After seeing that the interior was barely smaller than a TSX
on paper (three inches less rear legroom, but otherwise equivalent), I swung by the local dealership to take a quick look at the 1-Series. For anyone who is curious, that's only on paper. I'm 5'6", and my hair was brushing the headliner in the rear seat. Legroom was very tight in back. The front seat had all the legroom you'd ever want, but headroom was tight.
Seats were typical BMW (maybe some like that, but they don't fit me right somehow, particularly when compared to VW and Volvo seats). Interior also was typical BMW (once again, maybe some like it, but it's not really my taste).
From the outside, the car looks much better in person than in pictures.
The salesmen acted offended when I asked if I could see if my toddler seat would fit in back. Said he didn't want the interior all scuffed up. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that your
vinyl seats scuff that easily...
The salesmen made very clear that I was an annoyance to them, so I didn't bother to ask for a test-drive. I'm sure it's superb to drive, but IMO it's a two-seater with a padded parcel shelf in back.