BMW 116d Vs BMW 118d

January 13, 2009 |

The success of the ultra-efficient BMW 118d seems to have spurred the German car giants to even greater lengths to capture the attention of the increasingly lucrative small-diesel market. The 118d promised style, efficiency, performance and (most importantly for many) green credibility. The efficiency of the new 116d comes close to that of a Toyota Prius with an even higher mpg than its predecessor at just over 64mpg. Emissions are down too, with the result of great headline figures for the new model and that extra cache which BMW will no doubt use to great effect backed by multi-million $ advertising. But, is the new car really better? Coming onto UK markets and European forecourts at only a marginally reduced price from the more powerful 118d, isn’t BMW taking a gamble on the power of ‘green’?

bmw120d white BMW 116d Vs BMW 118d

In fact, the new models performance is markedly slower (0-62 in just over 10 seconds) than the 118d whilst its undercutting of the older models emissions and price may seem little more than marginal to buyers of a brand traditionally focussed on comfort, performance and luxury. Similarly, the 116d fails to offer any increased tax incentives on UK roads over the 118d. With these negative points in mind for the new car, it looks like BMW may have a little more of a hard sell on their hands than they anticipated when the new model goes on sale in March of this year. The continuing slide of petrol prices (and gas prices in the region of BMW’s ever increasing North American audience) will also not serve to give the little 116d the start in life that the Bavarian manufacturers would have hoped for.

In the ongoing battle for the green $, it will be interesting to see the 116d’s impact on the marketplace, whether it plays second fiddle to the 118d or whether, as a pair, these two models will serve to strengthen BMW’s foothold in this key market.