Bmw 120i

[99Chimaera]

Hi all.
Due to my car being written off in a crash recently.
I am looking for a new car again. I'm looking for a high performance hatchback ideally petrol. I'm considering a bmw 1 series amongst others. The 125i would probably be best for my needs but they are very rare. Can a 120i be mapped to 125i performance?

Many thanks

[Deep Thought]

99Chimaera said:

Hi all.
Due to my car being written off in a crash recently.
I am looking for a new car again. I'm looking for a high performance hatchback ideally petrol. I'm considering a bmw 1 series amongst others. The 125i would probably be best for my needs but they are very rare. Can a 120i be mapped to 125i performance?

Many thanks

Whats your budget / preferred age of car?

[99Chimaera]

Thanks for your message. I'm looking at 2015/2016 models.

[Mike335i]

I think a healthy 120i will map to about 210-220hp, so pretty much the same as a standard 125i. A side benefit is you can only get an auto in a 125i and the 120i has the choice of box.

[99Chimaera]

Mike335i said:

I think a healthy 120i will map to about 210-220hp, so pretty much the same as a standard 125i. A side benefit is you can only get an auto in a 125i and the 120i has the choice of box.

Interesting, thanks for that.

[J4CKO]

Do some research, lady I work with had loads of problem with hers, needed a turbo and some other stuff, luckily under warranty.

[99Chimaera]

Thanks. I'll certainly do lots of research. My folks had BMWS since the 80s and they've all been good.

[ZX10R NIN]

99Chimaera said:

Hi all.
Due to my car being written off in a crash recently.
I am looking for a new car again. I'm looking for a high performance hatchback ideally petrol. I'm considering a bmw 1 series amongst others. The 125i would probably be best for my needs but they are very rare. Can a 120i be mapped to 125i performance?

Many thanks

A 120i won't handle anywhere near as well as a proper hot hatch like this:

Megane Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Cup S

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Peugeot Sport 308 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Seat Leon Cupra 280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Now I understand these may be more to insure but once you've declared the map depending on you insurance company you may find you're closer to the cost of something like the above.

If it has to be a 1 series then why not an older M135i.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[99Chimaera]

ZX10R NIN said:

A 120i won't handle anywhere near as well as a proper hot hatch like this:

Megane Trophy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Cup S

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Peugeot Sport 308 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Seat Leon Cupra 280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Now I understand these may be more to insure but once you've declared the map depending on you insurance company you may find you're closer to the cost of something like the above.

If it has to be a 1 series then why not an older M135i.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Many thanks for your message, very helpful, I've looked at the 135i and am possibly tempted but will need to research more. I generally prefer German cars having had golf gtis. I'm also considering volvo v40, but they are not particularly performance orientated.
Thanks for your help.

[ZX10R NIN]

Don't forget the Seat's German in all but name, also when it comes to handling the two French (especially the Megane) cars will show the 120i a clean pair of heels in terms of interior are none to shabby either, so maybe grab a test drive before knocking them off the list.

The Megane also benefits from slow depreciation.

[Shiv_P]

I would forget the 1 series unless you are looking at M135i or M140i. The other German hatches a la A3, Golf, Leon offer more of everything for less money. More space, tech etc. No reason to go for a 1 series. The ride on a generic sport 1 series also is unacceptable

[Deep Thought]

Shiv_P said:

I would forget the 1 series unless you are looking at M135i or M140i. The other German hatches a la A3, Golf, Leon offer more of everything for less money. More space, tech etc. No reason to go for a 1 series. The ride on a generic sport 1 series also is unacceptable

I would pretty much echo that. The 120i isnt really a "high performance hatchback". Its their hatch with a mid range petrol engine and a trim level.

If you're wanting a hot hatch then the list by ZX10R is a good starting point

[99Chimaera]

Many thanks for the very helpful suggestions, much appreciated.

[Blanchimont]

I've had a 2014 BMW 1 series (M135i) and it was by far the worst, least reliable car I've ever owned. The dealer I dealt with was by far the worst I've dealt with too.

New air conditioning compressor, and condenser.
New iDrive unit.
New exhaust system.
New boot latch.
2 New window regulators.
New cooling fans, and a couple of other cooling bits.
Washer jets randomly stopped working too.

all of this, according to my local dealer was "car noises" and the air conditioning condenser was a leak, that became a cracked pipe, that then become a hole and not covered under warranty.

Compared to multiple Renaults, Fiat's and Ford's none of them had anything like as many/serious issues as that one car.

My 2 Renaults (Both Megane RS Cups) got driven hard on road and track, daily driven, had nearly 30k put on them and other than a genuine hole in the condenser (which was covered under Renault warranty) they were utterly reliable and never let me down. Ditto the Fiat, Ditto the Ford (other than rust, but that's age, not the car)

The Renaults I had also had loads more character about them, compared to the BMW. Perhaps that's just me, perhaps I got a bad car, and perhaps another one would be completely different. What I do know though, is that the utter contempt I was treated with by the local dealer, is that their after sales support is truly appalling.
That, not necessarily the car, has put me off the brand.