M135i Autocar Road Test
Discussion
Hmmm, interesting. Given how much Chris Harris and EVO have raved about it, it's slightly underwhelming to see it get only 4 stars. Especially given the value for money it constitutes for its performance and vs the similarly priced, GT86........
I can only conclude that it loses a star for it's pig ugly looks.......
I can only conclude that it loses a star for it's pig ugly looks.......
Alex said:
Autocar rarely gives out 5 stars. The review is mostly glowing. It loses points for having fairly stingy standard options and yes, being pig ugly.
Glowing?! Not really - it's complimentary at best in places, but never sounds terribly enthusiastic. At the risk of sounding "defensive owner", I've said this elsewhere on here but in my view it's a very strange review. Did one of the Autocar roadtest team have their dog run over by one? I've been reading Autocar weekly since the late '80s and rarely recall Autocar being so determinedly lukewarm about a car before. Sounds rather like the author made up his mind in advance that he disapproved of it using the hallowed "M" letter whilst not actually being a full "M" model but is having, through gritted teeth, to admit that it's actually good. Case in point: it get 5 stars for performance but they wrap that section up with the thoroughly tepid statement "certainly the drivetrain is as compelling as any in a direct competitor's vehicle and, truth be told, you can't ask for much more than that". Hardly the sort of comment that usually accompanies a 5* performance rating from a magazine that's supposed to be more about driving and less about the "What Car?" aspects, and to describe that straight six, apparently great auto box (I have a manual) and RWD set-up as "as compelling as" the rather drearier 4-pots on offer in all the FWD/4WD competition is just wilfully mealy-mouthed.
It's also peppered with other slightly snide comments ("we think M135i owners would prefer two rear seats instead of three" - huh, (a) who cares and (b) who actually prefers fewer seats in a hatchback?). And given it comes with standard leather and xenons (both optional on most competitors bar the much pricier RS3), to whinge about it being sparsely equipped for not having a standard auto-dim rear view mirror (and actually I'm pretty sure it does) seems like searching for faults.
As mentioned, their main beef, reading between the lines, seems to be that it isn't a full M car and therefore somehow not quite acceptable - it gets a slippering for not having an LSD for example. Yet, we are apparently discussing the same car that Evo saw fit to rate up there with the Porsches and Lotuses of this world in their recent eCOTY, lack of LSD notwithstanding!
A review of the M135i by Jeremy Clarkson in the Sunday Tmes:
When we buy a really fast car, the last thing we want is a really fast car. We may think we do. But we don’t. The top speed of a car matters when you’re a child. My dad’s car is faster than yours. And it matters when you are a teenager.
I bought a Volkswagen Scirocco when I was 20 because What Car? magazine said it accelerated from zero to 60mph a little bit faster than my mate’s Vauxhall Chevette. But when you are an adult you realise that you will never accelerate from zero to 60mph as fast as possible because a) people will think you are an imbecile and b) you will need a new clutch afterwards.
Nor can you ever indulge in the 1970s pastime of proving to other motorists that you have a faster car than they do, because these days all cars can do 120mph. This means you have to do 140mph to make your point, and when you’re at that speed, someone’s going to put you in a prison.
Let’s get to the point. If all you want from a car is speed, you should buy a Nissan GT-R. If you use its launch control, it will leave the line as though a comet has crashed into the back of it. And it will keep on accelerating until stark, naked fear causes you to remove your foot from the pedal. And we haven’t got to its party piece yet: its all-wheel-drive ability to get round any corner at any speed of your choosing. With the exception of a few silly track-day specials, the Nissan GT-R is the fastest car money can buy.
But you didn’t buy one, did you? Because it’s a bit ugly. And it’s a Nissan. And you thought your friends and neighbours might laugh at you.
My colleague James May recently bought a really fast car. It’s a Ferrari 458 Italia and with a fair wind it will zoom along at 200mph. But he will never drive it at anything like that speed. Ever. And even if he did take it to ten-tenths on a track — unlikely, I know — he’d still get overtaken by a GT-R.
