It has been 20 years since BMW attached the fabled ti, or Turismo Internazionale, designation to one of its cars.
It’s back now on this 1 Series model that slips into the line-up above the 120i and below the range-topping M135i xDrive, offering terrific motoring fun at more or less the same price as the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Here, thanks to the 2.0-litre engine with twin turbo, you have 261hp on tap, and that makes for 0-100kph acceleration of just 6.1 seconds. That used to be fairly thrilling, but with so many of the new electric cars equalling or bettering that, it’s not the novelty it used to be. The difference here is noise — proper old-school engine noise, albeit slightly digitally augmented — and for that alone it’s worth the money.
The real attraction, though, is the handling. This is a front-wheel-drive car with Torsen limited-slip differential and M Sport suspension, and what that basically means is that you can throw it like a custard pie into corners without ever worrying about loss of traction and control. If the inside wheel loses grip in a bend while you accelerate, more torque is directed to the wheel with greater grip, preventing wheel slip.
The car also comes with BMW Performance Control, a series of electronic systems that work with the dynamic stability control to reduce the understeer that can affect front-wheel-drive cars. It’s a happy compromise with the M135i xDrive, reducing the weight of the car by a whopping 80kg with the all-wheel drive stripped out.
Add in the fact that the suspension is 10 millimetres lower than on the standard 1 Series, all this allows for a go-kart driving feel that equals the best on offer out there; this certainly is the most engaged drive I’ve had in a BMW for ages. All my favourite cars are those that feel like an extension of the driver, almost like a second skin, and the 128ti achieves this effortlessly.
In general, I’m more a fan of speed on the open road than rally-style driving, but there always are exceptions, and this is one of them. On winding country roads, it is exceptional, delivering taut performance without rattling the bones, and the sort of pure, involved joy you don’t often get nowadays because cars sometimes are just a little too sophisticated.
As with any hot hatch, though, you also want to ensure that while you can get off at a good clip, you also can stop on a sixpence, which is why the red M Sport brakes are deeply reassuring. At no stage do you ever feel like you are in peril.
Of course, there are downsides to everything, and here they come in the form of fuel consumption and motor tax, which is €420 a year. At 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres in combined urban and extra-urban driving, you’re going to pay €11.66 per 100km based on the AA Ireland survey average price of 164.6 cent per litre of petrol. That’s a lot of money, though maybe less so to anyone who can afford the €53,203 price of my test car.
Just over €4,250 of that total went on optional extras, including the Technology Pack (adaptive LED headlights, high-beam assist, parking assistant, head-up display, enhanced Bluetooth with wireless charging, and wifi hotspot), heated steering wheel, sun protection glass, and harman/ kardon sound system.
Standard equipment includes Steptronic Sport eight-speed transmission with manual gearshift paddles on the multifunction steering wheel, front heated seats, M Sport seatbelts, cruise control, M Sport exterior styling, anthracite headlining, ISOFIX child seat system (and I love the idea of a child enjoying all those driving thrills in total safety!), and much more besides.
The seats have red detailing to match the brake callipers, and they are deeply comfortable, with lots of lumbar and side support that keep you firmly in place no matter what road you’re driving on.
The infotainment screen has a 10.5-inch display, and gesture control also is available (you simply wave your finger in circles to raise or lower the radio volume, for instance, though it’s a but gimmicky).
Storage is a bit limited at 380 litres, though this expands to 1,200 litres with the rear seats folded flat.
All in all, the BMW 128ti is a worthy bearer of the reinstated Turismo Internazionale moniker. It is lean and feisty, brilliantly responsive, endlessly accommodating to your every demand, and offering as much fun for your euro as any car out there. As you might have guessed, I was besotted, and while
I like and admire many BMW models, it’s a long time since I fell in love with one.
