Design and Build

You'd clearly recognise this as an revolution of the F40 front-driven 1 Series, but the changes are undoubtedly significant. There's a sleeker nose, which sees swept-back headlights frame kidney grilles that now lose the previous colour-coded central strake, merging instead to form a single, large vertical panel. In profile, a previous owner will notice the embossed number '1' on the C-pillar incorporated within the use brand 'Hofmeister kink' over the rear wheel. And at the back, there are revised LED light clusters and a restyled bumper. The dimensions have changed a surprising amount, this 'MK4' car 42mm longer and 25mm taller than its predecessor. Even bigger changes feature inside, where the cabin gains a single piece curved infotainment display made up of a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.7-inch centre screen, the latter running the brand's latest OS9 software. This features 'Quick Select' on-screen short-cut functions, which further reduce the dashboard button count. Other changes include redesigned seats, a new Sport steering wheel and a leather-free interior; customers can specify 'Econeer' upholstery made up of recycled PET. As usual in this class, rear seat space is at a bit of a premium, but a couple of adults should fit okay on most journeys and it's far better than the pre-2019 era rear-driven versions of this car. Boot capacity is still rated at 380-litres (or 1,200-litres with the rear seat bench folded down).

Market and Model

Prices open at just under £30,000 for the 120: you'll need around £41,000 for the M135 xDrive. That's a bit of a price jump from before, but automatic transmission's now standard and you do get more equipment. This includes automatic air conditioning, an alarm system, electrically folding exterior mirrors, LED headlights, heated front seats and the 'BMW Live Cockpit Plus' package including the BMW Maps cloud-based navigation system across all models. The 120 'M Sport' and M135 xDrive models also benefit from Sport seats, Adaptive suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels alongside a wide range of other features. As for options, well your dealer is going to want you to add the 'Technology Pack' which gets you Adaptive LED headlights with a High-beam assistant, 'Comfort Access' keyless entry, an anti-dazzle rear view mirror and a wireless charging mat. The 'Technology Plus Pack' gives you all this, along with a Head-up display, the upgraded BMW Live Cockpit Professional cabin screen system and a 'Parking Assistant Plus' set-up that'll automatically park the car for you. Further optional equipment choices also include 2-zone automatic air conditioning, a panoramic glass roof and a Harman Kardon sound system. Standard drive assist features include the 'Driving Assistant' package with front collision warning, Lane Departure Warning, Exit Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition, as well as the brand's 'Parking Assistant with Reversing Assistant' package. Extra cost assist features include Steering and Lane Control Assist, Automatic Speed Limit Assist and route guidance when using Active Cruise Control with its Stop & Go function. The 'Parking Assistant Professional' package is also available, allowing parking and manoeuvring to be controlled by smartphone.

Cost of Ownership

BMW isn't developing any more combustion engines but it's doing its best to improve efficiency on the fossil-fuelled units it already has. Even the top M135 xDrive manages up to 37.1mpg on the combined cycle and up to 174g/km of CO2; which is vastly better than what you'd get from a rival Audi S3 or Mercedes A 35. If you can't quite stretch to an M135, the 123 xDrive is worth a look, fast but notably more frugal, managing up to 47.9mpg and up to 135g/km. The big 1 Series business for BMW will be done with the base 120. Its three cylinder 48V mild hybrid petrol engine is from the latest generation of BMW Group modular engines and delivers up to 53.2mpg on the combined cycle and up to 121g/km of CO2 emissions. To give you some class perspective, that exactly matches the returns of a rival Audi A3 Sportback 35TFSI (which has 20hp less) and is about 10% better than you'd get from a rival Mercedes A 200. All these cars use mild hybrid tech for their petrol engines, it's all relatively ineffectual and it all works much the same way; there's a tiny battery that stores energy from regenerative braking, which is then used to aid acceleration and run the engine stop start system.

Summary

This enhanced 1 Series will be more difficult to ignore for those who might otherwise have chosen an Audi or Mercedes in this segment. The cabin's far smarter than it was. And this model is certainly far better prepared than its predecessor in terms of media connectivity and camera-driven safety provision. Now, you'd be able to down-size into it far more easily if it was necessary to do so from a larger BMW model. That would probably mean a switch from rear wheel drive to the front-driven format that seemed so different when the earlier F40 version of this car first arrived back in 2019 - but the market seems well used to that now. Whether the dramatically slimmed-down F70 1 Series model range will go down quite as well is another question. Overall though, 'der Einzer' has become a whole lot more competitive in this guise. About to choose a Mercedes A-Class, an Audi A3 or even a plusher VW Golf? You really ought to try one of these too. You might be surprised just how much you like it.