• Good rear passenger kneeroom
• Headroom in the back remains too tight
• Boot space is comparable to a Mercedes A-Class

The five-door-only 1 Series is 34mm wider and 13mm higher than its predecessor yet, unusually, also comes in 5mm shorter. This latter measurement is owing to improved packaging from the front-wheel drive powertrain and rotated engine (so it’s now transverse-mounted, meaning it’s positioned across the engine bay rather than lengthways), allowing the car to be shorter without compromising passenger or boot space.

As a result, kneeroom for rear seat passengers is up by 33mm – and it really shows. It’s a marked improvement over the previous-generation car, if not quite as generous as what the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf offers, let alone the SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia. Headroom, however, is still a little disappointing despite the car’s taller profile. Perched on the rear seats, you’ll feel like the base is positioned high meaning that anyone over 5ft 9inch will find their head touching the roof lining.

The middle seat, too, is best limited to kids or smaller adults – partly due to the chunky central tunnel running through the car’s cabin.

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Boot space and storage

Boot space comes in at 380 litres with the rear seats in place and 1,200 with them folded down. This compares favourably with the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (370-1,210 litres) and matches the Volkswagen Golf in the former category (380-1,270 litres).

Lifting heavy bags in shouldn’t be too tricky thanks to a minimal loading lip and a space free of major intrusions. While an electrically operated tailgate is available too.

Again, though, there are rivals with far bigger boots such as the Seat Leon and simply gigantic Skoda Octavia. Cabin storage, meanwhile, is adequate in the back and plentiful in the front thanks to generously proportioned door pockets and a pair of nicely sized cupholders.

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Is it easy to park?

The 1 Series is no wider than a Volkswagen Golf. However, it is a little longer, meaning it’s well worth taking careful and exact measurements of your garage before committing to a 1 Series. Note, too, that it’s also taller than your average hatchback – so bear in mind the height at which your garage door mechanism sits at.

The optional Reversing Assistant should also help with narrow garages, automatically backing the car out following exactly the same path as it entered with.

View dimensions in the BMW 1 Series specs pages

Safety

• Five star Euro NCAP rating
  
• Standard collision and pedestrian warning
  
• Suite of driver assistance aids

Crash testers at Euro NCAP gave the 1 Series a full five star rating. The 1 Series’ platform has been tried and tested on other five-star safety rated models (including the MINI Clubman and BMW X1) and features the usual array of hi-tech safety aids, including:

• Standard collision and pedestrian warning with city braking function (includes cyclist detection)
• Lane-departure warning
• Driving Assistant pack, featuring lane change warning system (blindspot monitor), proactive driving assistant, rear collision warning and cross-traffic warning
• Cruise control and adaptive cruise control with stop & go function
• Head-up display featuring driving, sat-nav, media and telephone information
• Park distance control (front and rear parking sensors), a rear-view camera, parking assistant (automatic parking) and reversing assistant (capable of automatically reversing out of tight spaces by retracing the vehicle’s route in)