The 1 Series proportions were more carefully considered and while it is definitely short in the poop compared to the larger 3 Series, it looks good that way, thanks to the designers. It doesn't look cheap or cut off or bandaged. Every major part of the car, the nose, the bodyside, the roof and the rear end, blends beautifully with the rest of the car to make a shorter, narrower version of the 3 Series with a different and special roofline.

We're particularly fond of the M Aerodynamics Package made standard on the 135i (but not the 128i), including the huge air intakes below the bumper, necessary for cooling the turbocharger intake air. The 128i has a cleaner, albeit more conventional, full-width opening below the bumper, divided into three parts by two angled struts. The outboard sections are then sub-divided horizontally, with a fog light at the top and a small grille underneath. The bottom edge of the opening turns up at the ends, smile-like.

At the rear, the 128i dispenses with the 135i's prominent spoiler, in favor of a more gentle lip integrated into the trunk lid. And the 128i's rear bumper is entirely body-color, lacking the black-out panel seen on the 135i. Drag coefficient actually improves, from 0.33 to 0.31 Cd.

Put the top down on the new convertible models, and the flared shoulder line that's shared with the coupes seems to form a single surface that surrounds the interior, like the deck of a small boat. For both convertible models, drag coefficient increases slightly to 0.34.