The BMW 1 Series was once the default choice for keen drivers and it seems the new one wants to take back that title once again
When the 1 Series first came precisely two decades ago, in 2004, I remember watching a test drive on national TV that ended with the journalist who was driving the car saying the then all-new model – and segment – for the Bavarians was ‘cute’ when it should have been ‘beautiful’.
I was just 19 at the time but I never quite forgot it. It seemed to me an unsubstantiated opinion from someone who had not made a thorough analysis on the design of the car and, therefore, could not just jump to a conclusion like that. But that’s what he did.
Truth is, there was always something awkward about the proportions of the first 1 Series and I never felt like it was a 100% successful piece of design but, weirdly for someone who then studied industrial design for five years, I could also never quite put my finger on what it was exactly.
This means that to this day whenever I see one on the road my mind instantly says: ‘cute when it should have been beautiful’. It really is automatic, and I just cannot help it. In the end, maybe that’s all there was to it and the guy was absolutely spot on.
Twenty years have passed – although I am still only 29 of course – and the 1 Series has gone through another two generations and respective mid-life cycle updates. Although it became a bigger seller with each model, I don’t think it has ever been as relevant as that first one – because it really was something new, a hatchback with rear-wheel drive.
That lasted until BMW decided the fact 80% of 1 Series buyers didn’t know their car was pushed rather than pulled was reason enough to finally make it front-wheel drive. Sacrificing the driving experience meant more space inside (no driveshaft along the car) and lower production costs by scaling the cheaper platform used on Minis and the 2 Series Active/Grand Tourer.
Therefore the 1 Series lost the one thing that made it stand out and dove head on into a sea of predictability. BMW knew this of course, but the truth is a company this size must put results first, emotions second (or seventh) and we got the front-wheel drive 1 Series in 2019, codenamed F40 (cool choice of name, coincidentally, as F40 is probably the most exciting car ever made, but the one painted red with a Prancing Horse on the bonnet).
Despite the F40 being a success for BMW, I am happy to report someone in Munich must have felt the new car – the F70 – needed something more, and not just a bigger screen inside with more apps.
I drove a diesel 120d for a short while, but it immediately felt like a much better car than its predecessor. The front had none of the numbness of the previous generation and the whole car felt much more coherent, as if both axles were actually talking to each other.
I then stepped into the top-of-the range M135 (the i is gone), with four-wheel drive and a powerful 2 litre engine putting out 300 horse-power via a seven-speed automatic gearbox. It’s a known recipe and, with small changes, a big improvement over the last model.
And I don’t even mean in performance terms, as it did not feel any faster than before. Instead, it felt more alive, more eager, more connected to the road and the driver. The four-wheel drive system feels more neutral and less prone to understeer. Good work on the chassis tuning from the engineers. Overall, the car is not super fun, but some good old BMW sparkle is back.
The cabin is two steps on from the previous model and BMW’s infotainment system remains if not the best, certainly in the top three of the whole industry. The 1 Series feels a high-quality product, with excellent fit and finish and materials worthy of the badge. The driving position is faultless and space in the back what you would expect from a big family hatchback.
I miss the days of the old straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive in the 1 Series line-up. But then again, there are too many things I miss about the auto industry at this point that will never return and, like the saying goes, there is no point in crying over spilled milk. Those days are over.
I guess, then, that the fact the second iteration of the four-cylinder, all-wheel drive M135 is a better car than the first one is still relevant news for those of us who still want to drive for the sake of driving, something politicians are quickly trying to eradicate.
Obviously, the M135 is not for everyone. Price of the press car was €72.000, including roughly €12.000 in optional extras. The diesel 120d was €55.000. Also not cheap, but it is what it is. Everything is so expensive these days, cars would never be the exception. Still, the 1 Series is back and it looks and drives better than before. That’s a win in my book.
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