New 128ti is quick and slick
FIRST DRIVE/ For budgets that fall below M car levels, this front-wheel-drive BMW hot hatch fits the bill, writes
BMW SA has released the 128ti, the Bavarian carmaker’s rival to the VW Golf GTI. Priced at R687,418, the frontwheel-drive car earns its hot-hatch credentials with outputs of 180kW and 380Nm, M Sport suspension and a dose of styling swagger.
BMW SA has released the 128ti, the Bavarian carmaker’s rival to the VW Golf GTI. Priced at R687,418, the front-wheel-drive car earns its hot-hatch credentials with outputs of 180kW and 380Nm, M Sport suspension and a dose of styling swagger.
The car revives the “ti” (Turismo Internazionale) badge used on sporting Beemers since the 1960s, including the iconic 2002 TI, and was last used on the BMW 325ti Compact of the late 1990s.
Positioned below the flagship M135i xDrive in the 1 Series range, the 128ti is powered by a 2.0l turbo petrol four-cylinder engine which slings the car to a claimed 0-100km/h time of 6.3 seconds and a governed top speed of 250km/h.
An eight-speed Steptronic automatic with shift paddles sends power to the front wheels with the assistance of a limitedslip differential and an ARB (actuator contiguous wheel slip limitation) traction control system. The 128ti rides on firmer antiroll bars and a speciallytuned M Sport suspension that lowers the car by 10mm, while the electric power steering has been remapped for a more involving feel.
An M Sport braking system features red-painted brake calipers, and the car wears 18-inch Y-spoke wheels that can be fitted with grippier Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres at no extra cost.
Exterior plumage reveals this BMW’s sporting intentions with red detailing, and extended Shadowline trim with black BMW kidney grille and black mirror caps.
Creating boy-racer bling in the cabin are red accents including in the backrests of the sport seats and the embroidered “ti” badge in the central armrest. Contrast red stitching decorates the armrests, door panels and M Sport steering wheel.
I drove the 128ti at its SA media launch in Gauteng last week and it’s a decent proposition for performance-seekers whose budgets don’t stretch into BMW M car territory.
It’s a lively hatch with good poke and an enjoyably freerevving nature, though it could be more acoustically exuberant. The engine has a mildly sporting note with a hint of a burp between gearshifts but lacks real “vrr-phaa”.
BMW’s move from rear- to front-wheel drive in the thirdgeneration 1 Series was done to create extra interior space by removing the transmission tunnel running through the car. It was a controversial move from BMW tradition but in a survey of previous-generation rearwheeldrive 1 Series owners, four out of five thought their car was frontwheel driven anyway.
BMW’s engineers have done a decent job of managing the grunt going through the 128ti’s steered wheels. The ARB system reduces wheelspin without the rude power interruptions of some traction control systems, and allows the 128ti a hint of playful tyre squeal under fullthrottle pulloffs. There’s some traditional front-wheel drive torque steer but it’s easily manageable, and you’re not fighting a bucking wheel when max power is applied.
Weighing 80kg less than the all-wheel-drive M135i xDrive, the 128ti has a light-footed nature. It feels pinned down without significant body roll, and the limited-slip diff reduces understeer by directing more torque to the wheel with greater grip when powering through a bend.
Rear-wheel-drive purists may not be appeased and it’s certainly no M car, but the 128ti is appealingly frisky on fast and curvy roads. Perhaps the biggest surprise is how cushy the ride is on that sports suspension, making this hot hatch a comfortable commuter as well as an enthusiastic corner-carver.
For its premium badge the BMW is fairly well priced against rivals like the 202kW/353Nm Hyundai i30N (R679,900) and the 205kW/ 390Nm Renault Megane RS280 Cup (R634,900). The price of the soon-to-be-launched Golf GTI has not been announced.
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IS HOW CUSHY THE RIDE IS ON THAT SPORTS SUSPENSION