeroom is marginal. Still, this is essentially a light-segment car in terms of interior dimensions, so the kneeroom is excusable. Less excusable is the lack of face-level vents back there in the 118i. No such problem with the 120i, however, which did come with the vents for the rear-seat passengers.

The boot in both cars was large, thanks to the lack of a spare tyre, although the battery, mounted where the spare tyre would be, did limit the depth available.

The 1 Series is a car we've tended to overlook, perhaps due in part to its controversial frontal styling from the introduction of the F20 generation. But the mid-life facelift has basically fixed that, and it's pleasing to report that either variant of the 1 Series is a car those who enjoy driving would happily own. And particularly from a starting price around $35,000.

2015 BMW 118i pricing and specifications:
Price: $38,375 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 100kW/220Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 133g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

2015 BMW 120i pricing and specifications:
Price: $46,475 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 130kW/250Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 133g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

What we liked:
>> Fun dynamics, comfy ride
>> Power delivery, transmission
>> Improved looks

Not so much:
>> Unconvincing ECOPRO mode
>> Interior space, entry and exit
>> It won't get you noticed

Also consider:
>> Audi A3 Sportback (from $35,900 plus ORCs)
>> Lexus CT 200h (from $37,990 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-Benz A-Class (from $35,900 plus ORCs)