ON SALE: Now (Europe)
BASE PRICE: $42,600 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 3.0-liter, 261-hp, 232-lb-ft I6; rwd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3197 lbs
0 TO 62 MPH: 6.2 seconds (mfr.)
BMW?s 130i has more power and is faster than the 330i, 530i or 630i. The car is a prime candidate for ?best handling, best equipped? compact premium passenger car worldwide, thanks largely to its long wheelbase, solid track stance and rear-wheel drive. Unfortunately, we do not get to experience the fun of a 130i in America until 2008, when the four-door and convertible variants arrive.
Despite initial scuttlebutt to the contrary, the weird-to-the-U.S. 1 Series has been a fair success. Capacity at the Regensburg plant in Germany is 150,000 units per year, and the 1 Series ended its first 12 months with 136,000 total sales. The aim is to maintain a rate of at least 10,000 cars per month.
Roughly one in 20, or 6000-plus 1 Series cars per year will be the 130i. This model is pushing the 1 Series? status beyond entry-level, with a starting price in Germany of e32,500 after taxes (more than $40,000 U.S.). Opt for the M Sport package, with 17- or 18-inch double-spoke wheels, aerodynamic bits, sport suspension and seats, M shift lever, aluminum interior trim and Nappa leather?and add another $2,600.
The BMW plant in Steyr, Austria, provides this new version of the famous 3.0-liter straight-six. Thanks to a liberal use of magnesium in the crankcase and cylinder head, the power-unit weight drops to 22 pounds. The addition of ValveTronic variable valve timing and Vanos camshaft adjustment as standard equipment improves fuel consumption by 12 percent even while increasing muscle to 261 hp from the 254 hp produced by the 3, 5 and 6 Series unit.
Most of the additional horses are derived from the twin-barrel sport exhaust combined with the natural airflow patterns through the engine compartment. Torque is up from 221 to 232 lb-ft between 2500 and 4000 rpm.
Using the 130i M Sport?s six-speed manual, 0 to 62 mph reportedly comes in a lively 6.2 seconds, equaling the VW Golf R32 with its optional DSG transmission. Munich plans to plop the new, improved 3.0-liter into the X3 over the next couple of years.
More than 80 percent of 130i customers are projected to opt for the top-of-the-line M Sport edition. Most of the remaining customers will request only the not-quite-M Sport suspension be added. A few losers will stick with the normal 1 Series suspension and standard 17-inch wheels.
In a day spent tearing around Bavaria?s rolling and forested hills in the 130i M Sport, a few somewhat negative impressions arose. The rigid suspension was supreme throughout our drive, except for one moment when we crossed over an inlaid brick gutter and experienced major ka-thunk action, not terribly surprising. There is one cupholder in the console, but it is rendered useless by a poorly executed center armrest. The armrest can be hinged back and out of the way, but hard braking caused it to keep flopping forward.
Cars with iDrive, like the one we tested, have just the one cupholder due to the system?s knob placement. Lose the iDrive and you gain a second, more useful cupholder. But it would be best to chuck the armrest.
Engaging the M shifter and listening to the thrum from the low back-pressure dual-sport exhaust is what this car is all about. Though torque peaks at 2750 rpm, you get more than 90 percent on tap all the way to 6700 rpm, the ideal shift point.
The beefy steering wheel possesses just the right diameter and stretch leather material to have you feeling at home in the cockpit. And while it may be due to this car?s lesser dimensions, the active steering that bugs us on the 3, 5 and 6 Series during sport driving is not so annoying on the 1 Series. K-turns on tight German farm roads after missed turnoffs are handled effortlessly with this technology at hand.
As a package, the 130i M Sport is a monument to fun driving and brilliant execution.
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