M235i Test drive.

M235i Test drive.

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wizz72

Original Poster:

575 posts

227 months

Sunday 9th March 2014
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So I was fortunate to have a go in an M235i yesterday,good looking car in the flesh if a little generic from some angles,strangley I quite liked the rear which I didn't in

photos,i cant however help but feel it looks a wee bit big for its wheels.It felt more positive than the M135i I test drove a while back displaying better body control and

turn in,i couldn't quite get the electric seat as low as I wanted in relation to the wheel but then I am 6ft 4 ,as with the M135i I found the 3 tier dash and centre

console overly fussy for my tastes and I do wish you could spec a Sat Nav/entertainment screen that folds away instead of permanently being on show,but altogether an

enviroment where you could comfortably spend a good chunk of time.The engine felt very muscular with a low down burble giving way to a nice howl higher up,its slightly

manufactured on the inside thanks to BMW's Active Sound but that doesnt detract from an otherwise good 'voice',pops and crackles on the over run now seem par for the

course ala A45 AMG and F1 but the M235i throws those into the mix too.It certainly goes well mated to the 8speed ZF box.

Im not a big fan of electric steering systems,lacking in some feedback compared to hydraulic,this one however was pretty good,bit of a deadzone feel slightly off centre

but nicely weighted and not totally devoid of feel . The whole package feels very competent and grown up and its happy to play commuter and hooligan in equal measure

which cant be a bad thing.I have to say that overall it was a very capable little car car but then it wanted to be at nearly £43,000.00 with extras,ofc not all will be

quite so heavily specced with luxuries as the demonstrator I drove although this car was missing the LSD which could potentially put you over the 45k mark if you added

it to an already well specced example.If you look at the base price it has lost a little of the bargain tag that the M135i is renowned for but imo opinion

makes up for it in improved looks (subjective i know but i always preferred the coupe) and a better drive,it does however push it into more direct competition price wise

with say something like the A45 AMG,it will be interesting to see how it sells next to that car and its 'cheaper' M135i sibling.

I can almost understand why BMW reportedly wont make a road going M235i Racing because it could be too close in performance to the soon to be released M3/4 but it gives

me great hopes of a blistered arch faster variant in the M2 being something worth waiting for ....hopefully smile


Edited by wizz72 on Sunday 9th March 10:54

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Sunday 9th March 2014
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I was similar to you I didn't like the rear in photos but thought it looked fine in the metal & I will be arranging a test drive too as I really really like it as a package.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Sunday 9th March 2014
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Had a drive of this M235 at my dealership this afternoon.



My dealer only registered it on Friday, and I was the first to take it on a demo drive, so with only 10 miles on the clock, it wasn’t a full on test drive, but I’ve been promised another longer go if I want in a months time once it’s run in.
It was a fully optioned car given a dealer demo, so ZF8 auto, adaptive dampers, leccy heated seats, Harmon Kardon audio, adaptive xenons, Navigation etc.,etc.

So, what did I think of it.

As I suspected, I hated the electric steering, too vague in feel, although it gives a false impression of being ‘sporty & direct’ because of the 2.0:1 ratio but it not having an oil temp gauge, given how long it takes the N55 to warm up, is just daft IMHO. Instead you’ve got all this eco pro save the planet gubbins.

It’s a very nice car for what it is & rides a lot better than a stock E82 135 did, and it’s way more comfortable.

But......

And this is a big but for me, it didn’t put a smile on my face, and to me it feels like a E92 335i replacement rather than an E82 135i replacement given the size increase and ‘softening’ of the car compared to an E82 135i. To be honest you could close your eyes and be driving a 3 Series or even a 5 Series the way it drives. For the vast majority of people buying this car, I suspect that will be seen as a good thing, but it definitely lacks that ‘rawness’ and compact, small, terrier like nature that the E82 has, and as good as the ZF8 auto is, I prefer the DCT gearbox. Again, the DCT just has that more mechanical feel to it.

So, I might take up the offer of a longer drive in a months time, but I can’t see me replacing my 135i with a M235. When I feel the physical need for something ‘softer’ and more wafty, with a conventional auto ‘box again I’ll replace the 135 when the time comes with a Jag or a Rangie.


aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Sunday 9th March 2014
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Slippydiff said:

Please bring back good, old fashioned, straightforward hydraulic power steering !
But the old E82 135i has proper old fashioned hydraulic power steering.....????

Granted, at 2.7:1 ratio, it's not as quick as the 2.2:1 rack in the 1M, plus it has the weaker non-///M steering arms etc., but I certainly don't think it's lacking feel and weight (it is compared to a 1M, but is heaps better than any other E8* 1 Series with their electric steering, and this new M235 which was like twirling an american cars power steering compared with my E82 135i. I don't think the salesman was too impressed as I explained in no uncertain terms that I hated the steering, as I was manoevering it out of the car park at the start of the test drive.

As much as the ride quality of the E82 was back in stock form, at least it can be drastically improved upon - just as shame you have to pay money to get a car BMW should have built in the first place - but they would argue that they did - it's called the 1M.

I would have bought a 1M new instead of the 135, but with a knackered left shoulder, and living in London, a 3 pedal car is not an option for me any more.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Monday 10th March 2014
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Slippydiff said:
aeropilot said:
Slippydiff said:

Please bring back good, old fashioned, straightforward hydraulic power steering !
But the old E82 135i has proper old fashioned hydraulic power steering.....???

I realise that. My guess is the E82 I drove, was suffering from a combination of hopeless geometry, poor runflats and/or over-inflated runflats.
Or possibly, it had the active steering option.....??
Not many UK 135i were optioned with this but there are a few around and I've seen reports from USA owners (where it is a little more common) that the feel isn't as good as the default steering.


