BMW reckons the majority of 1-series buyers will have either no children or a very young family.
They’ll need to. The tiny rear door aperture makes it hard for taller passengers to get in, and legroom is meagre. There’s generous headroom, though, so that the 118d will accommodate four adults of average height.
Although elbow room is as generous, the sides of the seat are pinched, angling the two passengers uncomfortably towards the centre of the car.
Up front, there’s lots of adjustment and support. The dashboard is stylishly minimalist, of high quality and intelligently arranged, and it’s comfortably up with the best in the class.
Patchy kit on the standard car – steel wheels and no air-con – makes our test car’s £1860 SE upgrade a desirable package, bringing climate control, alloys, wheel-mounted controls for the CD player, and useful rear parking sensors.
That pert rear end yields a small boot aperture, but the 330-litre boot, though 40 litres down on the A3 Sportback’s, is usefully shaped and 50 litres larger than an Alfa Romeo 147’s load bay.
Prices for the 1-series range starting at £15,690; at £19,290 the 118d SE is just £705 cheaper than a 318d ES. Similar SE spec stretches that gap to £3360 though, and compare it with the less powerful £19,230 Audi A3 Sportback 1.9 TDi SE and BMW’s pricing structure looks more realistic.
For private buyers the 118d is the obvious choice: it’s £1510 cheaper than a 120d, sits three insurance bands lower and retains the combination of punch and economy.
Class-leading residuals and BMW’s £500 Service Inclusive package are also attractive. As is the fuel economy. Over a variety of roads our test car returned an impressive 38.6mpg, and even at the test track it only dipped to 24.1mpg.
