The 130i Is One Of The Best Used BMWs You Can Buy Right Now

If you want an affordable BMW with a great engine and chassis combo, you'll struggle to do better than a 130i

24 Mar 2016

The 130i Is One Of The Best Used BMWs You Can Buy Right Now

Whenever I have an idle moment, I head over to the classifieds and have a jolly good browse. But recently, there’s been one car I look for first almost without fail: the E87 BMW 130i. I’ve been tempted by one of these for ages, because they tick a hell of a lot of boxes. Great engine? Check. Good chassis? Check. Great looks? Well, this one will divide opinion, but I reckon it’s a handsome devil.

The big draw, of course, is the 265bhp, ‘N52’ 3.0-litre straight-six. It’s the most powerful non-M N/A straight-six BMW ever built, and it’ll get you from 0-62mph in an impressive 5.5 seconds, and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph.

It’s one of the few rear-wheel drive hot hatches in existence, although there are a few handling upgrades I’d consider, namely a limited-slip differentially and perhaps new dampers.

The best part is they’re not all that expensive. The cheapest are currently hovering around £5000, and we found this tidy looking 2006 example for £7695. Sure, that’s E36 M3 money, but as we discovered recently, buying a car like that does have its pitfalls.. The 130i is a much less complex car, but is still bloody quick, so for this kind of money, we reckon it’s the used BMW to have.

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

Designwise, not good enough to “be a BMW” but one of the best if you remove the badge and look at is as a simple (golf, focus, astra substitute) hatchback

My dad had a LE one for a little while, a few years back. Great car, one he wished he never sold.

I have a 118i m sport. It’s only a 4 pot nasp but it’s bloody good fun. Handles great, a good daily and enough power to put up a good fight with other cars. M2 next though

As an American… I would love to buy this car but its not legal here. Is there any loop holes for getting this car in US?

Care to explain how it’s illegal in the US?? I’m not ironic, I just don’t know the laws there

You could buy the coupé version, the 128 has the same engine and it’s almost as powerful, more expensive and not a hatchback… But it’s quite a cool car.