Just a sporty three-door hatchback, true, but are there any other talents beside that?
Photos by Azfar Hashim & Joel Tam
Let’s begin by assessing this very simply: the BMW 118i M-Sport is the Bavarian version of a no-frills three-door hatchback for the enthusiastic driver who needs a car that has a good balance of style and performance; an affordable sports car from BMW, to say the least.
But at a time where our market is full of performance hatchbacks and prices means attractive packaging by the different local dealers, the 118i M-Sport seem to be at the shorter end of things.
To begin with, a price that puts the Golf GTI into better perspective. Then, the fact that a rear-wheel drive hatchback does seem to have a rather niche appeal; FYI the Golf GTI, Audi A3 Sportback (1.8 TFSI), Mercedes-Benz A250 Sport, Ford Focus ST, Renault Megane RS and even MINI Cooper S are all front-wheel drive for a very good reason: better grip and composure, especially when driven enthusiastically.
Don’t get it wrong though. The 118i M-Sport, despite the size and ‘abnormal’ configuration, can still deliver the goods.
Power comes courtesy of a turbocharged 1.6-litre 4-cylinder heart (engine code N13B16) that’s mated to a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission (nope, no DCT here). With this combination, the 118i whips out a rather commendable 170 bhp and 250 Nm of torque, kicking in from as low as 1,500 rpm.
And to be honest, the 118i feels rather inspiring, willingly climbing to the 7,000 rpm redline in first and second gears as you extract as much firepower as you can out of this little powerplant. It may sound a little gruff anywhere past 4,500 rpm but at that velocity, all that mattered most was how fast it gets past every other thing on the road.
The transmission is equally alert, although not as smooth as you would expect (this ain’t no 5 Series, mister); the good thing about this is you feel rather engaged (no pun intended). Thankfully, you can still swap your own gears via the gear stick; however it’s just unfortunate that paddle shifters are not standard here. After all, even the cheaper Golf comes standard with it…
Besides the M-Sport styling kit that includes a far more aggressive front and rear bumpers, additional side skirtings and bigger lightweight 18-inch alloys, the 118i comes along with other M-related goodies like suspension and brake. Despite that though, in terms of handling, the 118i is still isn’t the sharpest hatchback one can buy; body-rolls are rather obvious and so are body movements during high-speed lane changes. However, it remains communicative; from the helm, you do know where exactly the front two wheels are heading. Then, if you were to go in with too much speed in Sport+ mode, you could actually feel the rear kicking out slightly before you feel the traction control system taking over and correcting the wrong; now that’s the sort of fun the rest of the "conventional" front-wheel driven hatchbacks cannot provide…
Speaking of which, like the rest of the BMW range, the 118i gets for itself the Driving Experience Control. You get to choose from four different modes to drive from: Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+. Although you might probably not drive in Eco Pro (or Comfort for that matter) so much due to the sporty character of the car, it is still good to know this car allows you to play priest when the parents need a lift.
The interior still boasts BMW’s high quality workmanship and solidity, plus clear and concise architecture. Every control buttons are easily within reach, and if that is not enough, you can also control both the audio system and manage the Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity from the steering wheel. By the way, the leather-wrapped steering wheel is oh-so-nice to touch and hold; pity it’s a tad too big for my personal liking though. Or maybe I’m just too used to Volkswagen’s GTI; ya’ know, nicely sized and flat-bottomed...
The seats offer good amount of support and surprisingly for a three-door in this size, getting in and out of the car’s rear does not require much drama. On top of that, average-sized adults still get to enjoy a good amount of both head and legroom while seated at the rear bench.
Even the boot is a proper one (by hatchback standard), which should be good news to all you busy executives who treat their car as a storeroom on wheels.
So why should you buy this BMW 118i M-Sport then? You don’t have to ask a palm-reader for that answer: Simply because it’s no frills, is easy to live with, has a sporty exterior that turns heads (depending on the colour you choose, of course), surprisingly practical and has enough power to fly you from one meeting to the other, from the gym to Saturday night drinks, and from a family gathering to a friend’s baby shower. You get the drift…
The only problem here is the price. The Golf GTI provides much more surefooted fun for about five grand more, and its much more powerful, mind-numbing M135i sibling could be yours for just about forty-odd grand more. Ahh… Decisions, decisions…
