1 SERIES
Total Revs
52
Global Rank
#68
Model Rank
2 MORE REVS TO REACH #67 IN OVERALL MODEL
Ranked Categories
About the 1 Series
The 1 Series was BMW's admission that not everyone needs a 3 Series — but everyone deserves rear-wheel drive. At least, that was the original idea. The E87 arrived in 2004 as a compact hatchback with a straight-six option and rear-drive architecture that made no financial sense for its price point. That was the appeal. It drove like a shrunken 3 Series because, mechanically, it nearly was one. The N54 twin-turbo in the 135i turned it into a sleeper that embarrassed cars with twice the badge prestige. Then BMW switched to front-wheel drive with the F40, and the forums haven't stopped arguing since. The current 1 Series is quicker, more practical, and objectively better in most measurable ways. But "objectively better" has never been why people buy BMWs. On Revnut, the community ranks which 1 Series generations earned the badge — and which ones just borrowed the kidney grilles.