IN THIS FEATURE Is it really a baby M? We need more power, sir 130i, or a 5-Series...

But it is that lightweight straight-six engine that promises to transform the 1-Series, a car that's been begging for more power since its launch a year ago. And BMW has gone along with over-excited journos reading the on-paper numbers and dubbing the 130i a 'baby M car'. Expectations have been further heightened by BMW's own statement that the 130i can lap the Nurburgring in a time that 'wouldn't disgrace an M3.'

And that's the problem with paper numbers. They convey the information that here is a car quicker to 62mph than competitors such as the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA and Audi TT quattro, that here is a car with an impressive power-to-weight ratio of 182bhp per tonne and a high specific output of 87bhp per litre. But a baby M? No sir.

Twin chromed tailpipes are unique to 130i

That's not to damn the car, not at all. It's just that putting the M-word in the mix is like suggesting you'll get Sinatra when you end up with Robbie Williams.

With the 130i, what you have is a quite-quick 1-Series. You also get an extremely well balanced car that can be driven very quickly with a high degree of confidence, although the absence of a limited-slip differential means that power-on oversteer isn't easily achievable (not that we think this is a good idea anyway. Honest). But this car doesn't electrify the senses the way every M-car in living memory does, and nor is it cor-blimey quick. Much swifter than its sibling, true, but not a revelation. And it's not just M-cars that are capable of delivering the oh-my-gaawd factor for BMW - the first time we tried the diesel 535D, for example, it absolutely blew us away.