Self-indulgence, surely, to have a test report so soon after a launch? Maybe so. In this case, absolutely. But more miles, including trogging through traffic, in a new model which may have flattered to deceive on an up-country launch route, is no bad thing. Living with a car for a few days sometimes punctures a few first-impression balloons.Not in this case. I liked the new entry-level BMW while chucking it around some familiar old rally roads, and I liked it just as much when out on motorways and trickling along in town traffic queues.It still seems a good-looking car, once you accept the beetle-browed Rover 75 headlamp arrangement, and the rather chopped-off rear. I hadn't really appreciated, though, that, unless you sit far higher at the wheel than I'm prepared to, you have no sight whatsoever of the bonnet, even by craning up in the seat a little.Unlike the launch car I drove, the latest example (an SE, one up from the least expensive version which costs £16,265) was fitted with front sports seats, a £465 extra with strong side support, and a pull-out bolster for thigh support too. That always takes some getting used to, but it's undoubtedly restful on a long run, while you mull over the fact that floor mats are also on the options list, at £90.There's a lot of milled metal trim in the front compartment, for example along the fascia and on the door pulls, and that's OK, but I thought having the same finish around the gearlever area provided a few square inches too many.SE add-ons from the base model include 16" alloy wheels, automatic air-conditioning, a computer display, a front centre armrest, park distance control, hinged rear windows and various other items which do seem to make it worth the difference in price. But there are still plenty of extra-cost accessories.The action and layout of the controls seemed fine, although the test car didn't have the multi-function steering wheel with cruise control available from the mid-August showroom launch date. I'd convinced myself on the press launch that the new Compact had a better relationship between clutch and gearchange action than more powerful BMWs, but I'm coming to the conclusion - and this may be no surprise to others - that it's really a matter of timing. They feel robust, but BMW gearchanges shouldn't just be hammered through, and it's easy, somehow, to come off the clutch too soon.The handling still seemed well-balanced, and, if the 316i isn't over-burdened with power, it's a car with fine poise on winding roads. On many of the roads in the CARkeys neck of the woods, how a car turns into a corner, and copes with several in succession, is more important than blasting along the straights, of which there aren't all that many significantly long ones, at least away from the beady gaze of you-know-whom.As we said in the launch report, if you want a really fast Compact, there's the 325ti. But that's a lot more expensive, and hardly for entry-level BMW customers.However, the 316ti has its own fascination, because that 1.8-litre Hams Hall Valvetronic engine, introduced with this model, is really something. You have to bear in mind, of course, that a few years ago BMW got its undergarments in a twist over engine sizes and model numbers. The fact that the 316ti is a 3-series Compact with a 1.8-litre engine instead of the seemingly more logical 1.6-litre is better disregarded.Anyway, what we have here is an engine which revs quite heartily when pressed, and can keep up a high cruising gait, but is adaptable enough to trickle through town traffic in top gear at a crawling speed you might expect to blow out the candle. And it's responsive enough to gather speed slowly, if not explosively, from somewhere less than twice tickover speed.The economy is impressive too. So are the CO2 emissions. What with one thing and another, it's no surprise that BMW will soon start building more and more of these engines, for more and more models.Second opinion: You know, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that BMW actually makes a better job of its budget-priced cars than it does of the flashier ones. That's a comment I'm sure I'll retract next time I drive a 5-Series, but cars like the Compact SE do make you feel that the company has a talent for apparently modest cars which actually do their job extremely well. The original Compacts (Manx versions of the previous E36 generation 3-Series) had a little more front-end sharpness than the current examples, but there is still more steering precision than you will find in many front-wheel drive rivals. And none of those earlier Compacts had an engine to match the excellent Hams Hall unit fitted to the test car. David Finlay. Engine 1796cc, 4cylinders Power 115bhp @5500rpm Torque ib/ft @3750rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 40.9mpg / 167g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.9sec Top speed 125mph Price From £17141.00 approx Release date 16/08/2001
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