The BMW Compact is a compact car

Compact car

A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...

 / small family car, basically a truncated liftback version of the BMW 3 Series

BMW 3 Series

The BMW 3 Series is a compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. Successor to the BMW New Class, it has been produced in five different generations and in no less than five different body styles. It is BMW's best-selling model, accounting for around 30% of the...

, produced by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 automaker BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

 between 1993 and 2004. From 1994, it was based on the BMW E36

BMW E36

The BMW E36 is the third generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW. It was introduced in late 1990 for Europe and in late 1991 for US and Canada. It was the successor to the E30 3 Series and was eventually replaced by the E90 3 Series in 2005, though E36 coupes were still...

 platform, switching to the BMW E46

BMW E46

The BMW E46 is the fourth generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW, produced from 1998 when it succeeded the BMW E36 until it was replaced by the BMW E90 in 2005....

 platform in 2001. Production of BMW Compact ceased in 2004 when it was succeeded by the 1 Series

BMW 1 Series

The BMW 1 Series is an entry level sports car produced by the German automaker BMW since 2004. The 1 Series is unusual in its class as it features rear-wheel drive, 50:50 weight balance, a longitudinally-mounted engine and an advanced aluminum multilink suspension...

.

The car was available in 316i, 316g (compressed natural gas), 318ti, 318tds (diesel) and later as a 323ti.