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”.
-
Find art, beautiful parks and bright pink soup in VilniusThe Week Recommends The city offers the best of a European capital
-
Greenland: The lasting damage of Trump’s tantrumFeature His desire for Greenland has seemingly faded away
-
Minneapolis: The power of a boy’s photoFeature An image of Liam Conejo Ramos being detained lit up social media
-
The Beckhams: the feud dividing BritainIn the Spotlight ‘Civil war’ between the Beckhams and their estranged son ‘resonates’ with families across the country
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
The Flower Bearers: a ‘visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional destruction’The Week Recommends Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ ‘open wound of a memoir’ is also a powerful ‘love story’ and a ‘portrait of sisterhood’
-
Steal: ‘glossy’ Amazon Prime thriller starring Sophie TurnerThe Week Recommends The Game of Thrones alumna dazzles as a ‘disillusioned twentysomething’ whose life takes a dramatic turn during a financial heist
-
Anna Ancher: Painting Light – a ‘moving’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends Dulwich Picture Gallery show celebrates the Danish artist’s ‘virtuosic handling of the shifting Nordic light’
-
H is for Hawk: Claire Foy is ‘terrific’ in tender grief dramaThe Week Recommends Moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir
-
Our Town: Michael Sheen stars in ‘beautiful’ Thornton Wilder classicThe Week Recommends Opening show at the Welsh National Theatre promises a ‘bright’ future
-
Music reviews: Zach Bryan, Dry Cleaning, and Madison BeerFeature “With Heaven on Top,” “Secret Love,” and “Locket”
