Why we run it: To see if the first of its kind for BMW can take on established rivals as a car not only to drive but also to live with
Month 1 – Specifications
Life with a BMW 128ti: month 1
Welcome of the 128ti in the fleet – May 26, 2021
Well, this is interesting. There I was enjoying life with the Ford Focus ST far more than I expected when the opportunity to trade it in for this BMW 128ti fell in my lap. What to do?
On the one hand, I didn’t really see myself having much more fun in the less powerful, heavier and inevitably slower BMW, but on the other, the Ford had been with me since last summer, and the opportunity such a close rival and interesting newcomer to the class seemed too good to be missed.
Of course, the BMW would be a lot more expensive – except it doesn’t. That’s around £ 500 cheaper than the Ford, or earn £ 2,000 once you go for a two-pedal drivetrain, which the BMW gets as standard. The BMW is not poorly equipped either; in fact, its standard specification is quite close to that of the Ford.
But the real point is that 128ti doesn’t exist at all. There has never been a sporty front-wheel drive BMW before.
Indeed, I remember hearing at the time of the original 130i’s launch why front-wheel drive didn’t work for such applications, citing the usual arguments about weight distribution and traction. But that was 16 years ago, when the world was a very different place. And here we are.
This car itself will seem familiar to frequent readers, as this is precisely the same 128ti that was used for our first drive in the UK. It arrived in Alpine White paint, with 4,000 miles on the clock and a significantly limited number of options.
More than half of that cost was accounted for by the Technology Pack, whose useful components include LED headlights with automatic tilting, a head-up display and a cordless phone charging tray. Otherwise, it has a heated steering wheel (which is awesome), tinted glass (which isn’t), and a Harman Kardon surround sound system (which, given how great the sound of the latest BMW stereo is) standard that I used was lame, is probably very welcome).
Everything on the road and on the road, this is a £ 35,480 car which doesn’t sound bad to me for a well-equipped sporty BMW with over 260bhp.
What do I like most about it so far? Certainly not his look, which is absolutely not helped by the paint. In fact, when it comes to grille-based eyesight crimes, the 128ti is by no means as culpable an offender as some other modern BMWs, but I’d much prefer it to be a gray, blue or, in done, almost any other color.
No, currently what I like the most is the ti badge. Well, maybe not the red side decals, but definitely the spirit behind them.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-30 23:01:24
