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      09-04-2012, 04:31 AM   #1
JayRikei
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125i Msport WHATCAR review

Hi everyone,

New member from New Zealand here!
I ordered 125i Msport a month ago, so naturally you look for reviews etc.

Found a review from WHATCAR

What do you guys think of the review? Especially the part he compares 125i to Golf GTI;
"The price and power of the 125i might suggest that it's a rival for genuine hot hatches such as the VW Golf GTI, but it's not quite that sharp. Instead, if you treat it more like a high-speed grand tourer on a smaller scale – go fast, rather than flat-out – you'll be playing it to its strengths."

Well, I have had Mk6 GTI for a year and when I test drove 125i Msport I thought exactly the opposite.
125i felt much better around corners, had incredibly smooth power delivery for a turbo and generally was much more fun.
Was it just me being hyper excited to test drive something new and different?

At least, one new zealand review seems to agree with me.
NZ Herald 125i Review
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      09-04-2012, 05:47 AM   #2
ovekvam
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Some reviews state that the F20 understeers, while mine doesn't. I have a theory that the wheel/tire setup is quite important. With some setups you will get understeer, and with others you will not. My guess is that some of the journalists have tested cars with unfortunate setups.

My car was delivered with 225/245 runflats, but I replaced them with regular 205 tires in all four corners. With that setup, the balance and handling is very good.

But the turbo engines do of course make the cars more sluggish than cars running similar performance with naturally aspirated engines. The turbo lag is very noticeable.
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      09-05-2012, 02:06 AM   #3
AusF20/F48
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Unfortunately most journos these days use the 'bang for buck' or the 'size and "in this price range' crap when talking about new cars.

You cannot compare an apple with an orange, so I am always disapointed when they want to compare a RWD with a FWD on price.

The fact is, if BMW sold a 125i M Sport for the same price as a GTi (don't I wish) the journos would probably then say 'the GTi is an older design, FWD and not in same class as the RWD 1er' and that is not right.

Both cars are fantastic to drive and will appeal to different drivers for all sorts of different reasons. I think the Golf set the bench mark with the GTi and now there are several hot hatches out now offering performance but only one has RWD and the BMW badge.

As Tiff said at a recent function in Dubai "I love a hot hatch' and Jason said about main stream cars, 'BMW is best driver's car.
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      09-05-2012, 06:36 AM   #4
JayRikei
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Ok, I test drove 125i M sport again today.
One thing I can confidently say is this; GTI understeers so bad compared to F20.
Also test drove a basic X1(rwd only) and ... wait for it ... I honestly felt even X1 corners better than my GTI. You can all call me MAD but that's how I felt.
The only thing I will miss about my GTI is the exhaust note.

Looks like WHATCAR is a big fan of VW. Look at their car of the year picks in each category, they are all VWs.
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      09-05-2012, 06:45 AM   #5
ovekvam
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You can fix the sound in the car with this smartphone app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...2JkMnNvdW5kIl0.
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      09-05-2012, 06:55 AM   #6
JayRikei
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
You can fix the sound in the car with this smartphone app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...2JkMnNvdW5kIl0.
LOL, cool little app but the turbo noise is weird.
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      09-05-2012, 08:16 AM   #7
vladberca
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There are for sure some aftermarket exhausts which can improve the sound part!
Other than that 125i M Sport is better than its direct rivals in terms of performance, only the price is a little bit higher!
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