Compact Prestige

From the badge-engineered duo launched by BMC in 1957, it was the twin-carb Riley that most appealed to keen drivers. We get behind the wheel of a sturdy survivor.

- Paul Guinness

The premium car market is big business these days, as British buyers swap their mass-market models for what they see as more prestigious alternatives. It’s why you’re far more likely to spot a BMW 3-Series in your street in 2017 than you are a brand new Ford Mondeo. Those upmarket brands are even making their presence felt in the small-car sector, although – contrary to what many folk might assume – the idea of combining a posh badge and a touch of luxury with compact overall dimensions is nothing new.

Take the Riley One-Point-Five, the twin-carb version of BMC’s new two-marque saloon range that took a bow in 1957 and went on to enjoy an eight-year career. Here we had a compact saloon with a prestigious name, proper on-board luxury and plenty of driver appeal. It was seen as something quite distinct from the other four-door models produced by BMC at the time (Austin A50 Cambridge, Morris Oxford Series IV et al), boasting something of an aspirational image.

Like its Wolseley 1500 stablemate, the One-Point-Five was the perfect car for anyone craving a premium model that was also sensibly sized, although the Riley had the edge in terms of power and performance. So with its 60th anniversary rapidly approaching, we thought we’d get behind the wheel of a well-preserved One-Point-Five to experience what (with the benefit of hindsight) was surely something of a trend-setting concept.

First of this duo to be launched was the Wolseley 1500, which arrived in the spring of 1957 and was immediately praised for its high standard of finish and its upmarket interior. Riley fans, meanwhile, had to wait until November of that year for the new One-Point-Five, a model that obviously shared the same good-looking bodywork as its Wolseley cousin but with more of a sporting twist beneath.