The BMW M140i is, if not the hottest, one of the hottest hatches out there today. Its rear-wheel drive layout also makes it a unique bird, considering most hatches are front-wheel drive these days. While that may prove to be quite fun on your daily commute, things may be a bit different out on the track, especially if we’re talking about typical British weather. That said, the comparison the guys from Car Throttle put together might not be fair.
They decided to settle the dispute around the hottest three hatches of the moment by taking all of them to the track. Getting manual models was the preferred way to go about testing them as they do provide more fun while being pushed hard. Therefore, the competitors are all manual, as goes: Honda Civic Type-R, Ford Focus RS and the BMW M140i. On paper, there’s little to set them apart but on the track things are a bit different.
Normally, we’d place our bets on the BMW, even though it is at a disadvantage compared to the Focus. On the track, the BMW has what it needs not only to keep up with the American but even to defeat it. However, since the track in question was wet and rain interfered, we predict that the all-wheel drive model here will win all the challenges ahead. And rightfully so, as there’s no point in having more power if you can’t put it down.
Needless to say that the Ford was the fastest around the short circuit they chose to use for this comparison. Of course, the skill of the driver is also questionable as he almost loses control of the BMW at one point but understandably so. After all, even a skilled driver could’ve reached the same conclusion. What was surprising though was how the BMW M140i fared in a straight line, something we definitely didn’t expect considering the conditions.
