USED BMW 1 Series Hatchback (04 - )

My car

I picked up my 4 month old 123d Sport 2 weeks ago, and what a car, having owned a 120d Sport for 2.5 years, the performance difference is outstanding and the roadholding and handling have improved over that time. Better still the ecnonomy is amazing, i'm now getting another 6-7 mpg to and from work, and the stop/start is a real benefit on my drive home as I pass though 6 or 7 sets of lights.

My car

I took delivery on Friday 13th June, however, I have very little to complain about other than the paint work. Now this could just be badluck, but in 2500 miles, I have a number of paint chips on the bonnet and wheel arches. Any way, this is a great car! I have been driving for 22 years and this has to be the best drivers car I have had.

I chose the Business radio/CD, HI-FI speaker system, Cruise control, V spoke alloys (no cost option), Titanium light trim and Network cloth trim as extras and can recommend the speaker upgrade, which I have found great for all types of music.

The auto stop start is a good feature, but I'm not sure if it adds much to the fuel economy, and you do get some strange looks from others when the engine cuts out at the lights, only to see you race of when they change, I like that a lot!!

I don't seem to be getting near to the qouted MPG, but the figs given hear are since I took delivery and I tend to have a heavy right foot.

Overall, I test drove Golfs, Civics and ans Auris, before picking the 118D and can not recommend it enough as a great all round package, yes it may be a bit more expensive and in my opinion the quality of the interior and the finish are better than the other cars I tested for every day living and driving and when you look at the competition in my view it's a no brainer, even taking into consideration my paint chips.

My car

Having had the car for a week now I must say how happy I am. I traded in my Rav4 T180 because of stupidly high petrol costs (42mpg advertised = complete rubbish, I got 32mpg at best and 9.2secs 0-60 felt like minutes!) for something more economical but that also had a similar performance to my MKV Golf GTI. After much research there was really only one choice, BMW 120D - but having just had our first child, was the difference in size going to matter? Anyway, I ignored the missus and got the BMW anyway!

The positives, the performance is excellent, it drives superbly, as a rear wheel drive should and holds the road well. The engine is brilliant - can't really tell it's a diesel from inside as it's so quiet and it accelerates as well as my GTI did! And I still get high 40's mpg! Everything closes with a reassuring thud and it feels like a well built car. The updated interior is a nice place to be and the Aux/Power ports under the arm rest are excellent and my ipod stays hidden in the glovebox!

There are only a few negatives - yes, it's not as big as my Rav but it's perfectly decent at transporting the 3 of us and a load of baby stuff! And I suppose it could come with a few more toys as standard! But apart from that, probably the best car I've had in the last 10 years and there have been 12 to choose from!

Anyone after decent performance but without the fuel/tax/insurance bill should seriously consider one of these!

My car

I bought this from brand new in December 2005.Only done about 13500 miles.Last week driving on the motorway in a very heavy downpour the wipers completely stopped!.Fortunately I was on the left lane and managed to pull over to the hard shoulder.Recovered to a dealer and apparently the sealed unit was faulty and had to be replaced with a new unit.Interesting to know whether this has happened to anybody else.I am now very worried that it might happen again!