Where the 21st century has changed the ways of doing things and even thinking of the people, it brought about huge competition. In order to survive in this race, we must run faster than time. You will need a quicker car to be at a step higher than others, and the car you need is the BMW 130i.
The BMW is a German lavish automobile manufacturing company which is impressively famous for the outclass cars with advanced technology. Once again, BMW brought you a sexy and practical car with a lot of bells and whistles, which is, not only striking in terms of body styling, but the muscular engine hits the nail on the head too, in making this car a living legend.
BMW 130i sounds incredibly anodyne and nondescript. It has definitely not the buzz of Quattro, GTI or VXR. So instead, just think of this BMW as a five-door family hatch with a powerful six-cylinder engine, generating 265bhp and driving the rear wheels of the car only. Excited now? You should be, and if you’re not, just stimulating the starter button and effortlessly firing the gem of an engine will do it.
It is louder than expected, throbbier than you could think and reacts to blips of a throttle with a richly surprising crackle and zing. You only have to know it is going to be real fun. The origins of the 1 Series pushed the desired BMW brand down into more mass-market divisions, locking horns along with institutional cars such as the VW Golf for the very first time.
BMW sought to propose an enthusiast’s choice by compromising the packaging advantages of traditional front-wheel drive in exchange for the dynamic trump card of back wheel drive; something we have previously felt to be a real victory.
The BMW 1 Series complete range has now filled out and the latest addition, although not an M-car, sits at the head of the whole line-up. Finding itself among hot hatches, smart coupes and sports saloons the unique BMW 130i is in competition with a broad spectrum of cars as diverse as the Nissan 350Z, VW Golf R32 and Subaru Impreza WRX.
The styling of the BMW 1 Series continues to split opinion like few others and will polarize prospective purchasers almost instantly. The M Sport front end joins some menace and the 130i is tough to differentiate from a 330i in the back view mirror of another car.
In profile the 1 Series yet looks a little awkward and something of an attained taste, but sitting quite low on M Sports suspension it appears noticeably more determined than lesser 1 Series models.
The five-spoke alloys are adorable as well (the 19-inch items are standard along with the M Sport package) and the large exhaust protruding from the weighty sculpted rear skirt implies some of the potential lurking under the long bonnet of the car. As ever the six-pot proposes a variety of aural treats.
The full repertoire of howls, wails and screams are present and able, and with six well-spaced ratios, accessed through an exact, slick and swift change, permit the driver to tailor the rate of change of sounds and pace as necessary. Test takers spent a large amount of time in the comfy BMW 130i with the stereo off; always a very good indicator of the vocal delights on offer from exhaust, induction and the combustion processes and machinations in between.
Here, the BMW 130i can sparkle. Blessed along with bags of grip courtesy of the huge tyres it carries plenty of cornering speed with the minimal body roll.
With the DSC set on the mainly intermediate setting the 130 can be moved around fairly and flows more naturally; entirely disabling the system allows furthermore exploration of the chassis’ limits, though the lack of a limited slip differential clearly means power can be spun quite away through the inside wheel in somewhat tighter corners.
The introduction of BMW’s middleweight title-holding 3.0 litre straight-six engine into its smallest car produces some striking performance figures: 0-60mph in the low 6s while 100mph in a further 8 seconds and the skill to kiss the restrictor at 155mph with appreciable ease.
Bear in mind too, that the E36 M3 had just 286bhp and it provides the 260bhp in the nose of the great 130i some perspective. In-gear performance possibly exceeds that of the old M-car as the additional features on the new engine (such as the double-VANOS and VALVETRONIC) bear a broader spread of torque. The test car was also immensely rev friendly, screaming up to and all through the redline with some zest.
So, plenty of speed and enticement from the engine merged with a chassis they always felt could handle much more power. A recipe for true success? Well yes, but with some cautions. Test takers favorite driving roads revealed the 130i a little lacking because of overly stiff suspension, at the back in particular. Along with the DSC in its fixed setting (i.e. on) the yellow light flickers on the dash about constantly when pushing on, a suggestion of just how unsettled the specific car is and the electronics’ response to the erratic movements.
This guides to jerky progress and an actual lack of fluency in one’s cross country ventures. Frustration can be reduced by disabling the system to eliminate its interventions, but the nervousness of the back end is never eased. It is actually an annoyance granted the potential displayed by the lesser models we’ve ridden previously, as ultimately the lack of composure terminates the rate of progress and one starts to yearn for smoother bitumen.
The brakes remained unruffled by test takers spirited driving and submitted plenty of stopping power merged with decent feel and a pedal positioned greatly for heel and toe downshifts to permit full enjoyment of the straight-six’s soundtrack. As a whole, it has the handling talent to amuse.
However, a near £27k price tag propels the BMW 130i into serious region where it will come into direct contact with drivers’ favorites mainly as the Nissan 350Z. Test takers will shortly try a non M Sport car along with different wheel and tyre combinations to check whether they help to plant the back of the car more securely on more challenging and tough surfaces, as in this particular guise, at this price, some of the competition provide more unflustered and pleasurable progress.
Some present more space as well, as the some limitations of the 130i’s packaging are revealed at this price. A Golf has much more interior space, even more so an Impreza. What it does relish is a cabin quality that the maximum of the market can’t match, not to highlight a thoroughbred powertrain.
As a premium hatch, the elegant BMW 130i enjoys a comfy advantage over opponents such as the Audi A3, but typically as a hot hatch the Golf GTi has it hard forced to justify the premium, in spite of its inherent back drive advantage. The active 130i’s proximity to few of the serious drivers’ cars such as the 350Z and Honda S2000 moreover challenge its case and it realizes itself in a relatively small niche. In smart M Sport guise, the niche is even smaller.
The 130i is indeed, most satisfying in its most basic SE form, and what an ideal cracker it is. The melodious engine creates ample power for the well-balanced chassis and the decent drive makes it a sports hatch along with a refreshingly wide repertoire.
So often, manufacturers simply bounce up the ‘sport’ quotient mainly with stiff suspension and large wheels, but BMW has efficiently gone too far only with the M Sport version; we have been given the selection and an extremely satisfying SE version is the outcome. It is not a fast family hatch as the back is too compromised for that (one consider it a three-door), but if you desire a very rapid hatch whose cost belies its engine, it deserves a look.
Even if it’s not for you particularly, the test drive of 130i will be worth it. If you don’t want to be sucked up by others, immediately choose the refreshing 130i to excel in your life. I hope you’ll choose this flying eagle for your garage right now.
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