BMW 1 Series engines, driving and performance

The BMW 1 Series manages to strike a mature balance between being fun to drive most of the time without being so racy that it can’t handle day-to-day commuting. The 2025 update resolved our biggest issue with the pre-facelift car – firm suspension. A new suspension setup has given the 1 Series a softer edge over bumps without taking away its sporty feeling when the going gets twisty.

Whichever era of the front-wheel-drive 1 Series you pick, it vehemently refuses to roll through corners, instead egging you on to tuck the front end tighter into the bend and lean on the prodigious amount of grip available.

This sensation is exacerbated by the steering which, while not bristling with feedback like sports cars of yesteryear, is incredibly accurate and intuitively weighted. Grip is seemingly endless, which further adds to the sense of unflappable confidence you get behind the 1 Series’ wheel.

All these qualities are amplified in the 128ti and M135i, which gain an even sharper edge making them even more fun to drive. Read our in-depth comparison of the 128ti and M135i if you’re after a fast 1 Series. The M135i was replaced by the slightly less powerful M135 (no i) in 2025.

BMW has listened to our complaints about the pre-facelift car's firm ride, because the updated car gets a new suspension setup to go with its softer face. Frequency selective dampers automatically adjust the suspension firmness based on the road conditions, and M135 models can be optioned with an even fancier (and likely firmer) suspension setup. You're no longer subject to annoying jiggles around town in the facelift car, yet the chassis is still well-supported as you pick up the pace.

Pick a pre-facelift car and you'll find the ride quality is always quite firm. That means you feel every bump through the chassis and the base of your seat, with the A-Class doing a much better job of levelling off these intrusions. It’s a good thing then, that the 1 Series’ suspension is sophisticated enough to be able to trim the harshness out of these bumps, even if it can’t mask them entirely.

Your ears won’t be complaining after a long drive, either. Refinement is superb, with road and wind noise being incredibly well insulated, and the engines are almost so quiet you might struggle to tell they’re actually working.

There isn’t a slow engine in the 1 Series lineup so, if you’re not fussed about having lots of engine power in reserve, you can save money and buy the entry-level engine without feeling like you’re missing out.

For the 2025-onwards model, you have three choices. The 120 uses a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine with 170hp (up 36hp over the old 118i mentioned below). It uses quite a hefty dose of mild-hybrid tech to give you extra torque off the line. This means the engine feels far stronger low down in the revs than you might think as you accelerate. The 0-62mph time stands at 7.8 seconds.

Next up for the facelift is the 123 xDrive, which isn't a catchy dance number from the 1990s but a four-wheel-drive car with a 2.0-litre engine with 218hp and a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds.

The third and final post-facelift engine is the range-topping M135 xDrive. Again, it's four-wheel-drive but has 300hp, 400Nm of torque and 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds. 

Now let's look at the engines that were available in the 1 Series between 2019 and 2024.

The slowest 116d engine manages the benchmark 0-62mph sprint in a shade over 10 seconds, which is fine for day-to-day driving. Jumping up to the 118d drops the 0-62mph run down to the mid-eight-second range helping it feel more relaxed at higher speeds. We’re not convinced there’s much need to step up to the 120d over the 118d – you only lose around a second from the 0-62mph dash in exchange for a noticeable jump in purchase price.

The 118i petrol is a top choice if you cover a mix of urban and motorway driving, with an appealing smoothness, perky performance and the promise of almost 50mpg. This is the most popular engine choice, and it’s now the only engine offered in the standard 1 Series lineup from 2024.

If you want a fast 1 Series, there are two to choose from. The front-wheel-drive 128ti gets 265hp and feels urgent and eager in all scenarios. The top-tier four-wheel-drive M135i, however, is a much more serious performance car, with 306hp and genuine pin-you-to-your-seat acceleration if you flex your right foot. We found the 128ti to be slightly more entertaining to drive, but there’s no question that the M135i is faster and grippier.

Acceleration in any of the regular 1 Series models is a refined and quiet affair. All engines are turbocharged and offer plenty of overtaking power if you explore the top end of the throttle pedal. The seven-speed dual clutch gearbox on the 2025 facelift of the 1 Series does change gears almost as smoothly as the pre-facelift's eight-speed auto – but it still doesn't deliver snappy upshifts or downshifts as you'd experience in an Audi A3. Disappointing.

The entry-level 120's acceleration is noticeably stronger than the pre-facelift 118's, thanks to a big chunk of torque provided by the new mild hybrid system. Whether it's worth the loss of 80 litres of boot space is another matter. The M135 is the one to pick for impressive performance – the engine's 400Nm of torque may be 50Nm down on the M135i, but the 4.9-second 0-62mph time will still snap your neck back nicely when you use launch control.

The pre-facelift car had a greater variety of engine options. For a start, you had diesel choices. These delivered a great swathe of torque for effortless progress, all with such a small amount of engine noise you need to check your speedo to make sure you’re actually going faster.

Of course, jump up to the 128ti or M135i, and we’re talking about a much more serious performance car with far greater licence-losing potential. The latter is so quick, in fact, that we’d be tempted to settle for the lesser 128ti, not just because it’s more affordable, but because its more sensible performance levels mean you can exploit its power more regularly. Conversely, you need to plan ahead if you’re going to floor the M135i, as it’ll very quickly be entering into triple-digit speeds.