The front-wheel-drive BMW hot hatch is fairly quick.
A front-wheel-drive hot hatch is not something you'd expect from the famously rear-drive-focused engineering at BMW, but the 128ti slots perfectly into this sporty segment. This video from AutoTopNL highlights the vehicle's performance on the autobahn.
The 128ti has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 262 horsepower (195 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. An eight-speed automatic routes the power to the front axle through a Torsen limited-slip differential. The official specs indicate it can hit 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph (250 kph). In Germany, the 128ti has a base price of €37,478.99 before taxes.
Gallery: 2021 BMW 128ti
BMW also fits an M Sport suspension that lowers the ride height by 0.39 inches (10 millimeters) than a standard 1 Series. M Sport brakes slow down the hot hatch.
The video starts with a run to 100 kph (62 mph), and the hot hatch hits that speed in 5.93 seconds, which is nearly two tenths quicker than the factory claim. The driver then goes from 100 kph to 200 kph (124 mph), which takes 14.88 seconds.
More 128ti videos:
The top speed run comes next. This time, the 128ti reaches 100 kph in 6.06 seconds. The quarter-mile requires 13.92 seconds, and the 100 kph to 200 kph acceleration is 15.68 seconds. The hot hatch runs out of steam at 253 kph (157 mph), according to the speedometer, but the GPS shows it only hitting 239 kph (148.5 mph).
There's no sign of any 1 Series variants coming to the United States. If you want a small, sporty BMW in the US, then the 2 Series is the model to check out. A new generation of it is currently under development.
Source: AutoTopNL via YouTube
About this article