Volition

227 posts

135 months

Monday 10th March 2014
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I really want to test drive the M235i. We currently have a Z4 35i, with the DCT gear box and we're looking to upgrade to something a little more practical.
The M3 was on our list, but having test driven one, it doesn't make sense to us. Yes it's powerful and still has the DCT gearbox, but it's quite dated now (in comparison to the 2 and 4 series), a little big for what we want and it will come with M associated running costs. This has now got us thinking about buying an M235i as an alternative to the Z4. On paper the M235i is supposed to be quicker than the Z4, but I can't see how when it has the 8 speed auto gearbox.

TBKBABAB

116 posts

149 months

Monday 10th March 2014
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Test drove one at the weekend and was highly impressed but where do you get 43k from?, think if you
know where to go you can get a decently specced one for 34-35k.

wizz72

Original Poster:

575 posts

227 months

Monday 10th March 2014
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All i was saying is that the advertised showroom price was a whisker under £43,000.If you go to the BMW configurator and add everything you can almost get to 45k and that's still not with the LSD option. But your quite right,i have no doubt you can get it cheaper elsewhere if you know where to go. A well specced one at the price you suggest would be great as the basic on these is around 35k,it will be interesting to see what deals people can get yes

TBKBABAB

116 posts

149 months

Monday 10th March 2014
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My order in and just had build date confirmed week 13, guess if you spec 'everything' you can get to that but who would apart from a dealer for a demo.

wizz72

Original Poster:

575 posts

227 months

Tuesday 11th March 2014
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Indeed as I said In my original post I doubted many would be specced with all the extras as the demonstrator was.

I hope you enjoy your new toy when it arrives smile


Jim909

207 posts

130 months

Tuesday 11th March 2014
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I like the look of it a lot, a work mate has a M135i and its a great car, only issue i had was its looks, this model looks like it sorts out that problem, im in the market for a car in the next 6 months, but i cant help thinking that this price range is very similar to a 981 Cayman/Boxster, a test drive will reveal the answer i guess.

JRBM5

161 posts

138 months

Tuesday 11th March 2014
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I was at the same dealership on Sunday as well. Had a good look around at what they had on offer and was only impressed by a couple of cars...the B6 Alpina they had upstairs, the interior of the 6 series downstairs and surprisingly the i3.

What I didn't like was how generic the feel and look of the 1, 2 and 3 series are inside. The sat nav location, the switchgear, the cheap plasticky panels on the lower doorcards. Made the £50k 335xd they had feel hellishly overpriced.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Tuesday 11th March 2014
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JRBM5 said:
Made the £50k 335xd they had feel hellishly overpriced.
I think somebody came in and bought that Individual spec 335xd on the Sunday afternoon when I was there....was up for over 8k off list IIRC.

JRBM5

161 posts

138 months

Wednesday 12th March 2014
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aeropilot said:
I think somebody came in and bought that Individual spec 335xd on the Sunday afternoon when I was there....was up for over 8k off list IIRC.
I think you were right, priced in the window at £42k. Still a lot of money for a car without the panoramic sunroof.

CooperS

4,500 posts

218 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
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Jim909 said:
I like the look of it a lot, a work mate has a M135i and its a great car, only issue i had was its looks, this model looks like it sorts out that problem, im in the market for a car in the next 6 months, but i cant help thinking that this price range is very similar to a 981 Cayman/Boxster, a test drive will reveal the answer i guess.
I'm in that place too, once spec'd to the same level as my 1 series it no longer looks like a bargain.

nickfrog

20,872 posts

216 months

Friday 14th March 2014
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Jim909 said:
I like the look of it a lot, a work mate has a M135i and its a great car, only issue i had was its looks, this model looks like it sorts out that problem, im in the market for a car in the next 6 months, but i cant help thinking that this price range is very similar to a 981 Cayman/Boxster, a test drive will reveal the answer i guess.
You would have to look at Cayman/Boxster S brought up to the same spec as the "base" M135i first, including their respective discounts. This should return a £15k difference at least, more if you start speccing fast depreciating options on both cars.

Volition

227 posts

135 months

Friday 14th March 2014
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M235i spec'd with all the options we want = £43k.
Boxster S spec'd with all the options we want £62k

20k difference is massive! Also factoring in that BMW are doing PCP deals on the M135/M235 at just under 6%. Porsche IR's are way higher on the Boxster S.

Jim909

207 posts

130 months

Friday 14th March 2014
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Volition said:
M235i spec'd with all the options we want = £43k.
Boxster S spec'd with all the options we want £62k

20k difference is massive! Also factoring in that BMW are doing PCP deals on the M135/M235 at just under 6%. Porsche IR's are way higher on the Boxster S.
True - but my thought process is that if i am prepared to spend that much on a M235, I could get a slightly less spec Cayman S for not very much more, might well be my thought process thats skewy though, and yes i bet in the next 6 months some deals on the M235 will appear.

TB303

1,040 posts

193 months

Friday 14th March 2014
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If you have the opportunity to own a boxster/cayman then do so.

I only just got my M135i but it's no boxster. I needed a practical car, but if it was as a fun car with M235i money in my pocket I'd be looking at a used 981 or even late 987.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Friday 14th March 2014
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Volition said:
M235i spec'd with all the options we want = £43k.
Boxster S spec'd with all the options we want £62k

20k difference is massive! Also factoring in that BMW are doing PCP deals on the M135/M235 at just under 6%. Porsche IR's are way higher on the Boxster S.
I don't get the comparison between a M235 and a Boxter.....???

One is a 2dr, 4 seat sports saloon (forget this coupe marketing crap) with reasonable levels of practicality and the other is a 2 seat open top sports car with next to no practicality.

I can understand someone looking at a Z4 and comparing price with a Boxter, but not the M235....bizarre.