BMW 1 Series review

Headline prices run from £31,065 for the 120 Sport to £43,000 for the M135 xDrive. In between is the 120 M Sport, £2k above the Sport.

As standard you get 17s, LED lights front and back, a cloth upholstery (leatherette is a £730 option), the curved touchscreen and driver display, automatic air con, cruise control, a reversing camera, some active safety gizmos and that nifty reversing assistant that we mentioned earlier.

The M Sport is likely to be popular because - apart from a step up in the wheel department from 17 to 18 inches - it also gets a body kit, and better seats. It's the one we'd have because it also has the frequency selective dampers and more body bracing. Some Alcantara too, plus an M Sport leather steering wheel (seriously, why does this need to be so chunky?) and that hexagonal under-dash lighting. Funky.

The M135 also rides on 18s as standard, but you can spec 19s if you prefer.

Adaptive LED headlights, glass roof, Harmon Kardon sound, wireless charging, advanced driving assistant… yeah, most of that jazz is buried within packs. Which is fine if you want a lot of stuff, not so much if you’re fussy. You can only add the head-up display as part of the £2,750 Technology Plus Pack, for instance.

I’m not paying up front though, what about monthlies?

Chuck five grand down on an M Sport-plus-technology-pack and you’re looking at repayments of £390 over four years, with an allowance of 10,000 miles annually. BMW’s interest rate is currently fixed at 4.9 per cent APR.

On the same terms, the M135 xDrive will set you back £543 per month.