Alright, so our comparisons with the BMW M135i and ...
seemingly everything
were inspired by the fact that we all seemed to be doing just that every time a vaguely PHey car in the £20K-£40K bracket was mentioned on the site. Number of seats, intended purpose, actual price comparisons - none seemed to put off the inevitable forum discussion.
So we've done just that, albeit in some depth. You asked for it and all that!
Hate the Beemer? We gave you alternatives!
these articles
we've done aren't really about the M135i. Not in isolation anyway. It's just been the inspiration and anchor around which we can have a sniff about the interesting cars, new and used, that might appeal to those of a fast car persuasion in this price bracket. And if nothing else it's revealed quite how wide and diverse the market currently is.
Number of seats, driven wheels, engine size, power, transmission type, snob value, performance - turns out you can have your pick and combine in any which way that suits your tastes and needs. The BMW isn't meant to be the answer to all these questions. But it is a handy benchmark by which they can all be compared and measured, at least by the parameters that matter to us.
By all means cheer its departure from the PH Fleet. Go on, set off a firework, dance a jig on its grave, do whatever's required. And if anyone says 'ah, but what about...' you know where to point them while we all talk about something completely different.