BMW courts young drivers with entry level 1-Series

Models pose next to the all new BMW 118d Sport hatchback during a launch event at the company’s showroom in southern Seoul, Monday. The diesel powered facelift second generation 1-Series model has high performing TwinPower Turbo engine that meets Euro 6 emission standards. Its price starts from 38.9 million won. / Courtesy of BMW Korea

By Park Jin-hai

BMW launched the latest version of its BMW 1-Series hatchback here Monday, courting young customers.

The 1-Series is one of the company’s best-selling models, with 2 million sold globally over the past decade. BMW sold 2,700 1-Series last year, which accounted for nearly 7 percent of its total sales of 40,000.

The facelift second generation BMW new 118d Sport is the cheapest diesel powered car under the BMW badge with a price tag of less than 40 million won.

With its new sharpened exterior, the car claims to offer the best options in that segment.

The rear-wheel drive hatchback mounting 4-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine delivers agile performance and meets the Euro 6 emission standards.

“The most important thing is that despite the upgraded features and engine, we didn’t raise its price,” said a company official during a launch event at its showroom in southern Seoul, Tuesday. “We think this will be the model young and budget-minded customers in their 20s and 30s will regard as their first cars,”

BMW says the new 118d has a maximum 150 horsepower and takes 8.1 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour.

Its fuel efficiency amounts to 17.4 kilometers per liter of fuel.

The new 1-Series is equipped with many high-level convenience and safety features such as parking sensors, a rear-view camera, electric sun roof and 17-inch wheels.

It also has a real-time tire-checking system, thus the driver can check the air pressure of tires through the inside monitor.

BMW Korea said that the new 1-Series received five stars from the Euro NCAP crash test.

The base price for the new 118d Sport starts from 38.9 million won.