1.5 petrol 3 cylinder 134bhp
Discussion
I'm thinking about buying a 2015 1 series with this engine and can't find many reviews on line that go into much detail. Does anyone here have any experience first hand that they can share please, good or bad? Previously had the 1.6, a 2012 model with about the same power which wasn't bad and this engine puts out about the same but any views would be well received.
We used to have 2015 one of the last 116i ( 1.6 ) & now have 2019 118i ( 1.5 ) , so far I prefer the 1.5 it seems to be very quiet & smoother than the 4 cylinder .
Economy is about the same mid 40s & performance seems the same.
It does not have the cold start rattle from the turbo heat shield of the 1.6, I too researched & could not find any bad reports either on Mini or BMW fourms.
There were some issues with the first 3 cylinder engines I think so if I was you I would be looking 2016 onwards.
Economy is about the same mid 40s & performance seems the same.
It does not have the cold start rattle from the turbo heat shield of the 1.6, I too researched & could not find any bad reports either on Mini or BMW fourms.
There were some issues with the first 3 cylinder engines I think so if I was you I would be looking 2016 onwards.
Had that engine in a MINI Cooper for three years.
It was a pretty good little engine, certainly nicer than some of the smaller four pots that BMW / MINI have built in the past. It makes quite an interesting noise, was pokey enough etc. Fuel mileage economy was 40 or so over three years.
A colleagues wife had it in a 1 series and it seemed perfectly capable in a slightly bigger car. It was never fast, but it wasn’t horribly slow.
It was a pretty good little engine, certainly nicer than some of the smaller four pots that BMW / MINI have built in the past. It makes quite an interesting noise, was pokey enough etc. Fuel mileage economy was 40 or so over three years.
A colleagues wife had it in a 1 series and it seemed perfectly capable in a slightly bigger car. It was never fast, but it wasn’t horribly slow.
I only ever experienced the 3-cylinder engine in a Mini Cooper courtesy car.
But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
Mr Tidy said:
I only ever experienced the 3-cylinder engine in a Mini Cooper courtesy car.
But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
Whereas I’m the opposite; I think the old four cylinder MINI Cooper engines are pretty horrible, course things. I never noticed any of those issues noted above in the car my other half ran for three years. I thought it sounded OK. But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
Mike335i said:
I didn't mind the 3 cyl in the Cooper courtesy car I had a while back, the engine was fine. The gearing was so long, however, that it felt slow. Not the engines fault, but it blunted performance.
It's one of those engines that definitely suits an auto box.I have the older 114i (same N13B16 engine as the 116i & 118i). Broken exhaust shield - check. Cam chain noisy & engine burned oil (which the replacement cam chain cured) - check. No coolant leaks or rattling wastegate though (yet), which is a plus. Also mine runs a 118i remap to 170bhp, so goes like the clappers when pushed in sport mode. It's a manual by the way.
BFleming said:
It's one of those engines that definitely suits an auto box.
I have the older 114i (same N13B16 engine as the 116i & 118i). Broken exhaust shield - check. Cam chain noisy & engine burned oil (which the replacement cam chain cured) - check. No coolant leaks or rattling wastegate though (yet), which is a plus. Also mine runs a 118i remap to 170bhp, so goes like the clappers when pushed in sport mode. It's a manual by the way.
That's really good to know, thanks to everyone for your responses and I would have asked about mapping so you beat me to it. Who did that for you btw? I tried having my last one (the 116i, 4 pot) mapped and it made so little difference I took it back and got my money back (and put it back to standard)I have the older 114i (same N13B16 engine as the 116i & 118i). Broken exhaust shield - check. Cam chain noisy & engine burned oil (which the replacement cam chain cured) - check. No coolant leaks or rattling wastegate though (yet), which is a plus. Also mine runs a 118i remap to 170bhp, so goes like the clappers when pushed in sport mode. It's a manual by the way.
The 1.5 is very very quiet. You can be in 3rd gear doing 5k rpm and you could be fooled to think you are in 5th. We have a 118i at the moment and whilst its a nice car, it will be nice to have the old 118i back which has a bit more punch.
