BMW is a company undergoing a lot of change. Change in their styling direction, change in their entry to unfamiliar market sectors and change in the way the business is managed.

One thing that has remained a constant is the corporate philosophy that when it comes to road cars rear-wheel drive works best. It’s not as if the company can’t build a winning front-wheel drive car – witness the MINI – it’s merely a realisation that certain values are deeply imbued within the BMW psyche and power going to the rear wheels for perfect weight distribution is one of them. The latest 1 Series may offer a new direction for BMW but some things are reassuringly familiar.

Designed to compete in the compact executive sector, the 1 Series might be truncated in length but spend any time behind the wheel and you’ll soon realise you’re not being short-changed any of BMW’s look and feel. Rear wheel drive has traditionally been something of an anomaly in this market sector and key rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf, the Alfa Romeo 147 and the Audi A3 are built around front wheel drive platforms. Asking the front wheels to perform the tasks of steering and deploying the power is distinctly sub optimum in terms of outright handling. How many Formula One cars are front wheel drive? Exactly.

Where front wheel drive has traditionally scored is that it’s easy and cheap to manufacture a transverse engined hatch with a front gearbox and drive going to the front wheels. You needn’t worry about a bulky transmission tunnel running through the cabin so it works in terms of packaging too. There are some great front-wheel drive GTis around too, but after just a hundred metres behind the wheel of the 1 Series it’s apparent they’re starting at a distinct advantage. The slick body control, the perfect balance in corners and the supremely judged damping shows that BMW’s faith in the rear wheel drive layout has not been misplaced and their mastery of chassis dynamics shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Rear-wheel drive has traditionally been something of an anomaly in this market sector”

Open one of the narrow back doors and you’ll spot the payoff right away. There’s less room in the back of the 1 Series than you’ll find in a supermini like a Honda Jazz. With a six-footer behind the wheel, legroom is shockingly bad and the transmission tunnel means that you won’t ever want to travel piggy in the middle on the rear bench. That’s not what the 1 Series is all about. If you want a practical car, go and buy a mini-MPV. If you want the latest urban bauble that will turn heads and get tongues wagging, the 1 Series will be more your thing. At a stroke it manages to make the Audi A3 in particular look ridiculously staid.

Four engines are offered, each with four cylinders although BMW assure us there’s plenty of room to plumb in a powerful six- cylinder unit. None of the engines are entirely new but they’re still very well regarded powerplants. A 115bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine powers the entry-level 116i. This is good for a top speed of 125mph, a sprint to 60mph of 10.8 seconds and a combined fuel economy figure of 37.8mpg. If you want a little more from your petrol engine, opt for the 120i, a Valvetronic engine of 2.0-litres capacity that develops 150bhp and offers sparky performance figures of 8.7 seconds to the 60mph benchmark and a top speed of 135mph.

Unless you’ve got an aversion to the black pump, the real standout performers in the 1 Series line up are the two 2.0-litre diesel engines. The 118d develops 122bhp and yet will still return an average of over 50mpg and get to 60mph quicker than the petrol 116i. The performance star of the 1 Series range as things stand is the 120d, a 163bhp turbodiesel that will get to 60mph in just over 7.5 seconds and still return 49.6mpg. With a top speed of 137mph and very impressive overall refinement levels, the 120d would be the car we’d opt for if we needed to convince any doubters that the 1 Series was a good idea.

The interior features a start button to get things fired up and a clean, minimalist look to the fascia. The dashboard resembles that of the BMW Z4 and there’s dotted around the cabin are twin front airbags and head airbags for all occupants. Factor in Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Traction Control, Dynamic Brake Control and the non-dynamic but still worthwhile Electronic Differential Lock and there’s also a high level of active safety offered.

Although BMW have high hopes for the 1 Series, in market terms it will be a niche vehicle. It won’t put a big dent in the sales of more mainstream models but it will eat into the profitability of cars like the Audi A3 and the Alfa Romeo 147. Pricing ensures that the BMW will never be commonplace but the cabin quality, the driving experience and that badge will be enough to seal the deal for many.