Faults:

One time the clutch juddered while pulling away at a roundabout. Could've been user error though.

General Comments:

I hired this car for two weeks while I was visiting the UK from Australia. The price of the rental was less than I'd pay for a Toyota Corolla in Australia. Collected in London, driven down to Cornwall, then up to Newcastle, down to Nottingham, then back to London.

I have a 2007 Ford Focus 2.0L turbo diesel 6 speed manual back in Australia; whilst the BMW was quieter and more refined, it didn't have the power the Focus has. I had to get in the habit of changing down a gear to pass other vehicles on the motorways or go up mild gradients; something I rarely have to do in the Focus. It was akin to driving a 1.8L or 2.0L (non turbo) petrol. I put this down to the fact it's a motor in a lesser state of tune than the 118d/120d/125d, and also being a tight new engine.

This mention about the performance isn't a criticism at all, as it suited me fine for the style of driving I was undertaking. It was a 'stripper' model compared to the version of the current 1 Series sold in Australia, which (in diesel form) is only available as the 118d and comes with kit the 116d I hired doesn't such as leather 'look' seats as opposed to fabric like my 116d in the UK had. I'd be quite happy to buy this 116d in Australia if it was available though, as the 1 Series sold here starts in the upper $40K bracket I believe and is classed as a 'premium' car.

I saw only one 114d while I was in the UK; the first thing I noticed was now small the wheels looked.