THERE are certain key formulae that work a treat for car makers. Once it was simply a case of churning out a saloon, an estate or a convertible.

Now, the SUV is king, while estates, conventional three-box four-doors and convertibles have been sidelined. But there's still strong demand for the compact, luxury/sporty hatch - especially popular for drivers of luxury cars looking to trade down to something smaller for reasons of economy and practicality.

BMW has long been good at designing prestige saloons that are swift, suave and sporty ⦠witness the 2002 from the late 70s up to the 1 Series of today, a smart Focus-sized hatch with a fair turn of speed and a meagre thirst.

Recently revamped with a condensed range, the latest version is slightly longer, marginally taller and has front drive rather than BMW's previously favoured rear drive.

Together with some clever bodywork tweaks, the 1 Series looks sharper and feels roomier, putting it in a strong position to compete with the Audi A3 and the now ageing Mercedes A-Class.

We drove, the 120 in M Sport guise - the only other version available being the racy 297bhp M135 xDrive.

With a 1.5-litre, 155bhp three cylinder up front, supported by 48v mild hybrid system, it knocks out a useful 168bhp which gives the five-door a warm hatch performance via a slick seven speed, dual clutch automatic gearbox together with steering wheel paddles for added driver control.

The three-pot engine has a distinctive, but not unpleasant, throaty snarl about it and responds quickly to the throttle. 62mph comes up in just 7.7seconds making it a match to most of the competition. In Sport mode, there's added simulated noise together with sharper responses.

Cornering on its fat eight-inch wide low profile tyres is secure and grippy with little sign of understeer unless conditions are greasy. Noise levels at cruising speeds are low, and there's little wind intrusion, making it a relaxing cruiser.

Ride is on the form side, but it's well damped and road irregularities are easily dealt with. Very little body roll during swift cornering and decent feedback from the steering.

Driver and front passenger are well catered for with plenty of legroom and ample shoulder space considering the compact overall dimensions.

Facia layout follows BMW's current style and generally works well with ‘real' buttons complementing the usual on-screen controls. Heating adjustments are a tad fiddly, though.

Space for those using the rear seats is less abundant, with limited legroom and the hybridisation system nibbles away at the luggage space, reducing it from 380litres to just 300litres, which doesn't compare strongly with rivals.

The M Sport model gets coloured ambient lighting which switches according to the drive mode you have selected. There's also an M Sport badged steering wheel and some M Sport stitching on the fascia, which looks a little strange to our eyes.

Despite some enthusiastic driving during the review, we averaged 45.5mpg, which we felt was a good result.