That's not a problem. You need to test drive.

I don't know about 1series. You need to ask the dealer or test drive. But the 5series manual shift car has a function that after the shifter is put in the first gear, the car will hold (brake) for a couple of seconds until it moves.

Therefore this alleviates the uphill start in San Francisco.

I have tried this function on my car in San Francisco's big hilly streets. It works well. It's not intimidating at all. Just ask CC. :-)