Car review

It's sporty on paper and can be had from just £4k, but does it deliver? We consider the 1 Series as a used buy... Despite having a smaller, less practical cabin than its conventional rivals, the old BMW 1 Series (F20/F21) for many years featured regularly in the UK’s top-sellers list.That’s why BMW gave its last rear-wheel-drive hatchback the full works come mid-life update time in 2015 – a fresh look, some new engines and more equipment – rather than just a lazy lick of paint.What do you get, then? A range of powerful and efficient engines, for one thing. The big news in 2015 was the arrival of the 116d Efficient Dynamics Plus, with its 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel engine offering 114bhp and 68mpg. However, more buyers were attracted to the 118d (with a 147bhp 2.0-litre four) and its lustier cousins, the 187bhp 120d and 221bhp 125d.They are all great engines (and compliant with Euro 6 emissions standards), but the petrols were more popular still. The 134bhp 1.5-litre triple in the 118i is willing and characterful, but the 181bhp 2.0-litre four in the 120i, the 221bhp 2.0-litre four in the 125i and the 322bhp 3.0-litre straight six in the sporting M135i make greater use of the RWD chassis. In 2016, the M135i was replaced by the M140i, which boosted output to 335bhp yet was also more frugal.In 2018, the 120i and M140i got the latest eight-speed Steptronic Sport automatic gearbox as standard, while the regular eight-speed auto, which is an excellent alternative to the notchy six-speed manual, continued on most models. A part-time four-wheel drive system, badged xDrive, was available on the 120d only. To these eyes, the facelift made the 1 Series better looking: the body creases flatter the shape, while the rear benefits from L-shaped LED lights and the front from restyled headlights, a more assertive grille and wider air ducts.The dashboard was slightly cluttered compared with rivals’ cleaner designs, but to some it will look pleasingly busy and sporty. It was improved in 2017. Material and build quality are excellent and the facelift brought some new finishes, too.Regarding trims, SE is notable for its deeper tyres and softer suspension, while Sport brings larger but less forgiving run-flat tyres and sports seats. M Sport adds sports suspension and M Sport Plus features uprated brakes and a posher sound system. All have climate control and BMW’s excellent dial-controlled iDrive infotainment system, which was also uprated in 2017.The front of the cabin is roomy enough for most, but the rear is short on head room and any central passenger will hate the transmission tunnel. The five-door version is more practical than the three-door, of course, even if the rear door apertures are narrow.The boot is smaller than rivals’ but still a decent 360 litres. The back seats do fold down, but note that a 40/20/40 split was only an option.This 1 Series was indeed flawed, then, but with the brutish M135i and M140i, efficient 120d and playful 120i in the mix (even the lowly 118i offers fun on a budget), it’s easy to forgive. Save worries about practicality for another day...

Latest update bolsters the strengths of VW’s versatile if slightly strait-laced crossover supermini Independent design houses, I was once told, are sometimes involved in the kind of exterior-design-centric mid-life facelift that the Volkswagen T-Cross has just had. They’re a fresh set of eyes, I suppose, capable of the detachment that can address what’s lacking in the visual appeal of a car without dispensing with its strengths.You wouldn’t imagine a third party had been at the table in this particular case, though – and perhaps one should have been. Because, while it appeared back in 2019 as exactly the sort of rounded, practical, grown-up crossover supermini you might expect from Volkswagen, the T-Cross has never really laid a glove on the likes of the Nissan Juke, Vauxhall Mokka or Ford Puma for kerbside appeal. And, despite having some new bumpers and headlights, a palette of new colours, and a refreshed interior, guess what: it still doesn’t.Technical specsVolkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TSI 95 Life. Price: £23,975. Engine: 3 cyls in line, 999cc, turbocharged, petrol. Power: 94bhp at 5500rpm. Torque: 129lb ft at 1600-3500rpm. Gearbox: 5-spd manual, front-wheel drive. Kerb weight: 1254kg. 0-62mph: 11.2sec. Top speed: 112mph. Economy: 49.8mpg. CO2, BIK tax band: 128g/km, 30% 

Chery-owned brand heads for the UK with a competitively priced Kona rival Yup, that’s right: it’s another Chinese brand that’s on the cusp of launching its offensive on UK shores.Hold the eye-roll for just a moment, though, because Omoda could well be of genuine interest, not least as it’s offering very competitively priced petrol cars as well as electric ones. Case in point: the Omoda 5 family SUV that you’re looking at here has a 1.6-litre petrol engine beneath its bonnet.Anyway, to go back to the start, Omoda is a new brand created by Chinese giant Chery for European domination. It has existed since 2022 and deliveries of the petrol 5 and electric Omoda E5 will start this summer from 64 UK dealers, including major franchises such as Peter Vardy and Listers.The 5 is the brand’s core family SUV model, coming in at a similar sort of price to the Nissan Juke and Ford Puma, even though its 4.42m length puts in more in league with the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Kuga.Styling-wise, the 5 is inoffensive and almost remarkable in its genericness. Pick a modern, swoopy SUV and there seems to be a cue somewhere on the 5 that likens to it. Toyota chiefs in particular may be raising some eyebrows.

New brand Omoda uses BYD batteries to create an electric crossover Omoda is a new brand from state-owned car manufacturer Chery, and the new Omoda E5 electric crossover that you see here is the first model that will reach the UK, alongside the petrol-powered Omoda 5.Sales start this summer, with the 4.42-metre long E5 pitched at rivals like the Hyundai Kona Electric, Volkswagen ID 3, Renault Mégane E-Tech and the like. With pricing expected to start at £33,500 for the base Comfort model, rising to £35,500 for the top-spec Noble model, pricing and equipment is also more than keen enough to trouble higher-spec versions of the MG4.

Second-generation Q3 enters the final stages of its lifecycle up against fresher opponents, but with dependable strengths to draw on While Audi took a slightly quirky, alternative tilt at the ‘premium compact’ SUV segment with the original Audi Q3, the current, second-generation version shows just how important cars like these have become in recent years - and how widely and seriously their makers now compete for their success.Launched in 2018 when Ingolstadt’s SUV model lineup among the freshest in the industry, this became the smallest and most affordable ‘russian doll’ in the product lineup; a car so clearly referencing Audi’s bigger models with its design - and, as a result, made to look much more serious and grown up than its model forebear ever did - but available for a much more affordable price.The Volkswagen Group MQB platform that underpins the car helped to explain how it could be launched at prices to tempt people out of volume-selling hatchbacks and larger but less desirable SUV rivals. But a low entry price certainly doesn’t make this any less of a ‘proper’ Audi in the performance and technology it offers higher up the range, to those willing to pay for it.The car covers a great deal of ground in the niche in which it exists, being available with both petrol and diesel combustion engines, and plug-in hybrid power - as well as with ‘quattro’ four-wheel drive in some cases - but also in a choice of bodystyles: as the more conventional Q3 SUV, or as the slightly more rakish and curvaceous Q3 Sportback, which we’ve elected to test.