What is it?

 

Don’t be fooled by the boot badge: this isn’t a 1-series with a creamy smooth six-cylinder engine under the bonnet of the sort the ‘25i’ branding would have led you to expect even a couple of years ago. Sorry, this is another turbocharged four, with the 125i getting the same 2-litre unit that’s fitted to BMW’s ‘20i’ and ‘28i’ badged cars, but in an intermediate 218bhp state of tune.

 

Meaning that, apart from the M135i, it’s the most powerful model in the current 1-series line up; this is also our first chance to sample the 1-series in M-Sport spec.