BMW is a brand loved by many. However, times have changed and with them many of the car company’s values. The BMW F40 (yes, that’s the chassis code) has done away not only with the inline-six but also with the rear-wheel-drive layout. It has dropped its distinctive characteristics in favor of practicality. Motorsport Magazine took the BMW 128ti – the second most powerful version after the 135i – and tried to justify its purchase over the rest of the hatchbacks.

BMW is mostly associated with performance, at least as far as the younger audience is concerned. With this in mind, the colleagues from Motorsport Magazine have chosen to focus on the performance aspect of the car, more specifically the acceleration from standstill to 220 km/h (137 mph).

Although the video does a great job at showcasing the Bavarian hot hatchback’s speed capabilities, boasting a Motorsport Magazine}, as tested, we are still not sure about paying for it when the Golf GTI offers similar performance at a more affordable price.

While the latest BMW F40 is undeniably more practical, it has lost that which makes it distinguishable from the rest. Still, we have to give credit where it’s due, as the new 128ti offers impressive performance, courtesy of the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time of 6.1 seconds.

BMW 128ti specifications