BMW refreshes 1 and 2 Series range

BMW has given its 1 and 2 Series ranges a light model year update ahead of its Australian arrival in September, revising interior styling and connectivity and offering new paint and wheel options.

New bi-LED headlights are now offered as standard on the 2 Series coupe and convertible, with adaptive LED lights available as an option.

The circular lights within the headlight cluster have been redesigned for a more hexagonal shape, while the signature kidney grille and outer air intakes have also been widened.

Inside, the latest version of the iDrive operating system has been fitted to both the 1 and 2 Series, projected on an 8.8-inch display that can be turned into a touchscreen when optioning the Navigation system Professional.

Other interior changes include a redesigned instrument cluster and air vents, new cloth and leather upholstery choices, optional Apple CarPlay compatibility and wireless phone charging.

New paint options have been added to the 1 and 2 Series palette, comprising of Seaside Blue and Sunset Orange, while the 2 Series also adds the darker Mediterranean Blue.

Four new optional wheel variants have been added, including two 17-inch and two 18-inch styles, with while the 1 Series also gets the option of an 18-inch Orbit Grey ten-spoke rim.

Optional safety equipment includes adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, lane departure warning, city collision mitigation and parking assistant for parallel or perpendicular parking.

In overseas markets certain variants will be offered with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system, however Australian 1 and 2 Series ranges will continue to be a rear-drive-only affair.

While pricing and specification is yet to be confirmed, BMW Australia has indicated that the range will remain unchanged, consisting of the 118i, 118d, 120i, 125i and M140i for the 1 Series, while the petrol-only 2 Series will include the 220i, 230i and M240i, as well as the fire-breathing M2 and M2 Pure coupe variants.

The 1 Series range will also be bolstered by the arrival of the limited-edition M140i Performance edition, which adds styling and performance tweaks in a limited run of only 60 examples nationwide.

In the first four months of 2017, BMW has sold 716 examples of the 1 Series, down 25.4 per cent on the 960 units moved to the same time last year.

The 2 Series has also experienced a drop in sales, down 45 per cent from 367 to 202 sales.

In the $40,000-plus small-car segment, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class is the segment leader with 1568 sales, followed by the Audi A3 (1452), 1 Series, Merc B-Class (430) and Volvo V40 (349).