I wrote this out at the end of last week and a bit over the weekend, I wasn’t sure whether or not to actually post it up but there’s been a bit of interest in the 128ti so here goes...
One or two here have requested an update on the M135i and maybe one or two are considering a 128ti, so whilst I have a few minutes I’ll write some thoughts from the viewpoint of a dyed in the wool Golf owner rather than attempt an objective neutral view. I’m sure the internet has plenty of the latter.
After 30 odd years with a VW on the drive, generally warmed over Golfs, I can tell you some of it has been a bit of a shock to the system - but not as much as expected.
I’m still adjusting.
Rewinding the clock, I’ve owned a mk1 GTI (heavily modified), 4x mk2’s, 2x mk3 VR6’s, 1x mk4 GTI (modified to get rid of the jelly suspension and underpowered engine output), 2x Mk5 (TDI and GTI), 2x mk6 GTI’s plus somehow I ended up owning five mk7’s
It’s not like I’ve not considered other cars, in fact I’ve owned one or two other cars briefly as well as second cars that aren’t Golfs including some older Polos and an Ibiza GTI which I kept for years.
Truth of it is if I could collect cars then I most assuredly would. I have collector genes with my father being a lifelong coin and antique collector.
Unfortunately though I’m just a regular guy with a regular job and can only afford one regular half decent car at a time.
Just like when I’m sat in a restaurant scanning a menu I tend to be a creature of habit and order the same darned thing time and again, give or take; I keep buying Golfs after scanning around intently at everything else available, they just work for me.
Needless to say my family and workmates were in shock when I declared I was buying a BMW. Well, more disbelief than shock. Utter denial even!
As a lifelong GTI enthusiast, I did the VW water cooled show circuit through the late 80’s and 90’s, my cars having a familiar theme and normally kitted out with bigger (usually BBS) wheels and often engine and/or suspension mods. You get the general picture.
When I arrived home with my 1 series I was given just weeks to be back in a Golf by my family who nearly started a sweepstake on how soon that would actually be.
Well, here I am, just over a month in and about 1600 miles under the tyres.
Hot sunny days followed by chilly mornings and latterly wind and rain. Plenty of shakedown time spent on good driving roads.
Am I itching to get back in a Golf?
Well, I definitely do miss opening the garage door and seeing that low drooping snout with its slatted canards, the honeycomb, those sharp lines running up the sides, that unmistakably Golf side glass area, and those discreetly muscular haunches wrapped around 19” wheels.
But actually the 135 does pass that very important test when I first clap my eyes on it each day. It’s different. Very different, yet the proportions do work for me. I know many have been derisory about the new 1 series’ looks but I kind of like them and as it’s my car I suppose that’s all that counts.
Lift the garage door and a curious face awaits. A grille like a big puppy’s nose, headlamps like a contented cat’s eyes, then lower down the styling becomes more subtly aggressive. There’s a lot of sculpting, which is typically BMW, with lower grilles arranged like a snarling smile in a pattern that might well be the one nod to the car’s Mini underpinnings. Look at any current model Cooper S Mini and those three (two small and one larger rectangular)lower grilles on the chin are very prominent.
The back of the car looks like it’s been inspired by the occult! Approach it from behind and it’s just irresistibly demonic.
Side on it’s similar to quite a few hatchback designs but one positive point is the 19” wheels fill the arches really well.
Less positive is the suspension sits maybe 10 or 15mm too high at the front.
Some days I look at it and think it’s a bit squashed SUV and other days it looks quite long, sleek and low.
The 19” wheels really help the proportions.
For me there was just something about this car from the start. It’s far from pretty but there’s just something about it styling wise in the flesh. It’s not photogenic but viewed up close it just works. For me at least.
Inside it’s very BMW, very solid feeling and very nicely put together. It has that hewn from solid feel that Golfs used to have.
It was the engine that really won me over. It reminded me of a remapped Golf GTI engine when I test drove a launch demo car.
After spending a bit of time with the car that’s still exactly how it feels.
When I had my 2015 Golf R I often felt the engine lacking in low end torque despite being a dream to drive in all other respects. The 135 banishes that potential issue with a very torque heavy delivery making it feel like a larger capacity engine. It lunges forward when pressed but wafts nicely when oozing along. Maybe against the stopwatch it won’t win any records but it ‘feels’ quick and punchy.
It seems ok on fuel too, fairly similar economy to my TCR.
Better than anticipated, marginally.
Suspension wise it rides well for a non adaptive hot hatch wearing 19” wheels.
The suspension transmits the road surface in a slightly busy fashion letting you know it’s a firmly damped hefty car, but it does well to cushion out the really rough edges. More talkative than a Golf R but similarly decent ride quality. Less talkative than an Ed40. After spending over 20 years driving cars with modified suspension I became incredibly fussy about ride comfort and this one seems pretty good to me.
Handling possibly isn’t quite as good (or maybe I should say reassuring) as the TCR or Ed40. It’s a hard thing to covey in words but where the Golf’s steering and suspension felt like they were in full control doing it all for me effortlessly and they felt invincible, the 135’s chassis seems to put the onus on the driver. A case of “we’ll let you know what’s going on, you look after the helm”. More involving I guess.
The steering is a bit numb albeit sometimes busy in the 135i (possibly related to very high tyre pressures) and the steering wheel somewhat too thick.
