When a car from a luxury brand undergoes a crash test, a top safety rating often feels like a given. After all, customers are paying a premium compared to mainstream models in the same segment. However, that extra cost doesn’t always guarantee better safety. Euro NCAP recently tested the new BMW 1 Series, and the outcome wasn’t great.
A four-star rating isn’t catastrophic, especially since Euro NCAP’s procedures have become tougher over the years. Four stars in 2025 carry more weight than they did a couple of decades ago. Still, it’s disappointing to see a BMW fall short of the full five stars, even for an entry-level model. The 1 Series still wears the roundel, so it’s reasonable to expect top marks.
So, what went wrong? The 1 Series with the M Sport Package performed poorly in the Adult Occupant assessment, managing only 78%. Euro ncap penalized the compact hatchback in the frontal offset crash, where it showed weak protection for the driver’s chest and left leg, as well as the front passenger’s legs.
In the frontal impact test, the car scored just 8.9 out of 16 points. By contrast, it achieved the maximum 16 points in the lateral impact and 3.7 out of 4 in the rear impact. The results were stronger in other categories: 84% for Child Occupant protection, 80% for Safety Assist, and 85% for Vulnerable Road Users.
Truth be told, BMW didn’t develop the “F70” from the ground up. Despite its new internal codename, it’s essentially a heavily updated version of the previous “F40.” When Euro NCAP tested that model back in 2019, it earned a full five stars. But as I mentioned earlier, today’s standards are far stricter.
Although Euro NCAP carried out the latest test on a 118, the rating extends to a wide range of variants. It confirms the score also applies to the 116, 120, 123 xDrive, M135 xDrive, 118d, and 120d, in both left- and right-hand-drive configurations. You can access the detailed report at the link below.
Photos, Video: Euro ncap
