[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/bmw-1-series-is-finally-going-fwd\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/bmw-1-series-is-finally-going-fwd\/","headline":"BMW 1 Series Is Finally Going FWD","name":"BMW 1 Series Is Finally Going FWD","description":"BMW\u2019s luxury 1 Series hatchback loses a bit of its appeal by going FWD The beloved and best-selling BMW 1 Series is ditching its rear-wheel-drive pedigree and adopting Mini\u2019s front-wheel-drive platform. Great for cutting costs, not so great for the driving enthusiasts. One of BMW\u2019s greatest selling points is that their brand is synonymous with RWD. They even released a whole advertising campaign around it once. The benefits of the new FWD platform As a bimmer fan or car enthusiast, […]","datePublished":"2019-03-25","dateModified":"2019-03-25","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/#Person","name":"Isabelle Lawrence","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/","identifier":30,"description":"Max Wheeler is a leading motoring journalist and classic car specialist at Smart Motoring, renowned for his sharp insight and infectious passion for all things automotive. With years of experience covering motoring news, supercars, and the enduring legacy of classic cars, Max brings stories to life with style and authority. Whether it\u2019s the roar of a Lamborghini, the elegance of an Aston Martin DB5, or the cultural impact of vintage motoring icons, he delivers expert commentary that inspires enthusiasts and collectors alike. Dedicated to celebrating the heritage and future of driving, Max Wheeler is your trusted voice for classic car news and beyond.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Smart Motoring","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/BMW-1-Series-Is-Finally-Going-FWD-feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/BMW-1-Series-Is-Finally-Going-FWD-feature.jpg","height":520,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/bmw-1-series-is-finally-going-fwd\/","about":["BMW","Cars","LATEST CAR NEWS"],"wordCount":685,"keywords":["bmw","BMW 1 Series","BMW 1 SERIES FWD"],"articleBody":"BMW\u2019s luxury 1 Series hatchback loses a bit of its appeal by going FWDThe beloved and best-selling BMW 1 Series is ditching its rear-wheel-drive pedigree and adopting Mini\u2019s front-wheel-drive platform. Great for cutting costs, not so great for the driving enthusiasts. One of BMW\u2019s greatest selling points is that their brand is synonymous with RWD. They even released a whole advertising campaign around it once. The benefits of the new FWD platform As a bimmer fan or car enthusiast, this news of the 1 Series dropping its RWD platform may bring nothing but disappointment. We\u2019re here to tell you that it\u2019s not all bad and although there\u2019s no substantial silver lining, there are some good things that are coming with the change. You may not be able to do sick doughnuts in the Tesco car park anymore but you can expect reduced weight which may mean better fuel economy, faster acceleration and slightly tighter handling. The change in platform may also free up space in the interior and although it will probably only be a matter of centimetres but every little helps when it comes to leg and head room. Lastly, BMW will be saving money. You may be wondering why you should be excited about this but if we\u2019re lucky it could translate to slightly better quality going into other things. Whether it\u2019s better thread used for the interior stitching or a better quality infotainment screen, we\u2019ll be happy. And if you wish really hard, we could even see a tiny price reduction for the new 1 Series. Who knows? Will the new 1 Series basically be a Mini Cooper in disguise?Yes and no. It\u2019s almost guaranteed that people will soon start turning their noses up at 1 Series and call them Minis as an attempt to belittle your cool new car. Unlike a Mini, the new 1 Series will have different suspension and steering components than you would find in a Mini and will hopefully result in BMW producing yet another car that feels planted and handles as a luxury German car should.With that said, however, the next-generation 1 Series will probably have Mini engines under the bonnet. We\u2019re expecting to see three-cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesel engines and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines in the more expensive models.One particularly sad change that stands out is the replacement of the current beefy turbocharged 3.0-litre M140i engine. It\u2019s said the engine will go from a six-cylinder RWD setup to a 4-cylinder 4WD (xDrive) setup. Goodbye, sick doughnuts? It\u2019s been a long time comingWay back in 2010, some pretty astonishing research made the rounds. A study found that roughly 4 out of 5 1 Series owners didn\u2019t even know that their cars were actually RWD. The research was conveniently revealed by CEO Norbert Reithofer as a justification for BMW\u2019s plans to begin using Mini\u2019s FWD platform which was due in 2014.How biased this research may be is hard to measure but it\u2019s probably true. The BMW 1 Series has never been much of an enthusiasts car and is more of a great luxury hatchback enjoyed by all types of people. So we can see how BMW\u2019s study findings can be true, or at least close to the truth. It\u2019s not just the 1 Series that\u2019s turning to FWDVery recently, BMW also released a teaser image of their upcoming 2 Series Gran Coupe. The image was nothing more than a close up of a green car\u2019s rear light, so we really don\u2019t know much about this mysterious \u201cGran Coupe\u201d at the moment. However, what we do know is that it will have 4 doors and be front-wheel-drive. So it\u2019s a coupe, with 4 doors? It\u2019s a BMW that\u2019s FWD? What a strange world we live in\u2026The 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer minivans have also been front-wheel-drive for years now, as has the BMW X1 subcompact SUV.Let\u2019s just hope this new 1 Series doesn\u2019t have giant grilles, like the ones found on the new 7 Series and the X7!"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Latest News","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BMW 1 Series Is Finally Going FWD","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/bmw-1-series-is-finally-going-fwd\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]