It's the new BMW 1 Series and BMW 2 Series!

Facelift time for the BMW 1 Series and BMW 2 Series. As is traditional among German manufacturers, little has been done to change the way those cars look. You don’t really notice the new LED head- and taillights, nor the 1 Series’ gloss-black kidney grille surrounds. 

But you might notice the new colours, because they’re quite bright. The 1 Series gets two – Sunset Orange and Seaside Blue – and the 2 Series gets those plus Mediterranean Blue. Both cars get new alloy wheel designs, too. 

Not much has changed inside either. Provided you tick the right box, iDrive comes with a touchscreen (like the 5 Series), inductive charging, a Wi-Fi hotspot and CarPlay/Android Auto. Both get new trim and upholstery, new air vents and a new instrument panel. 

Engines remain the same, which means three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesels. Oh, and the six-cylinder in the M140i and M240i – a particular favourite of ours, though all are good. In Britain the Ms are RWD only, but elsewhere in Europe you can have them with xDrive AWD. No word on whether BMW is rectifying that with the facelift.

No big changes then, and nothing that would convince you to buy one if you weren’t already considering one. But these were both strong cars to begin with – RWD is unique in the segment – and these mods only make them more so. Enough to keep ‘em going until all-new ones arrive.