BMW 118d Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: BMW 118d Convertible
Prices: £24,390-£27,065 - on the road
Insurance Group: 13
Emissions: 129g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 9.5s / Max Speed 129mph
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 57.6mpg
Safety: Twin front, side & head airbags, ABS, DSC
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 4360/1748/1411

The Most Over-Looked Student Award

Our Rating: No Rating Available

It is placed between the mid ranged muscle and the cheap ones. It is constantly overlooked, like a classmate you could never seem to remember either name or presence. The kind that sits on the corner, quietly works, never made an impression to anyone, not the worst and certainly not the best. That is how 118d is looked at.

It is £1,500 less than the 120d, but performs really well in terms of speed or power. It is not as cheap as the 116d or fast and powerful as the 130i. The real breaking point lies on its insurance costs because it is being rated three notches down from the 120d belonging to Group 11. Here, you are able to save on premiums and costs because the insurance is cheaper.

For the record, the 118d returns a combined fuel economy figure of 62.8mog and an emission value of 119 grams per kilometer, just like some superminis. All these figures thanks to BMS's EffeicientDynamics technology which includes a brake energy regeneration which essentially regenerates energy or recharges the battery if the driver brakes or going down hill.

If you take into account or prioritize your budgetary constraints then you begin to think of the 118d as a better choice. All the models in this series are pricey especially if added with niceties like alloy wheels, air conditionin and metallic paint. The base price is £18,500 but better not dwell on it because it is as Spartan as it could get. The more realistic price would be £20,000 for the Sport and SE models which feature the mentioned additional.

The car is remarkably slower than the 120d. It is only at 143bhp while the 120d is at 177bhp. If you drive a 118d right after driving a 120d then it would certainly feel sluggish. But it can go from zero to 60mph in less than nine seconds and has a maximum speed of 130mph. If you compare it with other family hatchbacks or cars by the mainstream manufacturers then it certainly is not slow.

It also possesses the rear wheel-drive common to BMW and a standard of the 1 Series and this certainly has its benefits. Its full quota reaches up to 300N of torque and when you deploy all this in a front wheel car then it would generate a healthy if not copious torque steer with the accompanying raggedy tugging of the steering wheel as the front tires struggle to put down power. That is why driving a rear wheel-drive is better. Try accelerating in one of those front wheel cars like the Ford RS Focus with your hands off the wheel, the car would immediately veer of without further push. In driving the 118d, the sot that would happen would be the little blinking of the ESP light, it just grips and goes.

The three-door models in the 1 series almost have the same styling but if viewed from the side, it is clearly different. The passenger doors of a five-door model are shorter and the three-door is frameless like those of a Coupe. There is a choice between four or five seating arrangement; four-seat design is definitely more comfortable.

This thing may be most of the time ignored but it certainly has some commendable characteristics to it.