BMW 1 SERIES

Entry-level version of sporting hatch divided opinion while it was here

- KRIS CULMER

WHY WE RAN IT To discover how much progress BMW has made with its popular entry-level model between generations

I know it's over, and it never really began - but in my heart, it was so real. Yep, I've been as mopey as Morrissey since having to hand 'my' 120 back to BMW. What a fabulously practical and enjoyable little car it proved to be - and many of its attributes that I so valued have now been put into an even sharper perspective by the enormous plugin hybrid SUV that has replaced it (more on which in a future issue).

The entry-level 1 Series is a BMW that has never fully convinced us in its sub-M forms, and that didn't change when Munich moved it into its fourth generation (F70). “The 120 uses its new-found mild-hybrid tech quite well, but its digital cabin technology less so. The car's pursuit of greater driver appeal is clear, but the delivery of it lacks coherence and true efficacy,” concluded my road tester colleagues. Suffice to say the car left a more positive impression on me over the past few months. While I share those reservations about the interior (more on which later), I greatly enjoyed the strong performance - this from only three cylinders, remember - and the inherent dynamism of the chassis.