What Car? Q&A - Tell us about BMW 1 Series?

Q: I am interested in the face-lifted BMW 1 Series.

I have spoken to two dealers about 116i SE 5 door - one quoted a price and the other told me that the 116i was not getting an update until September.

What I want to know is, will the face-lifted car be available in 116 SE 5 door form but with the 'old' 1.6 engine or is the 116 being temporarily dropped from the range until the updated 1.6 engine is available in September?

I was hoping to change my car in the next couple of months and would buy a 116 SE 5 door face-lifted model with the existing engine.
Chris Parker

AND

A BMW dealer has offered me £1500 off a BMW 118d, saying there's not much to the face-lift and that the engine doesn’t change much. Is this true?
James Ray

Chris - The face-lifted 116i is available with the existing 1.6-litre engine from March. A new 1.6-litre that BMW has developed with Peugeot-Citroen will be added in September and will bring significant improvements in both fuel economy and emissions.

You'd be well served by waiting, then, but if you can't there's a model you can have now.

James - It sounds to us like a dealer trying to get rid of stock that's going to shed a fair bit of its value soon.

The 118d is substantially improved over the previous version of the engine. It's 1.0sec quicker from 0-62mph, while fuel economy is also improved. In fact, at 60.1mpg on the combined cycle, it's the most fuel-efficient model in the company's history.

You'll also miss out on tyres with lower rolling resistance, six-speed gearboxes and regenerative brakes.

Prices for the facelifted car rise by 1%, but you should be able to negotiate discounts of at least 5%. The pre-facelifted model came with discounts of 12.5%.