There’s a new front-wheel drive car heading to the ‘Ring to prove a point and it’s the BMW 128ti hatch.
Front-wheel drive (FWD) cars have always been seen as the efficient, simple, no-nonsense cars that use a transverse engine and compact gearbox to deliver adequate power and make the most of each drop of fuel. However, there have been exceptions. BMW are no stranger to the FWD arena, however, their FWD offerings thus far haven’t exactly been “performance” oriented – the 2 Series Gran Tourer, the new sDrive 1 Series and X1 models, to name a few. Now, though, the M135i has got a younger sibling that packs more power than a 330i but sends it to the front wheels instead.
Labelled a “compact sports car” by the Bayern marque, the BMW 128ti is currently undergoing thorough calibration tests on the hilly roads of the Eifel around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It packs a new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, TwinPower Turbo petrol engine that produces 265 hp and sends it through an eight-speed automatic transmission to a Torsen limited-slip differential that splits it between the front axle. The brand insists that the BMW 128ti is much more than just a new 1 Series variant. Apart from the many differentiating exterior and interior features, the whole suspension and steering systems were specifically tuned to offer sportier and more driver-oriented driving dynamics. As a result , the new BMW 128ti front-wheel drive car is aimed at a particularly young group with a focus on typical BMW driving pleasure.
The new BMW 128ti has a specifically tuned M sport suspension that is lowered by 10 millimetres as well as BMW Performance Control specially adapted for increased agility. The steering, too, has been aligned to the 128ti for precise reactions, providing the driver with a more direct response. Sports tyres are optionally available at no extra cost. The 128ti is also about 80 kilograms lighter than the all-wheel drive BMW M135i xDrive, which happens to lend its sibling the highly pre-stressed stabilizer bearing and the stabilizers themselves.
Pre-production test figures state that the new BMW 128ti will deliver a combined fuel consumption in the region of 15.6 to 16.4 km/l and CO2 emissions of between 148 and 139 g/km.
Also read: BMW X1 sDrive20d First Drive Review
