New BMW 128ti: front-drive hot hatch vs Ford and Renault rivals – Autocar

Youll probably have expected the 128tis cabin to outshine the vastly more humble surroundings of a Focus ST and the only slightly more materially ambitious ones of a Mgane RS 300. Indeed, it does. The BMWs cabin is a very agreeable place to be. But do glossy material trims, a glaringly wide infotainment system and embossed armrests really matter in an affordable drivers car? Or might the general comfort, support and adjustability of the drivers seat and the orientation of the controls matter more?

To this tester, while the Renault offers a good drivers seat but a more ergonomically compromised layout of controls in front of it than either of the other two cars, its the Ford that shades the BMW for driving position credit. The 128tis seats have more adjustability than the Focus STs, but theyre harder and less laterally supportive. And, for the record, no car here has the low, just-so primary ergonomics of a Honda Civic Type R.

Next, lets pick a powertrain: the versatile, characterful, exciting kind youd want in an everyday-use performance option. The BMWs does pretty well here, at least as far as its engine goes. Youd pick its torquey-feeling 2.0-litre turbo over the Renaults boosting, popping 1.8, even though its a touch too reserved for its own good. But it doesnt rev like the Fords 2.3-litre turbo, and while itll hurl the 128ti along at quite the rate, it doesnt occupy your imagination quite like the Focuss engine, either. Ive never known a four-cylinder motor to warble and thrum as genuinely as the Fords does when you select Sport driving mode, and the active exhaust switches over to its noisy pipe. Its a real audible treat.

For a gearbox, theres just no competition; not for me. I accept that a great many people who buy cars like this would now rather have two pedals than three because that suits them better for the everyday grind. But heres the thing: a manual transmission doesnt just better occupy your left hand and left leg, but your brain as well. In the manual-equipped Focus ST, your approach to every corner, and every straight that opens up in front of you after it, is so very different from how it is in either the Mgane RS 300 or the 128ti. You are fully mentally engaged in the process of preparing the Ford for whatever lies through the windscreen; of picking gears for corners deliberately, and then committing to making them work, with the cars weight and half shafts loaded and set just as you want them.

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New BMW 128ti: front-drive hot hatch vs Ford and Renault rivals - Autocar