Have you been keeping up on new engines? Check out BMW's new 1.5L 3-Cylinder

[Holland]

They put the intercooler in sideways.....how it that supposed to wor....ohhhh....fuuuuuuuuuuu......

[King Mufasa]

They have been demanding and pushing car companies to produce more efficient and less polluting cars.

Which is good but not for the muscle power freak car guys.

I like the idea of 8 cylinders power and with a push of a button it runs on only 4 cylinders like the 4runner:p

[mikeedler]

BMW is just pissing me off. Where are the enthusiast engineers gone? This sucks!!

First off, they still have twin turboed V8s, and how is this motor not enthusiast......... 180hp from 3 cylinders, thats pretty good if you ask me.
Come over here to europe and fill up a crapbox euroS50 E36 for 125 dollar and see how far that gets you.... about 500km/300miles if your driving easy.
by the looks of that pic, it is designed for the Mini too, Mini has been running the N47 BMW diesel motor for a while now in the Mini SD's

[Northern]

I don't see a connection between and I4 and an I3... its way closer to an I6 cut in half.

I wonder what it weighs?

One of these in an '02 would be amazing.

[lowsodium]

Meanwhile consumer reports is ripping these new tiny turbo'd engines for not living up to the 40mpg claims.

[gtdragon980]

I feel like consumer reports exaggerate those claims by a lot. Realistically speaking, the engine may be able to reach 40mpg under circumstances such as literally feathering the gas pedal to avoid the boost to kick in. Once that turbo spools, there goes your 40mpg out the tailpipe.

[MattBimmer]

First off, they still have twin turboed V8s, and how is this motor not enthusiast......... 180hp from 3 cylinders, thats pretty good if you ask me.
Come over here to europe and fill up a crapbox euroS50 E36 for 125 dollar and see how far that gets you.... about 500km/300miles if your driving easy.
by the looks of that pic, it is designed for the Mini too, Mini has been running the N47 BMW diesel motor for a while now in the Mini SD's

The engine is great don't get me wrong! Their engineers are brilliant I just wish they wouldn't make front wheel drive cars! They used to be so much about driving experience and the fun you had while driving. Now they seem like they are bending at the fear of succumbing to Audi or MB with the M6 gran coupe an X1 a 4 series a FWD BMW. It doesn't SEEM like driving experience is their main focus anymore. My .02

[lowsodium]

The only new economy car I drove recently was a 2012 Ford Focus when I was on vacation. Drove it for about a week about 300 miles. Decent looking car, drives nice, but it was a pain to drive. The transmission was shifting so often it would NEVER leave you in the power band. It would shift through ever single gear by the time it hit 48mph, leaving you at 1200 rpms. The car would be better with a manual, but thats not great for bumper to bumper traffic. I wont put up with that to save $100 a month in gas, I will take my 135i anyday and get 24mpg.

[TwoJ's]

Transverse mounting position... FWD... BMW... does not compute...

BMW is just pissing me off. Where are the enthusiast engineers gone? This sucks!!

First off, they still have twin turboed V8s, and how is this motor not enthusiast......... 180hp from 3 cylinders, thats pretty good if you ask me.
Come over here to europe and fill up a crapbox euroS50 E36 for 125 dollar and see how far that gets you.... about 500km/300miles if your driving easy.
by the looks of that pic, it is designed for the Mini too, Mini has been running the N47 BMW diesel motor for a while now in the Mini SD's

Mike hit the nail on the head. A turbo 1.5L at 200 hp and 270 lb-ft IS an awesome piece of engineering -- especially considering the fact that it will deliver that torque in a linear fashion and at the same time provide great fuel economy. Efficiency is the name of the game nowadays... that goes for performance and economically minded engines.

The engine can be mounted transversely or longitudinally... that's also a nice piece of engineering. BMW is making progress in engine technology and you'd better get used to it as this will be the trend for all auto makers.

If you like your pig of a straight six m20 that's fine, but it is no reason to hate on progress.

The engine is great don't get me wrong! Their engineers are brilliant I just wish they wouldn't make front wheel drive cars! They used to be so much about driving experience and the fun you had while driving. Now they seem like they are bending at the fear of succumbing to Audi or MB with the M6 gran coupe an X1 a 4 series a FWD BMW. It doesn't SEEM like driving experience is their main focus anymore. My .02

What exactly makes this engine not about driving experience? Like I said, it will deliver the power so much better than a naturally aspirated larger displacement engine... the area under the power and torque curves will be so much greater. That means more ENERGY going to the wheels... I can't imagine how that wouldn't improve driving experience.

[MattBimmer]

You're missing what I am saying. They as a company are making all these filler gaps and I am fine with progress. The motor is great but FWD... Really those dont need to be in a BMW even their original EV concept in the early 90s was rear wheel drive.

[TwoJ's]

And you're missing the whole point of the engine. It is designed to be used in RWD, FWD and AWD cars. It will be a "tame" tune in a FWD car, and it will be in RWD form in a more "driver oriented" car. It is a great piece of engineering to make it able to do both.

If they want to cater to the economy car market with a FWD car, what's the problem? It doesn't infringe on their RWD market, so there is nothing to be butt hurt about.

[slammin.e28]

And you're missing the whole point of the engine. It is designed to be used in RWD, FWD and AWD cars. It will be a "tame" tune in a FWD car, and it will be in RWD form in a more "driver oriented" car. It is a great piece of engineering to make it able to do both.

If they want to cater to the economy car market with a FWD car, what's the problem? It doesn't infringe on their RWD market, so there is nothing to be butt hurt about.

Next thing they'll be ditching the kidneys and Hofmeister kink for bland, angular, straight line grilles and moldings.

It's a slippery slope indeed.

[Andrew325is]

It's obviously mounted longitudinally in the 1-Series. Who cares if they want to mount it transverse for FWD or AWD? Maybe they won't even make a FWD BMW. Probably gonna be a Mini or something. I just think it's awesome they are able to replace big engines with smaller engines that make more power, weigh less, get better MPG, and produce lower emissions.

[Jaxx_]

It's obviously mounted longitudinally in the 1-Series. Who cares if they want to mount it transverse for FWD or AWD? Maybe they won't even make a FWD BMW. Probably gonna be a Mini or something. I just think it's awesome they are able to replace big engines with smaller engines that make more power, weigh less, get better MPG, and produce lower emissions.

This. I don't know why you guys are complaining about it being transversely mounted... it's just a photo out of a car.

I'm okay with 180hp out of 1.5L 3cyl engines. There will always be room for more in the aftermarket... and that sounds like an amazing time for light weight transplants into old lightweight cars.

[mikeedler]

oddly, the new F20 with the 4cyl turbo motor, is a "reversed" motor. the exhaust is on the left side and the intake on the right. why??? because in all reality, it is the mini cooper S motor. BMW is tring to minimize the amount of motors to make things cheaper.
PROFIT is the number 1 priority for BMW these days.