BMW 128ti reviews: what the critics say
This new hatchback injects a dose of ‘excitement’ into the class
The 128ti is a high-performance hatchback that will give its competitors a run for their money, says The Daily Telegraph. With an eight-speed gearbox, it’s fast and fun. Less powerful than its big brother, the M135i, the 128ti is a more “nimble” touring companion. It’s not perfect – the rear seats are uncomfortably cramped, for instance. Still, it injects a dose of “excitement” into the class.
There has never been a sporting front-wheel-drive BMW before, and there’s definitely room for a hot hatch that doesn’t do the “obvious thing” and “go after the boy-racer market”, says Autocar. It isn’t a looker; but it is “subtle under the skin”, and the drop in power gives it a rare weightlessness which makes it a pleasure to drive. “Priced to excite”, this car is forging a new identity for the hatchback. Prices start from £33,885.
“This front-wheel drive would have been unthinkable just a decade ago”, says Top Gear, but engineers decided that its predecessor, the M135i, would be better with the “weight of its rear driveshafts skimmed and a new suspension setup”. The 128ti takes a bold tilt at the VW Golf GTI – and with a traction control setup that reduces wheelspin, it’s “quite possibly beaten it”.
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Drawing the Italian Renaissance: a 'relentlessly impressive' exhibition
The Week Recommends Show at the King's Gallery features an 'enormous cache' of works by the likes of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael
By The Week UK Published
-
Niall Williams shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The Irish novelist chooses works by Charles Dickens, Seamus Heaney and Wendell Berry
By The Week UK Published
-
Patriot: Alexei Navalny's memoir is as 'compelling as it is painful'
The Week Recommends The anti-corruption campaigner's harrowing book was published posthumously after his death in a remote Arctic prison
By The Week UK Published
-
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: a 'magical' show with 'an electrifying emotional charge'
The Week Recommends The 'vivacious' Fitzgerald adaptation has a 'shimmering, soaring' score
By The Week UK Published
-
Bird: Andrea Arnold's 'strange, beguiling and quietly moving' drama
The Week Recommends Barry Keoghan stars in 'fearless' film combining social and magical realism
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 elegant homes in the Mediterranean style
Feature Featuring an award-winning mansion in Colorado and an Alhambra palace-inspired home in Washington
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Juror #2: Clint Eastwood's 'cleverly constructed' courtroom drama is 'rock solid'
The Week Recommends Nicholas Hoult stars in 'morally complex' film about a juror on a high-profile murder case
By The Week UK Published