Discussion
I'll probably sound like an aggressive driver, but I've had the odd wolf in sheep's clothing car before.
Expectation versus reality were somewhat different. I'm prone to long posts, so the short version is that when your car looks ordinary and slow it's even harder to use the performance than when the car is obviously fast. People just see an ordinary car and pull out of junctions, change lanes in front of you etc.
It's not assured with an obviously quick car by any means but my personal observations are that people are more inclined to keep left off roundabouts rather than crawl up to 70mph slightly less slowly than some other diesel thing likewise creeping up to 65mph. When it does happen it's a fun opportunity to give it a burst of acceleration.
Expectation versus reality were somewhat different. I'm prone to long posts, so the short version is that when your car looks ordinary and slow it's even harder to use the performance than when the car is obviously fast. People just see an ordinary car and pull out of junctions, change lanes in front of you etc.
It's not assured with an obviously quick car by any means but my personal observations are that people are more inclined to keep left off roundabouts rather than crawl up to 70mph slightly less slowly than some other diesel thing likewise creeping up to 65mph. When it does happen it's a fun opportunity to give it a burst of acceleration.
Yeah I get what you mean Jamie, part of me says if I'm spending £20k+ on a performance hatch then atleist have one that looks like it can perform! The other half says go for the ' normal ' looking car what only car enthusiasts would know its performance capabilities.
Perhaps il just flip a coin and decide lol.
Other car I'm liking is the 8p Audi s3 for a few grand less.
Perhaps il just flip a coin and decide lol.
Other car I'm liking is the 8p Audi s3 for a few grand less.
Really like the idea of the 135i (and has been said recently it is a supercar!).
Anyway if you like the stealth look it must be great, but if you want something that looks a bit more sporting maybe a 235i would suit?
I had a 123d for 6+ years and it was entertainingly quick but not very pleasant - I now know I should have test driven a 130i! However I now have straight 6 petrol loveliness and I'll never buy another diesel, so although a 125d is doubtless very capable it just won't begin to compare with a 135i.
I'm unlikely to buy another new BMW but if I did the 135i or 235i would probably be the only ones I would consider - hooligan cars with a manual gearbox option. Lovely!
Anyway if you like the stealth look it must be great, but if you want something that looks a bit more sporting maybe a 235i would suit?
I had a 123d for 6+ years and it was entertainingly quick but not very pleasant - I now know I should have test driven a 130i! However I now have straight 6 petrol loveliness and I'll never buy another diesel, so although a 125d is doubtless very capable it just won't begin to compare with a 135i.
I'm unlikely to buy another new BMW but if I did the 135i or 235i would probably be the only ones I would consider - hooligan cars with a manual gearbox option. Lovely!
lord trumpton said:
Welshbeef said:
lord trumpton said:
I was surprised recently at the pace of a 125d
As good as that is it is not a competitor to the M135i. One does 0-100 in 11 seconds the other 16+ seconds worlds apart.
5+ seconds slower to 100mph is a huge gap, it's no different to comparing the F40 to the M135i that's 5 seconds quicker to 100mph.
lord trumpton said:
Welshbeef said:
lord trumpton said:
I was surprised recently at the pace of a 125d
As good as that is it is not a competitor to the M135i. One does 0-100 in 11 seconds the other 16+ seconds worlds apart.
Pros - performance is excellent when the running costs are taken into account. You can run these on pocket money.
Replaced my rear tyres at 25k miles, they were at 3mm. I reckon the fronts will be good for well over 30k miles.
Long term average mpg (over 26000 miles) is 31mpg.
It doesn't attract any attention. The car has zero road presence. It looks just like a 116D, which is a good or bad thing, depending on your viewpoint.
Cons - while you're always aware that you're in a fast car, it never feels 'special'. You could probably think of lots of ways to spend £30k on a car that certainly WOULD feel special, and that's definitely something to consider.
Just a couple of other (very) minor niggles - the M135i does not have an oil temperature gauge. A glaring omission, in my opinion. Oh, and the stupid 'digital dipstick'. It's annoying having to sit there whilst the engine runs through its measuring cycle to read the oil level.
Apart from that, it's a great all rounder. Would I have another one? Probably not. I've enjoyed my time with it, but there's so many other cars to try. Deciding what to replace it with though, is no easy task.
Replaced my rear tyres at 25k miles, they were at 3mm. I reckon the fronts will be good for well over 30k miles.
Long term average mpg (over 26000 miles) is 31mpg.
It doesn't attract any attention. The car has zero road presence. It looks just like a 116D, which is a good or bad thing, depending on your viewpoint.
Cons - while you're always aware that you're in a fast car, it never feels 'special'. You could probably think of lots of ways to spend £30k on a car that certainly WOULD feel special, and that's definitely something to consider.
Just a couple of other (very) minor niggles - the M135i does not have an oil temperature gauge. A glaring omission, in my opinion. Oh, and the stupid 'digital dipstick'. It's annoying having to sit there whilst the engine runs through its measuring cycle to read the oil level.
Apart from that, it's a great all rounder. Would I have another one? Probably not. I've enjoyed my time with it, but there's so many other cars to try. Deciding what to replace it with though, is no easy task.
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