BMW 116d

Expert Rating:

Introduction

You've probably heard of EfficientDynamics by now. If you haven't, it's basically the blanket name for all the clever things BMW is doing to its cars to make them both more environmentally sound and more fun to drive - two things that are usually diametrically opposed to each other. That's what BMW's PR blurb says, anyway, and while we can't really be sure it's making BMWs any more rewarding than they would otherwise have been, the green benefits are quite clear - never more so than with a glance at the new 116d's spec sheet.

What is it?

The 116d is surely the poster boy for EfficientDynamics; premium cars don't come more efficient than this (which we'll get to). However, if it's going to cut the mustard as a 'proper' BMW, it's going to have to entertain, too.

BMW's smallest car started life as a five-door hatchback, but has since spawned a three-door, a coupé and a convertible. The latter two body styles aren't available in this very clean guise - though that may be a good thing, as we'll find out. Just for the avoidance of doubt, this is by no means a bad car, but if ever a car was conceived and made as a 'business case', this is it - the fleet market will be salivating at the prospect of a Beemer this clean to pass on to aspiring junior managers who want all the prestige of the BMW badge, but running costs akin to a supermini; this is the cheapest BMW to run, ever.

How does it drive?

It handles like any other 1 Series, which is to say it handles with all the precision we've come to expect from any BMW. That's thanks to the maker's absolute insistence that all Bavarian wagons, no matter how small, must stick with the dynamic purity that only rear-wheel drive can provide. It also means it's compromised as a package (the bulky running gear needed to send power to the rear wheels encroaches on space), but there are few hatchbacks that can match the Beemer on a twisting road.

And so it remains with the 116d, except it takes longer to wind the speed up, meaning exploring its capabilities is about keeping momentum going as smoothly as possible and keeping the speed up around the corners. The problem is, where the 118d - which is hardly a gulper of fuel - doesn't feel like any sort of performance compromise thanks to its gutsy power delivery, the 116d does. It only has 192lb.ft of torque, which doesn't feel quite enough. It's never annoyingly sluggish, but it's not fast either, and you'll find yourself working the six-speed manual (pleasant and precise as it is) quite a lot to keep it on the boil if you encounter even modest inclines. The ride is harsh too, although our car was equipped with 17-inch alloys - part of a raft of kit BMW is throwing in 'free' when you choose a 'sport' model instead of the ES, other items including sports seats and a multi-function steering wheel.

Planet hugger or planet mugger?

It hugs the planet tightly, make no mistake. The 116d falls into VED band B thanks to 118g/km of CO₂, so you'll only get scalped for a modest £35 per year in road tax, while its benefit in kind rating for company car users is a mere 13 percent. Then there's the fuel economy, which stands at a lofty 64.2mpg. And that's a realistic goal too - we achieved over 53mpg during a 110-mile run that largely involved winding back roads and roundabouts, so you can expect something similar day-to-day. Not bad.

However, the trade-off is a list price of £18,415, which you'll probably agree is a tad on the high side when a 'mainstream' hatch of similar money will undoubtedly come with more equipment and feistier performance. Still, if it's prestige and low, low running costs you're after, this could well be for you, and it's unlikely to disappoint unless your thing is traffic light drag racing.

Verdict

BMW will undoubtedly shift plenty of these to private buyers looking for genuinely cheap running costs with their blue propellers. However, the 116d makes more sense as a company car because it ticks all the right tax, image and economy boxes. It's not the most exciting car in the world - and certainly not the fastest - but there's something satisfying about a car so fundamentally competent that can deliver such impressively low ownership costs.

However, we'd think carefully before deciding to take this over the 118d, because despite the more powerful car's slightly higher running costs and purchase price, it feels like less of a green compromise than the 116d. The 118d is fast and frugal - this is just the latter.

Mark Nichol

Thursday April 30