BMW 1-Series Hatchback (04-11) - Review

Room in the back falls short of that offered by the Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 Sportback - there's not really enough room for three adults and it's short on head and legroom. The back seats are also quite tricky to access, because of a high sill, however the rear seat backs split 60/40 and fold flat on to the fixed rear bench to extend luggage space. You have to choose ES models or higher for air conditioning, and electric rear windows are optional on all models below the 120i and 120d.

Customers can choose from three-door (from 2007) or five-door body styles. The rear-wheel-drive layout eats into boot space and the suspension intrudes quite a lot, however, there's a 60/40 split to the folding rear seats. It's worth bearing in mind that people do not choose the 1-Series for its practicality though.

The driving position is quite low, adding to the sporty appeal of the 1-Series. The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, which makes finding a comfortable driving position easy. BMW's iDrive - a system used on its larger cars to control functions like satellite navigation, ventilation and entertainment with a single dial is an option. Many people will find that although initially confusing, this is a feature that's very useful. The three-door version has a shallower rear window than on the five door, so visibility seems to suffer more if choosing this version.