I'd lived with the 1-Series for several days and had got my head round it in every respect except one. I had accepted that I didn't think it was a good looker, and probably never would - even in these days of controversy over whether BMW's new styling philosophy is a valiant step towards the new promised land of vehicle design or the act of a drivelling madman, this car stands out as being the wackiest of them all, particularly with its suggestion at the front end that a very wide nose has been crammed into a very narrow space.I'd also learned to sit at peace with the idea that, for a considerable amount of money (because the 120d SE is the absolute top of the range, with a list price of nearly £21,000 without options), you don't get much in the way of interior space. You do, however, get a posh badge, and with it the sort of build quality that is almost unheard of in cars of this size.There's also a very relaxed ambience about the car, thanks to various lighting effects - two small, dim red bulbs visible only at night above the rear passengers, and brighter (but hidden) lights shining down from each door handle when you use the remote control device to disable the central locking.Most of all, I'd very easily come to terms with the fantastic two-litre turbo diesel engine, which at 163bhp is strong enough to ensure that this is the most powerful and therefore fastest 1-Series; not only is the two-litre petrol version less powerful and slower, but the diesel also kicks its ass in terms of fuel economy and CO2 emissions.So, all sorted really. Well, apart from one thing. BMW, insisting on the superiority of rear-wheel drive even in a type of car for which it has long since become an oddity, says that the 1-Series has "best in class driving dynamics". It would say that, of course, but then so does almost everyone else. Everything I'd ever read or heard about the car - specifically about this very version of it - suggested that I was in for a real treat when I got behind the wheel.Then why, I couldn't help wondering, do I not like driving it? Why, before every trip, do I wish I had something else this week?I think the answer is that every report that had come my way, whether published or anecdotal, was the result of the car being driven quickly. I'd been driving it slowly, and it just didn't work. The penny dropped when I read in another magazine that the 120d had proved to be a remarkably useful device in a track test. That did it. I was going to have to go out in this car and give it some serious stick.It worked brilliantly. I now knew what everyone had been going on about. Over many miles on splendid roads, with sequences of a dozen or more medium-to-fast corners one after the other, the 120d was a joy to drive.Smooth and accurate turn-in was followed by a perfectly balanced run across the apex, and no amount of the turbo diesel's tremendous mid-range torque was too much for the chassis to cope with.The whole process was made that much more delightful by the fact that all the major controls required about the same amount of effort to use. The next comment is sometimes used too lightly, but I mean it here: in these circumstances you actually do feel like part of the car.Until you slow down again. In more gentle motoring, and especially in town, the major controls take on completely different characters. Worst of all is the steering, which at lower speeds is the heaviest of any car I've driven in 2004, but the gearshift - slick when you're moving rapidly through the gears, clunky when you're not - is very little better.I'd be criticising this dual personality even in a high-performance car, and while the 120d is certainly quick for what it is, I wouldn't describe it as especially high-performance. I imagine the 1-Series in general is intended for everyday driving, and I know I would neither want nor have the opportunity to drive it as hard as it seems to want me to seven days a week. Engine 1995 cc, 4 cylinders Power 163bhp @4000 rpm Torque 251ib/ft @2000 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 49.6mpg / 152 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 7.9sec Top speed 137 mph Price From £20631.00 approx Release date 18/09/2004
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