The automotive world is going is going through a lot of changes at the moment. From electrification to platform changes, the car segment is equally exciting and intriguing. BMW is one of the automakers who recently bet heavy on a front-wheel drive architecture. And that’s how a hot hatch like the BMW 128ti was born.
Fans of the BMW brand are not too eager to accept a performance model with the blue and white roundel on the hood, featuring a FWD setup. But can the 128ti change their minds?
The guys from Carfection decided to try and find out for themselves. The one area you notice the moment you set off is the suspension. The 128ti comes with non-adaptive dampers in standard guise and they have been set up to be stiffer than the adaptive ones found on the M135i even in Sport mode. The spring rates have been stiffened up by 8 percent too, so the ride in this car is bound to be quite bumpy.
That means the car feels a bit raw when driven hard and it’s a welcome change of pace, especially since the 128ti is supposed to appeal to those wanting a hot hatch more than anything. A manual gearbox choice would’ve been nice but, according to BMW, it doesn’t exist because of the strict emission legislation.
In the end, the main problem the 128ti seemingly has, according to Carfection, is that there are already plenty of thoroughly good front-wheel drive hot hatches out there and the 128ti will have its work cut out.
