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I think the reason that we get the 128i instead of the 130i is tied to the reason that we got the 328i instead of the 330i.
For some reason BMW launched the E90 just one year before they put out the N54 turbo. I still can't quite understand this, but I guess they had to follow some long range plan. Anyways this resulted in people paying $37K base for the 330i in the first year of production.
But a year later, BMW introduced 300/300 turbo and re-did the the whole lineup. The change was a lot more dramatic than any midlife makeover that I can remember, and it was only in the second year of production! They priced it VERY competitively too, where the 335i with 50 more HP and 80 more torque goes for only $2K more than the first year 330i.
This left BMW only two choices for the lower grade model. Either leave it as a 330i, and price it very close to the 335i since you can't tell the first year buyers that the same car costs $4K less a year later, or reduce the output, price it like a proper entry grade car, and call it something else. They of course went for the second choice.
I think it was a very lame decision on BMW's part, they could've also gone with a 3-model lineup, but they didn't. Now we are stuck with a "German engineered" 3.0L inline six with 230HP. The Subaru Legacy 3.0L H6 puts out 245HP. The Honda Accord 3.0L V6 puts out 244HP.
Sure 230HP is "enough" for such a small car, and sure E46 managed with less HP, and sure it's still more than the GTI etc etc. But it's not about that. When you are paying enough money to buy a well equipped midsize sedan for a premium compact coupe and sacrifice practicality, you should get certain things. Like well sorted out suspension, sporty bucket seats, slick transmission, low ride height, decent sized rims with sticky summers, etc. For me the list should definitely include a high revving engine with good power-to-displacement ratio. This is important because an engine without this will either run out of steam at high RPM, which means the acceleration decreases as the rev increases, or worse yet just gutless throughout the rev range.
And it’s all the more absurd because the correct solution is just an ECU re-coding away for BMW. I just hate it when marketing takes precedence over engineering.
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