The mk7 Golf steering wheels were a bit too thin conversely but that looks to be redressed in the mk8 which has a Mk5 Golf GTI like steering wheel rim (ignoring the clown face!)
The turning circle seems a lot less oil tanker like than a Golf R!!
It feels very front wheel driven unlike the Golf R too. More traditional hot hatch feel with a lovely turbo shove (both of which won’t be to everyone’s taste).
A month into ownership and the mk7 Golf AID still seemed much clearer than the 135i dash display despite increasing familiarity with the latter, but the BMW display does have a dark attractiveness of its own. It’s shared with much more expensive models so it’s no cheapie add on.
The 135i also has an indicator stalk end button to change the dashboard info just like the old MFA/MFD on previous generation Golf GTIs.
The LED Matrix headlamps don’t seem to illuminate the road quite as intensely as the 7.5 Golf equivalents on dipped beam but the matrix witchcraft seems to react a bit faster on the BMW so I’ve not been flashed as often on the winding roads I drive.
The brakes seem ok on the 135i. Progressive and reassuring.
The Golf’s 340’s were good too though.
The TCR has sexy drilled discs (which were very difficult to clean when filthy) but the 135i has conventional ones. The TCR discs might have won the looks but the 135’s callipers are meaty things. Even shod with 19” wheels there’s barely room to get a finger between calliper and wheel barrel and even less room behind the spokes. A bugger to clean all of the inside of the front wheels without having to roll the car forward a quarter turn. My small wheel woolie can’t squeeze in there between calliper and wheel barrel (recommendations would be appreciated for a fag paper thin and longish but gentle wheel brush)
The child in me giggles when the 135i does a warm start with its accompanying rapid fire pops. However I’m the wrong side of 50 and probably look a bit tragic doing just that but... I really don’t care! 😁
(Won’t be able to do that in an ID.3 R!!)
Build quality (touch wood) seems very good so far. The doors are well sealed but don’t quite close with a Golf’s solidity. The panels feel reasonably decent and the paint seems ok so far. Early days.
Interior trim is BMW solidness rather than plush. Very Germanic.
A volume knob which doesn’t move the on/off symbol is a huge plus! Only the outer ring turns
keeping the symbol the right way up.
The tech gizmos I’m gradually learning. To be honest the car menus don’t actually do *that* much but there’s a remarkable amount of them! Some of it fairly pointless but plenty to keep car gadget and data analysing enthusiasts occupied.
I still prefer to just get in and drive without messing about with endless settings, give me a mk5 Golf’s relative simplicity any day.
The iDrive is well thought out and works well with familiarity.
Again it’s shared across the group so has been well developed.
The HUD is useful. It’s not night and day better than glancing down at traditional dials like I thought it might be, but it’s nice to have. Whether I’d pay a heap of money for the feature on a different car I’m not convinced.
I drive (not iDrive!) on winding country roads in the dark every day so anything that takes my eyes directly off the road for a second or so isn’t ideal, so I’m a prime candidate for HUD ownership. It’s good but not essential is my verdict.
Similar to the mk8 Golf there are quite a few capacitive multi-switches. They are ok to use once you’re used to where they are.
Like the mk8 there are loads of screen sub-menus and going from videos I’ve seen the BMW system is faster acting but still fiddly at best once on the move from experience, using the iDrive wheel mouse thingy is safer once underway. Maybe voice control is the answer but I’ve not used it to be honest. Will try it out at some point. The tech is really good, there’s loads of it but I’d really not miss a lot of it if it wasn’t there. Some of it is very useful from a practical perspective though such as live TPMS and vehicle status info.
Lots of different graphic displays can be called up which are quite understated unlike the Megane A35 AMG’s video games console dash. Both have their merits. VW do dash graphics better in my eyes but BMW have mastered the whole interface far more successfully.
The boot is nigh on identical to the Golf’s. My VW load liner fits almost perfectly.
The HK surround sound is clear and has about a zillion speakers but lacks the bass punch of the mk7 Dynaudio.
The gearbox is good, I prefer it to DSG. It’s a proper Auto and doesn’t therefore have clutch slip when accelerating gently from cold. In fact it is very smooth and almost seamless to the extent that my previous fixation with staring at the rev counter is no more!! Even in comfort at low speed it doesn’t insist on trying to get into high gears almost immediately, allowing decent progress wafting along on the prodigious torque.
And for me that’s how I sum the car up. A lusty power delivery and an involving drive with mk5 Golf like solidity.
It’s like a Golf, a very good Golf, and yet it’s not a Golf. And for me that’s the pluses and the minus summed up in a nutshell.
As a footnote, I’m still a huge mk7 Golf fan and still very sceptical about the mk8 like many on here.
The mk8 isn’t beyond hope to me despite reservations about its exterior looks and the UI.
The naked door lock, the lack of under bonnet gas strut (and even under bonnet paint), the missing buttons and all those other annoying cost cutting areas aren’t the worst things in the world but they do mark the car down as it’s not cheap to buy.
It’s still a Golf and despite the rest of the range looking totally uninspired to me I do hold hopes a 320PS? R might move the game on a bit, but... I honestly can’t see me rushing back to Golf ownership anytime soon. All bets are off.
