In order for a BMW 1 Series Sedan to “work”, it clearly has to separate itself from the hatchback version as much as possible.
The problem with the 1 Series hatchback is that, well, it’s not a great looking car – and even though some if not most people are able to move past that issue, BMW fans expect a lot more from their saloons.
BMW saloons have a much richer history than hatchbacks, obviously. You can’t just build one (regardless of size, FWD, RWD) and have it look like somebody strapped a boot to a regular 1 Series.
And that’s the problem with this particular 1 Series rendering. It doesn’t look saloon-ish enough, unlike two others we’ve seen such as this one from last year and of course this more recent one from a few months ago.
Make no mistake about it, when the real BMW 1 Series Sedan comes, it has to be brilliant, it really does.
And by that I mean that it has to look great because it will be going up against two undeniably great looking little sedans such as the A3 Sedan and the Mercedes-Benz CLA – which aren’t proportionally challenged in any way.
Can BMW do it? Sure, let’s not bet against them. Even without RWD, the car should still be fun to drive.
Other than that, all we can hope is that they don’t screw up its appearance. It needs to be aggressive yet elegant (just like every other 4 door BMW) so that people looking for a small yet sporty saloon don’t walk past it and straight into an Audi or a Mercedes-Benz dealership.
Renderings courtesy of Theophilus Chin
PHOTO GALLERY
