Fast Facts

Verdict:
It's a good looking car with the dynamic ability to match

Drives like a performance BMW should, decent rear seat space and large boot

No automatic climate control, and why are we buying a detuned 3.0-litre engine?

BMW’s 125i coupe has real substance under its boulevard cruiser looks

By Lionel Kong

IF YOU THINK that the 1 Series BMWs are cheaply produced, budget affairs to allow a greater number of customers to buy into the BMW brand, a look at the price listings should change your mind. Most of them cost more than a 320i sedan, and while the 1 Series cars are the smallest in the current BMW range many of them come with engines powerful enough to be used in cars two sizes up.

This means that rather than being positioned as entry-level BMWs, what we’re getting are cars that are pocket rockets, perhaps with the exception of the 118i five-door hatchback which is clearly aimed at being a more practical car.

Even though the 1 Series coupe sold here is badged as the 125i, it uses the 3.0-litre engine from the more powerful (and correctly named) 130i hatchback. The six-cylinder engine has been detuned to produce 218bhp in the 125i, in the process giving the car slightly better fuel economy over its 130i sibling which has the full 265bhp on tap from the same basic engine block.

That’s not the end of the confusing names, because the basic 118i hatchback doesn’t use a 1.8-litre engine either. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre engine and is called the 118i to differentiate it from the 120i convertible, which uses the same 2.0-litre powerplant.

Strange badging aside, the 125i coupe pictured here is a every bit what you would expect from a BMW. The doors feel nicely weighted, the interior is of the same high quality as its more expensive stablemates, and there’s even a surprisingly large amount of backseat legroom and a decently sized boot, which can be extended by folding the rear seatbacks flat. On the whole, the interior doesn’t feel very much smaller than that of the 3 Series coupes.

It’s easy to forget the fact that this car has less power than the 130i once you fire the engine up. There’s that familiar, bassy six-cylinder engine note and like all good naturally aspirated engines it gets more fun the higher you rev it. It doesn’t lack low end torque either, with the maximum 270Nm available from an easily accessed 2,500rpm.

There’s a solidity to the whole package that inspires a lot of driver confidence. The driving position is well designed, putting the driver slightly low in the cockpit for that sense of oneness with the car while still being decently high enough to get a good view of the road ahead.

Initial high speed turn-in feels slightly slow as the 125i weighs quite a lot for a car of this size, but once it settles into a cornering line it sticks like glue. The gear ratios in the automatic gearbox are nicely spaced to deliver good acceleration, and the sixth gear is tall enough to cruise along the highway with the engine revving at a low enough speed for reasonably good fuel economy.

The biggest question hanging over the 125i, and perhaps to a larger extent the 130i, is are you willing to pay the 3.0-litre engine’s annual road tax in what is really not a very big car? The 125i a real sports car the delivers plenty of driving enjoyment, but we get the feeling that this is one that the well-heeled will buy as a fun little toy, rather than be purchased by the slightly wealthy as a primary car.

NEED TO KNOW

BMW 125i (A)
ENGINE TYPE: 2,996cc, 24V in-line 6
MAX POWER: 218bhp at 6,100rpm
MAX TORQUE: 270Nm at 2,500rpm
GEARBOX: 6-speed automatic
TOP SPEED: 243km/h
0-100KM/H: 7.0 seconds
PRICE: $151,800 with COE
WARRANTY: 3 years/100,000km
CONTACT: Performance Motors
TELEPHONE: 6319-0100