Camera-wielding car spies have snapped a couple of interior shots of the upcoming 2023 BMW 1-Series five-door hatchback. The test crew took care to cover up everything important from prying eyes, but some deductions can still be made.
First of all, it looks like the facelifted hatchback gets a front panel consisting of two displays – the digital dash and the infotainment. The right side of the screen is slightly turned towards the driver, like on the Active Tourer Van and the 7-Series, for example. The infotainment system uses the latest iDrive 8 OS.
The gear selector is small and joystick-shaped. The emergency lights button has moved from the dash to the center tunnel. A couple of USB-C ports for plugging in various devices can be seen next to the cup holders.
As for the exterior, it continues to be completely wrapped. There is little reason to expect the nostril grille to change, though. Bumpers will most likely be subtly redesigned, and headlights will become narrower, but that’s about it.
The new 1-Series may debut later in the year, but there is no specific date at the moment. BMW stays silent about the powertrains, too. Representatives of the company stressed before that it was too expensive to make the affordable 1-Series partly or fully electric. At the same time, sticking with the current FWD drivetrain also appears impossible due to its poor emission compliance. We will have to wait and see how the German automaker gets out of this predicament.