The ONE. BMW 130i Testdrive
What’s this you say; a Beemer with three doors and to top it off it’s a hatch? That’s the same reaction I got when I stomped over to the showroom to take the 130i out. Not totally clued in, I only knew it was a hatch. But nothing prepared me for the visual shock the car gave to my retinas.
To cut it short, *pun not intended, BMW has finally addressed the legions of rich boy-racers who have way too much money on their hands, have become bored of the R32 Golf and will not be caught dead in anything but a continental. This car, with its M-lowered suspension, aerokit, steering wheel and scuff plate should fit the bill just nicely.
Styling
The front end is still pretty much Mr Bangle’s handy work, with the fluid lines running the aft of the body all the way to the rear lamps. But below the beltline is where the 130i gets a little bit racier. Most obvious here is the matt-grey rear diffuser which incorporates the exhaust outlet, contrast that against the BMW’s royal blue paintwork and any speed demon will instantly light up.
Inside, you sit in rather grippy leather seats, grippy because they act like enormous gloves holding your upper body in place should the massive 2996cc straight-six decide to unleash all 265 horses in a corner. For me it’s a tradeoff, the side bolsters actually got in the way of absolute comfort; it was a little like having something shafted at your armpits while you drive. So, if you’re a bury kinda guy, take heed, you will never fit in the 130i.
Another point to note are the seats are not electronic and had to be manually adjusted, which means a little bit more inconvenience on the driver’s part, I was told this actually shed some extra pounds off the car – boy racers probably wouldn’t care if they were fitted with stools I guess – a manly thing.
Driving
You can’t please anybody, so I proceeded to fire up the engine. First of, it roars to life, supercar it may not be, but it definitely got attention whenever I revved. The sweet straight-6 delivered extremely linear power in a predictable fashion, but most of that performance was hidden higher up in the rev range. In short, the car requires you to rev it like there’s no tomorrow. Good if you’re on a track, bad if you’re commuting on our streets.
Transmission wise the 6-speed automatic does its job admirably well, except for a slight lag in shifting up when you’re at low speeds and suddenly stomp on the gas. On the roads, the car with its lowered suspension was as expected slightly bumpier than I would envision, but I guess this is all part of that boy-racer experience, feedback through the wheel though was excellent. The car displayed impressive grip through high-speed corners and remained composed even as I took it way above legal limits.
As a measure of the 130’s tenacity, I tailed a souped up Lancer Evolution along the ECP. Outright acceleration, the Evo did pull away, but once the speedo was well into 3-numerals, the straight-6 gained momentum and closed in on the Mitsu with ease. There really is no replacement for displacement. The driver of the Evo did flash me a smile and a thumbs up as well for the brief sprint we did.
Verdict
Okay, now for the pop quiz, is it worth it for that kind of money? In this price range and segment, only the R32 comes close but that’s nearly another 10-grand more. Sure the DSG-box is a lot more advance than the traditional tranny found on the BMW but still as an overall driving experience the 130i wins here. You pay lower road tax too for a car with higher performance figures, drives slightly better and that all-important Beemer badge.
To cut it short, *pun not intended, BMW has finally addressed the legions of rich boy-racers who have way too much money on their hands, have become bored of the R32 Golf and will not be caught dead in anything but a continental. This car, with its M-lowered suspension, aerokit, steering wheel and scuff plate should fit the bill just nicely.
Styling
The front end is still pretty much Mr Bangle’s handy work, with the fluid lines running the aft of the body all the way to the rear lamps. But below the beltline is where the 130i gets a little bit racier. Most obvious here is the matt-grey rear diffuser which incorporates the exhaust outlet, contrast that against the BMW’s royal blue paintwork and any speed demon will instantly light up.
Inside, you sit in rather grippy leather seats, grippy because they act like enormous gloves holding your upper body in place should the massive 2996cc straight-six decide to unleash all 265 horses in a corner. For me it’s a tradeoff, the side bolsters actually got in the way of absolute comfort; it was a little like having something shafted at your armpits while you drive. So, if you’re a bury kinda guy, take heed, you will never fit in the 130i.
Another point to note are the seats are not electronic and had to be manually adjusted, which means a little bit more inconvenience on the driver’s part, I was told this actually shed some extra pounds off the car – boy racers probably wouldn’t care if they were fitted with stools I guess – a manly thing.
Driving
You can’t please anybody, so I proceeded to fire up the engine. First of, it roars to life, supercar it may not be, but it definitely got attention whenever I revved. The sweet straight-6 delivered extremely linear power in a predictable fashion, but most of that performance was hidden higher up in the rev range. In short, the car requires you to rev it like there’s no tomorrow. Good if you’re on a track, bad if you’re commuting on our streets.
Transmission wise the 6-speed automatic does its job admirably well, except for a slight lag in shifting up when you’re at low speeds and suddenly stomp on the gas. On the roads, the car with its lowered suspension was as expected slightly bumpier than I would envision, but I guess this is all part of that boy-racer experience, feedback through the wheel though was excellent. The car displayed impressive grip through high-speed corners and remained composed even as I took it way above legal limits.
As a measure of the 130’s tenacity, I tailed a souped up Lancer Evolution along the ECP. Outright acceleration, the Evo did pull away, but once the speedo was well into 3-numerals, the straight-6 gained momentum and closed in on the Mitsu with ease. There really is no replacement for displacement. The driver of the Evo did flash me a smile and a thumbs up as well for the brief sprint we did.
Verdict
Okay, now for the pop quiz, is it worth it for that kind of money? In this price range and segment, only the R32 comes close but that’s nearly another 10-grand more. Sure the DSG-box is a lot more advance than the traditional tranny found on the BMW but still as an overall driving experience the 130i wins here. You pay lower road tax too for a car with higher performance figures, drives slightly better and that all-important Beemer badge.
Facts & Figures
Testdrive: BMW 130i
Type: 3-Door Hatchback
Layout: Front-engined longitudinally-mounted; Rear-wheel drive
Engine: N52B30, 2996cc Straight-6, 265PS, 315Nm
Tranny: 6-Speed Automatic
Performance: 0-100 6.3secs, Top speed 250km/h
Price: S$149.000 with COE
Availability: Now, from Performance Motors
Testdrive: BMW 130i
Type: 3-Door Hatchback
Layout: Front-engined longitudinally-mounted; Rear-wheel drive
Engine: N52B30, 2996cc Straight-6, 265PS, 315Nm
Tranny: 6-Speed Automatic
Performance: 0-100 6.3secs, Top speed 250km/h
Price: S$149.000 with COE
Availability: Now, from Performance Motors
posted by Jecht at 7:26 PM
4 Comments:
Nice review Jecht. Thanks for sharing.
.MH.
Junk photoshop skills
Why thank u for ur comment, if possible show me what u can do to the pic since u imply ur PS prowess allow u to pass judgement or do u need me to send u the original?
I prefer 135i
Post a Comment
<< Home