BMW 1-Series Hatchback (2011 - 2019) 116i Sport 5d Owner Review

When all working, even the 116i would give a fun and spirited drive. It handled well and had more room than the previous 1 series. You could actually use it as a family car. Plus it gave decent economy.

Well those are the positives out of the way.

It was made so badly, with cheap egg box quality plastics. Interior trim would fall off or break at the slightest touch. The cover to the OBD is in the door jam, so as you get in the drivers seat, your foot regularly knocks it, and too often it just breaks, needing replacement. Fitting it there is just stupid design.

Sensors would break with crazy regularity causing electrical issues. It seemed as if every month the engine management light would spring on and I would head to the dealer for the OBD to be plugged in again, to see what was going on again. In the end, I got sick of paying for reports and purchased my own OBD. You would not believe the stupid, crazy, cheap and nasty bits that kept breaking.

"You want to clean a cable connection to see if it will fix the problem. Maybe spray a bit of WD40 to clear away dust." BREAK!
"You want to replace it with a new cable don't you!",

Having seen my friends 2015 BMW that is built similarly badly, there is not a chance of me buying any BMW post 2010, as all are just cheap Chinese parts in an expensive BMW body.

So many design flaws, like the hole in the back seats where the seat belt clips stick out. Most cars have holes that are small enough to hold the clip tight, ready for use. BMW chose to have a hole so big, passengers have to spend ages fishing around, trying to get the clip out of the damn hole. And don't lose anything down there, as you will never get it back.

The bodywork only needed someone to look at it strangely, for a dent to appear. Almost every visit to a carpark would end up with more dents. At times it looked like someone had taken it across a golf driving range during opening times.

Even if someone offered me a plastic BMW for free, no chance!!!! I will stick with my pre 2010 well built BMW, thank you very much. Although you do not hear much about it, BMW reliability over the last ten years has fallen badly. Just ask the warranty companies, they will give you the cold hard truthful data.