M135i steering

[Heathwood]

Hi all,

I've owned a 130i for about 5 years. One of the things I like about it is the meaty steering. My plan is to replace it with a M135i in another year or so.

However, I've just spent a couple of days in a brand new 116d hire car. The steering was dreadful. I expected little in the way of feel, but it wasn't very linear, lacked accuracy and didn't inspire any real confidence. I really struggled to adapt to it.

Does anyone know whether there's any real difference in the steering between the lower spec models and the M135i? Does anyone have any thoughts or comments about the steering of M135i's?

[djglover]

Had - 116d whilst my m135i was being fixed. I think the steering was more intuitive in the 116d to be honest!
You get used to it, but when I drive my wife's car it is nice to have the hydraulic feel again!

[dapearson]

I quite like the steering on mine. Sure there's not much feedback, but there are so few turns lock to lock, and i like the meaty feel of it. It feels very "pointy".

Having said that if it was a car i'd bought for enthusiastic driving i'd be disappointed, but then again it's not that sort of car - slightly wobbly suspension and a throttle which seems to hold revs on upchanges too much all spoil it for hooning.

So from that POV the steering suits it as a bit of a blunt (but still staggeringly capable) weapon.

If i had a cheapish hooning car in the garage like a 106/306 GTI, DC2 integra, etc i'd keep it and run alongside.

[Heathwood]

dapearson said:

I quite like the steering on mine. Sure there's not much feedback, but there are so few turns lock to lock, and i like the meaty feel of it. It feels very "pointy".

Having said that if it was a car i'd bought for enthusiastic driving i'd be disappointed, but then again it's not that sort of car - slightly wobbly suspension and a throttle which seems to hold revs on upchanges too much all spoil it for hooning.

So from that POV the steering suits it as a bit of a blunt (but still staggeringly capable) weapon.

If i had a cheapish hooning car in the garage like a 106/306 GTI, DC2 integra, etc i'd keep it and run alongside.

Ah, that's interesting, so it does have a meaty feel to the steering? The steering on the 116d was wispy and light.

[Tea Pot One]

I test drove an M135i after selling my first Z4 35iS ... and found the steering a bit skittish - though the wheel was thick. I think most people say you get used to it.

Steering weight and feel these days depends on what model year you have as BMW have a habit of making minor adjustments without really announcing it. You may well find a 62 plate is quite a bit different than a 14 plate say. I have driven 2 Z4 35iS's and both were significantly different yet only 2 years manufacture apart. I have driven probably 20-25 BMW 530d'd from 2005 to 2012 and they were all different (steering weight and feel) for each model year yet supposedly the same car.

[dapearson]

Heathwood said:

Ah, that's interesting, so it does have a meaty feel to the steering? The steering on the 116d was wispy and light.

In sport mode it's heavier and feels "meaty", but without masses of feedback. In comfort/eco it's light and almost has no feedback at all.

[aeropilot]

Heathwood said:

Ah, that's interesting, so it does have a meaty feel to the steering? The steering on the 116d was wispy and light.

Depends what your definition of 'meaty' is...?

I've driven M135/M235 with a view to replacing my E82 135i.....and the awful electric steering on them is largely why I'm keeping the 135i instead.
While it was 'pointy' due to 2 turns lock to lock, it's too devoid of any 'feel' and it's far too light. It is a bit heavier when in Sport' mode, but I object to buying a 'performance' sports saloon that you have to press all sorts of buttons before every drive because it's default mode is set up for a granny to use to go shopping in.

[Heathwood]

Hmm, thanks for the input and thoughts guys. Given that I still enjoy my 130i I'm starting to wonder whether a circa 20k cost to change to a M135i is worth it. Will probably test drive at some point to make up my mind.

[Babw]

I don't think I'm being unfair when I say Audi's have horrendous steering feel and that on it's own was enough to sway me towards BMW's. The BMW's I've test driven, loaned during service in the last couple of felt like they were trying their best to beat Audi at poor steering feel; M135i included. I mean it's relatively precise and goes where you want it to but there's so little feel compared to something like an E46 M3 which itself has poor steering feel relative to all Porsche's I've driven.

When I tested the F10 M5 I thought they'd finally cracked it until I found out the M5 has hydraulic steering.

[CRB14]

As mentioned above it does lack feel but what new cars don't? Even the new Boxster has fly by wire (see the Chris Harris review). I would however say that in Sports mode I find it super sharp and accurate. Lock to lock is incredible so you barely have to turn the wheel.

[James_G]

I have a M135i and I can't say I have an issue with the steering. I find it quite pleasant in comfort and it's not especially light compared to say Fiat Puntos with that feature they had to make the steering really light round town. In fact in sport it's just lumpy and heavy, which is shame as the I prefer the throttle response in that mode.

But all this talk of feel and feedback I just don't get. I drove an Infiniti Q50 with the full electric steering recently (i.e. no actual steering rack in play) and not once in 500 miles did I fail to put it where I wanted to. And yet it's apparently got the worse steering known to man. Similarly my Z4 M before had nice hydraulic steering but I don't drive the M135i lamenting the feel and feedback that it gave, because I can't, hand on heart, tell the difference. Maybe jumping out of one in to the other, but after a few days, nothing.

ETA: OP you'll probably miss the sound of your engine more than you'll notice the steering. An M135i doesn't sound very good until about 3k revs, whereas a 130i will sound good throughout, based on my experience on BMW 6 cylinder NA engines.

Edited by James_G on Wednesday 29th October 16:37

[Ruxpin]

The steering quality (More than just feedback) on the current bmws/minis i have drive is a significant issue for me. Over the last few years my E91 335d (fully hydraulic) has needed a fair bit of servicing and i have been loaned various cars by the local dealer - F31 330d M Sport, F30 330d M Sport, F30 320d M Sport, X3 2.0d x-drive, X1 118d x-drive, Mini Countryman S, Mini Countryman D, some for fairly extensive periods. The steering on all of them is awful and for different reasons.

The minis seemed to go num and loose sensitivity in a straight line on an m-way making minor corrections difficult and causing you to wander steadily from side to side in the lane.

The F3x bmws seem hyper sensitive and unnecessarily pointy - any bumps in the road that cause you to nudge the steering wheel make the car change direction, so again you go wandering down a bumpy b-road.

My brother changed E91 320d (not fully hydraulic) to F31 330d and noticed the steering "quality" reduced with the newer model.

I guess for emissions etc we are stuck with the new system but surely it can be improved?

Interesting that the new M5 has fully hydraulic. What else retains fully hydraulic?

[copperman05]

As far as electronic steering systems go the one on the M135i isn't all that bad. Its very direct and in sport mode has a decent weight to it, it just lacks any proper feedback that you would be used to in the 130i. Is it a deal breaker? Probably not. If your looking to buy any modern car you going to be faced with the same issue, the M135i is probably one of the best of a bad bunch. I've come back from Wales grinning like a cheshire cat where the direct feel of the M lite has a hoot so its not all bad.