The 2019 BMW 1 Series has the Hofmeister Kink!

So, the 2019 BMW 1 Series has finally been revealed and in this short article we’re going to go through all of the important information you need to know.

We have to appreciate that the 1 Series has always stood out from the crowd. While the majority of its family car rivals have been front or 4-wheel drive the 1 Series was offered with a sportier rear-wheel drive set up since its launch way back in 2004. However, this has all changed now as the all-new 1 Series has now gone all main-stream on us in its third generation and joined the front-wheel drive masses. Despite losing its unique selling point BMW is hoping that the 1 Series will be just as sporty to drive as ever. As for the exterior design it sports a substantially larger grille, though it’s not it’s still not quite on the same level as the BMW X7 or BMW 7 Series grilles. On the other side of the car you can really see the traditional low forward bend at the back which BMW calls the “Hofmeister Kink”. However, even after all of these exterior changes we still have to pose the question of what family on the marker still looks best? Is it this new 1 Series, the Audi A3, Mercedes Benz A Class or the Volkswagen Golf? For us, it’s a question still up for debate.

As I we type this article the 1 Series is only available as a five-door model which is wider and taller than the car it replaces. It’s actually slightly shorter in length and there’s also less space between the front and rear wheels. However, you shouldn’t automatically think that there’s going to be less space inside for your passengers. There’s actually more head, knee and elbow room than in the old car and there’s more space in the boot too. In fact, the new 380 litre 1 Series boot is bigger than you’ll find in its Audi and Mercedes rivals. It also matches up to the big-selling Volkswagen Golf.

Step inside the 1 Series and we discover that analogue instrument dials as standard with 5.1 inch screen in the middle for infotainment and navigation. However, upgrade your 1 Series to the Live Cockpit Professional package and this will all turn into a 10.25 inch digital screen which puts a whole host of information right in front of your eyes. You also get a separate infotainment screen running BMW’s excellent iDrive system. We’re also pleased to inform you that there’s still a rotary dial to control this all with. You do however still have the option to use touch, voice or gesture controls depending on the specification you’ve chosen.

The UK engine line-up kicks off with a 138 brake horse power (bhp) 1.5 cylinder petrol engine found in the 118i. Diesels are still expected to account for a big chunk of sales and so buyers will have a 115d, 118d and 120d diesels to choose from. Lower-end models get a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic, with an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard on the 120d. At the top of the range there’s the 302 bhp all-wheel drive M135i hot hatch and this will rival both the VW Golf R and Mercedes-AMG A35. However, the 335 bhp 3.0 litre six-cylinder engine used in the previous generation M135 can’t actually fit in the new car and so it gets a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine instead. It might be down on power and torque but BMW says its real-world performance will be similar because the new car has a stiffer chassis that’s 20 kilograms lighter. Unsurprisingly then, its 0-62 miles per hour (mph) time is only 0.2 seconds than before with an equal limited top speed of 155mph. While the 1 Series will only launch with petrol and diesel engines a hybrid version is expected to join the line-up in 2021. This will use the same 1.5 litre petrol engine and 87 bhp electric motor as the existing plug-in hybrid Mini Countryman. As a note, BMW is targeting a full electric range of closer to 50 miles rather than the 26 miles the Countryman can currently manage.

So, what impact will the switch from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive have on the 1 Series? Well, why not decide for yourself by test driving some used BMW 1 Series cars for sale which can be found on DesperateSeller.co.uk and then comparing them against the new version!