But I got out of it, so did my partner and my sister. I cried, but not just because of the shock. I really, really liked that car.

Andras Szucs tells Auto Trader about his beloved BMW 3 Series Compact.

It was an 'E36' BMW Compact 316i from 1996 with cream cloth interior, two airbags and CD changer, alloy wheels. My partner could never forgive me for crashing which I think is stupid, considering that nobody got killed or suffered life-threatening injuries. After all, it was just a car… or was it?

The Compact was largely based on one of the sexiest mainstream cars, the E30 3 series BMW from the 1980s. It had a fantastically balanced chassis. The 1.6 litre engine was not powerful at all, but that didn’t matter with this machine.

The original music system sounded like a serious unit and every single moment of driving was a joy. The interior was elegant but simple, comfortable and practical. The car even had climate control.

We bought it for £3,100. A month after it being totalled, the insurance company offered around £1,800 as a settlement, which we promptly rejected. Their second offer of £3,000 was much nearer the mark.

The car had 54,000 miles on the clock when it had its accident. Today, the mileage would have crept to around 100-130,000 and Andras reckons it would be worth around £1,500, considering its meticulous maintenance by main dealers.

I would have kept it until it fell apart

If I had that car today, I'd probably keep it until it fell to pieces. For years, I have been looking for a similar car, but the two airbags and the climate control were not common until 1998. There is a 140bhp version, the 318ti. That’s the one I really want now. Meanwhile, prices dropped and for not a lot more, you can get six of the all-important airbags and a more beautiful shape in the later 'E46' estates and coupes.

View more pictures of the BMW 3 Series Compact

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Since the accident, we had a Subaru Impreza estate (1998, 2.0 16v), a Mk4 Golf (the dullest of the lot), two 'E46' BMW 318i Tourings (both fantastic, enjoyable and practical cars but very heavy and not as much fun to drive). Now my partner wants the newer Compact, whilst I drive a 1983 Mercedes SL 280.

Still, none of these cars gave me such an enjoyment as that simple, little Compact. Perhaps, it was partly the fact that we didn’t have to spend anything on it, apart from the usual Bosch wiper blade set.

Better than a Renault

Or the eye-opening experience of getting out from a Renault Megane turbo-diesel, which, although thoroughly practical and economical, one day started to produce the most extraordinary annoyances. It was obvious it had to go.

Also, while having both the Megane and the BMW, the Renault was as fun to drive as driving a table compared to the BMW.

In summary, if you have a smallish budget and want to buy an enjoyable and practical little car, test-drive a Compact, it is worthy of consideration. I wouldn’t spend several thousands on newer cars and these older examples show how overrated and complicated newer cars can be.

Auto Trader says…

Today BMW 316i Compact can be had for as little as £700, making it one of the cheapest ways to get a modern-ish BMW on your drive. Last of the line pre-facelift models – built until 2001 – fetch around £4,000.

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Compacts were overlooked by many buyers, seeing them as a cheap alternative to a full-fat Three, but the Compact still has all the BMW values, chief of which is a paragon of quality.

While Mercedes suffered reliability issues at the end of the millennium, and the A-Class never really bothered BMW, Audi's A3 was a genuine success story, and the Compact had to work hard to keep up.

A heavy facelift in 2001 widened the Compact's appeal, making it look like a standalone model, rather than a chopped-off saloon. But critics said it didn't look like a BMW, and was swiftly replaced by the 1 Series in 2004.

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