BMW 130i M

First impression from the outside was, ok - nice BMW blue and big alloys, quite aggressive front splitter gives way to pretty standard side and rear angles. No M badging on the rear which I thought was a shame, big brakes and callipers hint at the performance potential.

Doors feel tight and had a good clunk as they closed, M-sport sill plates looked pretty cool. Leather interior was very smart and the seats gripped well. Nice touches like sweeping dash, high grade plastics and push button start went some way to justifying the price tag, few M logos about like on the gear knob that sits on top of the six speed manual box.

Engine note was really pretty good but the windows had to be opened to enable us to hear it clearly. It squirmed nicely on the greasy roads and the Traction control seemed to be pretty adaptable, with various degrees of resistance being able to be specified by the driver via a switch on the dash, it also seemed to learn the driver’s style and pre-empted any back-out action that he tried to dial in.

It can be switched off and in the winter conditions the back could easily be coaxed to hang out but it felt composed and had enough power to control any drifts without too much trouble.

The car was three up and given the conditions it seemed to pull well and handled a few of our favourite twisties admirably. It wasn’t quite as raw as I had hoped the M experience to be, but I guess this is the trade-off between quality components and the weight that this saddles the car with.

I think one up and on an empty summer evening B road this car would be supreme, from where I was sitting it wasn’t as lairy as I had imagined it would be, I know the driver is considering a new Ford Focus ST, although I haven’t been out in the Focus I can imagine from what I have heard it would seem less of a GT and more of a point and squirt weapon…oh and then there is the price difference that suddenly makes the Ford even more of a tempting option.

3/5 Good, fast but heavy and dare I say sensible. If you want this from a car however look no further than the 130i M

(discuss this on the forum)