BMW 116i SE (2010)

SWMBO's new car after she got sick fed up with the rear drums binding on her Ibiza.

She got a surprisingly good deal from the BMW dealer.

Hers has the comfort pack with auto lights, auto wipers, and parking sensors all round.

Interior is compact, wider than a supermini but I'd say it doesn't actually have any more space. Not much in the way of cubby holes. Not a lot of room at our feet. I noticed that lack of a foot rest on the rhs but being honest I've not been in a car other than the Octy with that.

Controls are all close to hand and all the switch gear feels very high quality and weighty. Plastics are of equal quality to my VRS but no better.

I do not like the indicator action. It has a return to centre action so it doesn't stay up or down. There is a lack of control with that when you use them. The car choosed when to stop indicating and it doesn't ofetn seem to agree with the driver. Also has the option for 3 flashes on half click. These options without a positive 'feel' are making it tricky for SWMBO to judge how to cancel the indicator without flicking it to the opposite side. If you've driven a Vectra it's got the same crappy setup.

Auto lights and auto indicators are a but of a misnomer because you actively have to switch the features on. Seems stupid to me.

Auto start/stop works fine but we're rural so doesn't actually kick in very often for us.

First car for me with parking sensors. I don't find it very useful. Without some visual indicator of where the obstruction is how do you know what you're getting close to? Same noise for front and back.

Driving. BMW seem to have taken to heard the idea that weight = quality. So everything is heavy. Steering is heavy, gear change is heavy, switchgear feels heavy. The whole car feels heavy.

It does make the car feel very solid but maybe they've over done it. It feels like you could drive the car through a brick wall and shrug off the dust.

The steering is very meaty and very direct. Like BMWs I've driven before there is no free play in the steering and every twitch is fed to the wheels. Unfortunately that directness doesn't lead to much feel in the opposite direction, the steering feels numb to me with little feedback. It's not that you can't tell what is happening just that it's a bit remote.

The engine is quite good for the base model. Despite the name it's a 2.0l with 122hp. It's adequate for the car. Enough power for overtaking but not a lot more. Driven sensibly the mpg is quite good for what it is. I got 43mpg on a 50 mile mixed run (SWMBO got 31 on the same trip, nuff said).

Ride is actually quite good, no sports suspension or low profiles on this version. Cornering is sublime for a base model, it turns in beautifully with little roll if any. Car feels much better when being pushed a little.

Nice wee car. Good solid feel which gives a nervous driver like SWMBO a lot of confidence. She likes the style but all the gimmicks are lost on her.

For me too small to be a main family car. I'd miss the brutality of the 2.0T from the VRS and the simple functionality of the VAG switch gear inside. Cornering in the VRS is more noticeable (maybe I'm just going faster) and the car as a whole feels more lightweight maybe less rigid.