BMW 1 Series review – Interior & comfort

The BMW 1 Series’ 2024 facelift has brought substantial changes to its interior. We’ve always liked the BMW 1 Series’ premium-feel interiors and designs, though, and the new model is still recognisable as a BMW once you step inside, which is a relief. There’s ambient lighting as standard for an upmarket feel, nice materials used throughout and a general solid feel to the build quality.

BMW 1 Series dashboard

The BMW 1 Series’ dashboard is made with high-quality materials, including an aluminium surround that frames the centre console switches and livens up the dashboard somewhat. The plastics used in the BMW 1 Series even feel of high quality, aside from one piece on the bottom spoke of the steering wheel that feels flimsy.

The latest BMW 1 Series now gets a dual-screen 10.7-inch infotainment and 10.25-inch driver’s display setup which looks good and feels the right size for a premium hatchback. There’s a new updated operating system which is much more upmarket to look at but easy to use like before. It’s not perfect, though, and we found it a little delayed to our inputs when switching between menus and the like. 

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The pre-facelift car used to also feature an iDrive click-wheel on the centre console as an alternative way to navigate, but this has now been removed. It’s a shame, as many drivers will have found the old controller less distracting to use while on the move. At least there are some new menu shortcuts next to the touchscreen for jumping to frequently-used features.

The physical climate control buttons are gone, too, and are now integrated into a bar at the bottom of the touchscreen. We think this is a step in the wrong direction and the physical climate controls in rivals like the Audi A3 are easier to use while driving.

Equipment

Trim levels consist simply of Sport, M Sport and the standalone offering on the hot M135 model. Sport comes as standard with 17-inch alloys, the aforementioned dual-screen setup and ambient interior lighting. While it’s well equipped with features such as LED headlights and tail-lights, folding mirrors, a rear-view camera and parking sensors and heated front seats, we do think it feels a little drab with the cloth upholstery, so if you want a little more flair it’s worth opting for M Sport.

M Sport gets larger 18-inch wheels and sportier front and rear bumpers, M-coloured stitching around the cabin, Alcantara and a sport leather steering wheel, plus sports seats, and adaptive suspension.

Surprisingly there’s not much of a difference in feel compared with the M135 model which does mean it fails to feel particularly ‘special’ – even on the outside there’s just a small ‘M’ badge on the grille and a quad exhaust to differentiate it from the M Sport. There are a few additional features on the inside, though, such as a premium Harman Kardon sound system as standard.

Options

BMW offers the 1 Series in Alpine White and Jet Black for free, while fancier metallic colours will set you back from between £650 and £2,100. There are also packs which are worth considering to add more features. The Technology Plus Pack adds a heads-up display that’s useful for displaying information ahead of you without being too heavily distracted from the road, among other features.