Its quietness is its only redeeming feature I feel, well that and it's fairly good economy. It also seems rather juddery when entering stop/start
Its quietness is its only redeeming feature I feel, well that and it's fairly good economy. It also seems rather juddery when entering stop/start
thebraketester said:
The 1.5 is very very quiet. You can be in 3rd gear doing 5k rpm and you could be fooled to think you are in 5th. We have a 118i at the moment and whilst its a nice car, it will be nice to have the old 118i back which has a bit more punch.
Its quietness is its only redeeming feature I feel, well that and it's fairly good economy. It also seems rather juddery when entering stop/start
Maybe get it mapped like BFleming!!Its quietness is its only redeeming feature I feel, well that and it's fairly good economy. It also seems rather juddery when entering stop/start
thebraketester said:
Courtesy car, not sure bmw would be too impressed with that :-)
EndTuning did mine, Enda is Birmingham based but did both my cars in one visit to me. I specifically asked for a 118i map, and that's what he gave me. Probably more to be had out of it, but that's not what I wanted.
12dan34 said:
Ah ok, think I misunderstood, you're engine is a 4 cylinder? Anyone have experience of mapping the 3 cylinder at all?
I ordered the Evolve R remap for the 3 cylinder (in a 218i) about 3 months ago but haven't had time (or really been bothered enough) to load it yet. I will get round to doing it soon, but one reason I haven't been in a hurry is that I've been loving the car as standard (plus the engine takes at least 5,000 miles to loosen up, so I've persuaded myself that waiting a few more miles is no bad thing). I've said on here before that I absolutely love the car, so it is quite exciting to think it might get even better. I will get round to the remap soon (maybe a week) and let you know how it goes.
Zinc
Court_S said:
Mr Tidy said:
I only ever experienced the 3-cylinder engine in a Mini Cooper courtesy car.
But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
Whereas I’m the opposite; I think the old four cylinder MINI Cooper engines are pretty horrible, course things. I never noticed any of those issues noted above in the car my other half ran for three years. I thought it sounded OK. But my brief impressions were it sounded like a diesel at lower revs, and to get any performance needed to be revved to death - at which point it was never going to be economical!
I much prefer the R56 Cooper Mrs Tidy has had since 2006 with 126bhp - after 56K+ miles the OBC is still showing an average of over 40 mpg. And at least it still sounds a bit like an original Mini - a 3-pot never will!
Mrs Tidy bought an R50 Mini One in 2003, and that engine certainly was pretty coarse and miserable! But her R56 Cooper was just so much better in so many ways, and still is 13 years later!
But maybe I'm not a fan of forced induction - seems like cheating to me!
Mr Tidy said:
But maybe I'm not a fan of forced induction - seems like cheating to me!
It can be fun in a crude type of way though. My F56 Cooper S is a riot on the standard Michelin Primacy 3(read crap low grip tyre) with its 2 litre 4 cylinder turbo engine. 189bhp doesn't sound like much but it also has 221 torque on overboost(exactly the same number as my previous E90 330i!) which comes in really low down the revs so it has traction issues pretty much all of the time! 
It has made me really appreciate RWD though, and having the wheels doing the steering and supplying the power certainly doesn't work that well without a LSD for me.
My RWD 370Z with a LSD and 275 width Michelin PS4 tyres is the complete opposite to the MINI, and it has loads of grip in comparison. A shame in some ways because I really enjoy a lively RWD car...I should stick some Primacy 3 tyres on it!!
Mr Tidy said:
Well the world would be boring if we all liked the same things!
Mrs Tidy bought an R50 Mini One in 2003, and that engine certainly was pretty coarse and miserable! But her R56 Cooper was just so much better in so many ways, and still is 13 years later!
But maybe I'm not a fan of forced induction - seems like cheating to me!
My R53 Cooper S was great fun with its supercharger. I never really clicked with the subsequent versions. Mrs Tidy bought an R50 Mini One in 2003, and that engine certainly was pretty coarse and miserable! But her R56 Cooper was just so much better in so many ways, and still is 13 years later!
But maybe I'm not a fan of forced induction - seems like cheating to me!
Forced induction is here to stay and there are some good examples; the B58 dies t really feel turbocharged because it has a decent capacity to start with.
I honestly didn’t think the BMW 3 pot was a bad little engine at all and was nicer than their smaller four pots.
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