USED BMW 1 Series Hatchback (04 - )

My car

This car looked ugly in the sales brochure but when this car landed on my driveway it looked very sporty and it did not disappoint when I drove it.

The rear-wheel drive delivering 163bhp was smooth and it felt very quick. I was surprised by the small amount of legroom in the back - in fact there seems to be more legroom in my wife’s BMW Mini.

The seats were comfortable and the handling was precise, as we have come to expect with BMW. This Sport version looks so much better alongside the SE variant, as the Sport sits 15mm closer to the road and therefore the 17” wheels fill the wheelarch space much better without looking too boy racery. (If you are a boy racer go for the 18” wheels!)

The only thing that left me umming and arring was the noise of the diesel – from inside the cabin. It’s noisier than “non-premium” counterparts, the Ford TDCI, which once warmed up you really can’t hear and it also seems to be noisier than the latest Vauxhall offering.

This is a surprise because BMW probably have the best 3.0-litre sounding diesel on the road, not sure why they can’t seem to make the same strides with the 2.0-litre. Having said that, why are we so put off by a slight distant tapping noise, nine times out of 10 you have the radio on anyway and therefore you can’t hear it at all. With the power, practicality of a hatch, the BMW badge and the enormous pulling power (torque - not a boy racerism) for overtaking, I would recommend buying it - but do turn the radio on!