[Joxster]

BMW took the wraps off of the new BMW 1-Series (F40), and the biggest shocker is that it is now front wheel drive, except for the M135i which has their xDrive technology. With this move, I think that BMW have lost the biggest selling point of the 1-Series. They have also removed the 6-cylinder engines from the line-up, yet despite these changes, the car goes up in price compared to the previous generation.
I can't say that I really like the looks as much as the F20 BMW 1-Series, because it looks more like the 2-Series Gran Tourer now, but maybe the looks will grow on me in time. The other two changes I mentioned will definitely not grow on me!

Source

Here is the official launch film from BMW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7nUGNpQjB0

And Matt Watson from carwow summarizing the changes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TakG1N6pHU

Cheers

[drmohitg]

Mixed bag of reactions but overall I feel it is an improvement. The large front kidney grills definitely look bad but the rear now looks like a BMW. The earlier car looked like a rip off from VW Polo. Also the increased interior space would justify paying premium money for a hatchback. I have always felt that both Mercedes A class and BMW 1 series came a bit ahead of time in our market when market acceptance was poor and pricing didn't help either. This time around it might do well.

[Santoshbhat]

What an ugly looking car . BMW has totally lost it. Almost every car in their model line up is now ugly looking. I can pardon them for ditching RWD to make the car more spacious and even for not offerring the 6 cylinder due to lack of demand and availability of fiesty 4 cylinder turbos. But how on earth can you pass a car that looks like this? It's almost as if BMW got it's inspiration from the Datsun Go .






The last few remaining current BMW 1 series stocks could well be selling at a premium.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

What an ugly looking car . BMW has totally lost it. Almost every car in their model line up is now ugly looking. I can pardon them for ditching RWD to make the car more spacious and even for not offerring the 6 cylinder due to lack of demand and availability of fiesty 4 cylinder turbos. But how on earth can you pass a car that looks like this? It's almost as if BMW got it's inspiration from the Datsun Go .

Attachment 1879896

The last few remaining current BMW 1 series stocks could well be selling at a premium.

I knew I've seen that face somewhere before and was inclining towards the pre-facelift S-cross but the Datsun is much closer.

BMW is getting flack across the internet for their new designs. The F40 is actually like a squashed X2 Active Tourer.

There can be no excuse for the F40 to look like this.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Ugly? Yes. From the front. Beautiful? Yes. From all the angles, especially the rear.

Would have been a great upgrade from the current generation 1-series, if not for the signature inflamed kidney grille. Oh wait, if not for the RWD -> FWD conversion as well.

[GTO]

Agreed with Santoshbhat that it sure does remind one of the Datsun Go. The front is rather unimpressive, which is becoming an unwelcome trend with all new BMWs. However, I love the smart rear. Only FWD is a big disappointment & won't win BMW any fans in the petrol-head community.

BMW India better not botch this one up. The last 1-Series pretty much bombed because of poor positioning & weird kit levels (including a poverty spec variant). It had no chance against Mercedes' sexy cars. This one can do better if positioned well.

[ajmat]

FWD dulls the brand, unless you give it a rock hard ride like the Mini. Mercedes have nailed this segment by providing sumptuous interiors to offset this ad they are selling like hotcakes

[rejoycjohn]

I think this is a result of BMW becoming more main stream in their product strategy, and IMO they haven't delivered what one might expect from them.
The only upgrade that an existing BMW 1 series owner can see in this car is the interiors. Technology, layout and space seem to be much better than the existing F20/F21. According to this reviewer, he can sit fairly comfortably at the rear seat and he is 6 foot tall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfZQ70PtirI

The move from RWD to FWD was inevitable as BMW found 70% of their customers did not realize their 1 series was RWD and they were more concerned about the lack of space. Majority of the sales of the 1 series came from their lower powered engine options as well. So this car will sell (EU/ Australia) as it has the right badge for many.

However from an enthusiast's point of view, the car has lost its USP. Most of them in Europe who bought a well specced BMW 1 series instead of Golf GTI or Ford Focus ST or Audi S3 or Merc A35 or Honda Civic Type R would have done it because of its RWD layout. Now there isn't anything that tempts them to buy 1 series. The extra large grills are not helping matters. If one wants to buy a nimble hot hatch, they would rather spend their money on a Golf R or a Civic Type R than this. And if they want a posh powerful hatchback, they would spend it on S3 or A35. All of these cars are as spacious or more than this new BMW 1 series and from the pictures definitely looks more elegant.

Again in my opinion, they should have used their engineers to find a solution for the lack of interior space without changing the layout. They could have made the car lighter and stiffer by some clever engineering and even give an option of AWD to make the car stable at high speeds.

Before I conclude, so which one below is a 1 series?

[Pontiac]

I hate what BMW is doing to their grill. It resembles less of a Kidney and more of something exterior on the backside.

Luckily enough BMW has not messed up the M3/M4/M5 with this grill phenomenon. At least from what I can tell from the spy pics.

[dark.knight]

I really, really do not get the hate Chris Bangle got for his designs. He made BMW what it was for a long time, starting with the E65 7 Series which looked like an actual limousine from every angle, the E60 M5 with its bulbous, mean machine looks and grilles that actually resembled kidneys, and the E90 3 Series with proper yellow corona rings and tiny grilles yet again.

Then BMW started making the 5 and 7 as merely bigger copies of the 3 series (no limo-like proportions whatsoever), then came the X4 and X6 which both looked like warthogs with their huge muscular shoulder-line and an absolute drooping rear end. As if those things weren't bad enough, now gone are the signature angel-eyes/corona rings, kidney grilles and Hofmeister kinks (plain kinks are there aplenty though).

Today nothing is working, the interiors, the steering wheel with the tiny round horn-pad like the VW Polos of yesteryears, the massive toothy grilles resembling a rump impression, and the headlights with absolutely no signature elements of DRLs, its a free-for-all rendition.

German car manufacturers have a horrible time doing space-management and exterior design on any vehicle short of the 4.5 meter mark.. the BMW lead designer Domagoj Dukec, isn't helping in any way or form, either.

[Highh5]

The moment i saw it, first thought which ran through my mind was, side profile looks exactly similar to Baleno, body lines, wheel arches almost everything.

[petroguzzler]

Originally Posted by ajmat

FWD dulls the brand, unless you give it a rock hard ride like the Mini.

Most fancy modern FWD cars have sophisticated electronic limited slip differentials that competitively transfer all the power to the front wheels without causing the car to understeer. A rock hard ride as a result may not be a necessity.

[landcruiser123]

The (white)space between the grill reminds me of the toothbrush mustache of a famous German personality born in the Austro-Hungarian empire. The FWD option only sucks.

The rear looks sexy.

[Hayek]

I think we all love to diss changes, but will then grow to like (or at least accept) them over time. For whatever reason, BMW has decided to go in for over sized kidney grills across the range. Cribbing about that as each model (or facelift) is launched is not going to change that. And if anything, the refreshed line ups have helped raise sales to record levels.

Am a little puzzled about the surprise expressed on FWD. Hasn’t the fact that BMW was shifting to a common Front Wheel Drive based layout for the 1 series, 2 series and Mini been known ever since the current X1 was launched years ago? Didn’t realise that the 1 series based on this platform was coming out only now.

[pavi]

The iconic kidney grille is on a transformation phase and it is not looking look good on the new generation BMW cars. Looks like BMW kidney grille is getting affected by ‘fatty liver’ syndrome.

Get well soon BMW!!!