Driving a 320 horsepower hatchback on the Alpenstrasse, a network of Alpine roads full of hairpin corners, sharp turns and steep gradients in south Germany, is an experience in itself. Kushan Mitra writes about the best driving experience of his life
Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to have driven some very exciting and powerful cars. Some of these cars have been extremely powerful, upwards of 600 horsepower, others have been very luxurious. But until a few days ago, nothing came close to little BMW 1-series I drove on the Alpenstrasse. The car I drove is unlikely to be launched in India by BMW, which is bringing in the 1-series hatchback here in early September. This was the M135i, not a ‘true’ M car from BMW’s legendary tuning division. But this car has been worked over, not so much the engine, which is a 2979cc, inline six-cylinder engine that produces 320 horsepower, has had its suspension specially tuned, the exhaust tinkered with to sound even nicer and feels like a hardcore small car.
To be fair, India has never had what drivers call a ‘hot hatch’; smallish hatchbacks into which manufacturers shoehorn a big engine with a lot of power. The reason such cars are so much fun is precisely that — a small, relatively light car with a short wheelbase and a monster of an engine under the hood make them incredibly good fun. Possibly even more fun than a big supercar. With the M package giving the suspension a thorough workaround, this car handles better than most hot hatches in the world, or so we are told.
The M135i is the first hot hatch I have ever driven, and coupling it with Germany’s legendary Alpenstrasse (literally ‘Alpine streets’, stretches of road going up from Alpine Valleys at 2,000 ft to around 5,000 ft up with little vehicular traffic) was genius. The road we drove on was the Rossfeldhohenringstrasse, a beautiful two-lane toll road with extremely scenic views. In fact, this is a place one ought to visit, even if he/she is not driving; there is a bus that goes to the top of the mountain which affords spectacular views of the Dachstein range of the Austrian Alps.
I drove the manual M135i, which allowed me to keep the car to extreme ends of the rev range. The single-turbo on the M135i did have a bit of lag, and more often than not, sticking to first and second to be able to take 10-15 per cent gradient hairpins, led to bit of tail sliding action and wheelspin. Switching the car to the Sport+ suspension mode which dials back the traction control is even more fun, although this option should not be attempted until you really know what you are doing and have a fair idea of the road.
BMW will most likely launch three models of the 1-series in India — the twin-turbo petrol 116i (an excellent car in its own right) and diesel 116d and 118d, although BMW India spokesperson Abhay Dange did not confirm this. The 1-series will be India’s second ‘premium hatch’ after the Mercedes A-Class and, frankly, in the looks department, the 1-series does not have much to commend it; this is not a pretty car, unlike say the 3-series. The headlights are distinctive though and the square signature ‘corona rings’ do give the car a distinctive look.
This car might end up being the cheapest BMW in India, but it will be well loaded: Bluetooth phone connectivity with music playback, navigation (which might be optional in India) and BMW’s new ‘Eco Pro’ system which helps drivers improve fuel economy. None of the cars we tested had sunroofs, but that might be an option offered in India. BMW India has stated that as a matter of policy they will not launch manual versions of their cars; all the cars that come to India will have BMW’s standard eight-speed automatic transmission.
The automatic gearbox designed by German company ZF Friedrichshafen offers high fuel economy and dispels the old myth that automatic transmission boxes consume more fuel than manual gearboxes. One can play around with the automatic gearbox using a shifter, but in day-to-day conditions, particularly high-traffic situations, the automatic box is welcome. And given that all BMW owners in India will likely use their vehicles in urban settings, this gearbox is revolutionary for a small car.
Now, the important question is whether the 1-series can help the German carmaker catch up with its rivals — Audi and Mercedes. Well, the answer depends on how much people are prepared to pay for a small hatchback. Is `20 lakh too much for a car that has more-or-less similar space to a Hyundai i20, and are you paying just for a badgeIJ True, the 1-series is excellently engineered, and not a low-cost pretender with a BMW badge. It deserves the blue-and-white badge, which will be the main reason why people buy this car. It can put a smile on your face when you give it a good road, but it all comes down to “how muchIJ” and with the exchange rate nowadays, I fear it might be a bit too much for many people.
On the other hand, if BMW India does choose to bring in the M135i, it may not sell too many — maybe 20 a year. But at the end of the day, there were around 15 of us at the top of the road, who would have put the money down. Sometimes you should not care about the amount of fuel a car burns; the M135i is a car that can potentially be the first exciting hatchback in India —the country’s first ‘hot hatch’.