You buy a Ferrari because you think it makes you look interesting, rich and attractive. You buy one because you like the feel of the thing, or the styling, or the cut of the salesman’s jib. You buy one so, at night, when it’s dark and you’re feeling worthless, you can say to yourself, “But I have a Ferrari.” And you will feel better. I know. I’ve been there.
Another friend recently bought a Mercedes C 63 AMG Black Series. And within days he was sending me texts saying it was a bit scary on full throttle. Wouldn’t know, mate. I’ve never used full throttle on my Black, the CLK, because there’s a big difference between admiring a slumbering crocodile and running up and poking it with a stick.
I have a Black for all sorts of reasons. I like the pillarless doors. I like the flared wheelarches. I like the body-hugging seats. And I like the noise it makes. Unfortunately, in order to make its tremendous sound, the engine has to be very powerful, which, as a by-product, makes the car very fast. But it’s not fast not in the way that a GT-R is fast. You can use the speed in the Nissan. If you try to use the speed in a Mercedes Black it will put you in a tree.
Every human being on the planet, with the possible exception of Ed Miliband, likes the feeling of being a little bit out of control. Push a child high on a swing and it will squeal with delight. But when the big kids start pushing the roundabout too fast, the sound it makes tends to change somewhat.
Which brings me to the new BMW 1-series. The top-of-the-range M135i has been winning rave reviews because, unlike the hot hatches made by every other company, it has rear-wheel drive. This means you can “hang the tail out in a corner”.
Indeed you can, but there is a price to pay for this. Because the car has rear-wheel drive, the big six-cylinder engine is mounted longitudinally. Also there is a prop shaft running under the cabin, and at the back, beneath the boot, are many components that aren’t necessary in a front-wheel-drive car. Net result: you have less space inside than you do in, say, a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Astra. So you pay more and get less space, simply so that you have the ability to power-slide through roundabouts. Something you will never, ever, do.
However, here’s the thing. I have a watch that will still work 3,000ft underwater. I have plumbing that can deliver water so hot it can remove skin. And I often eat in restaurants that serve food so complex that it’s way beyond the limited range of my smoke-addled palate. Also, as we know, I have a car that can go 80mph faster than I will ever drive.
And that’s what gives the BMW M135i such massive appeal. You will never go round a corner trailing smoke from its out-of-shape rears . . . but it’s nice to know you could.
There is a lot more to commend this car as well. It has a supremely comfortable driver’s seat, an excellent steering wheel, impossibly Germanic controls and a perfect driving position. Get in and, no matter what age has done to your frame, you will immediately feel at one with the machine.
Then there’s the engine. To appease those of a tree-hugging disposition, it is fitted with a compound turbocharger, which means that, after a hint of lag, there is a never-ending stream of bassy, gutsy power. In the real world, where there are other motorists and lampposts and policemen, this car is as fast as you would ever want.
And because it’s rear-wheel drive, the front wheels don’t have to multitask. They have only to worry about steering, which means the car feels balanced. It’s fantastic — as good as the Mercedes A 250 AMG I tested recently was bad.
There’s more, too. While it’s better- looking than its predecessor, which had the appearance of a bread van, it’s still no beauty. But, unlike all its rivals, it’s free of bling. Like all modern BMWs, it’s understated and tasteful. Yes, rivals have more space inside, but we’re talking about a few centimetres here and a bit of an inch there. And if you truly like cars and truly like driving, that is a price well worth paying.
One thing, though. I do wish BMW would reserve that M badge for cars that have come from its motor sport division, rather than sticking it on anything that’s a bit faster than usual. The M135i may say M on the back. But if you look underneath, there’s no limited-slip diff, so it isn’t an M car, really. Unless the M here stands for marketing.
That, however, is my only gripe. And it isn’t enough to warrant a lost star. Because the M135i is so lovely to drive and because it’s available with a proper automatic gearbox and because it has pillarless doors and because it’s only £3,000 more than a similarly powerful Vauxhall, it gets full marks from me.
- *
When we buy a really fast car, the last thing we want is a really fast car. We may think we do. But we don’t. The top speed of a car matters when you’re a child. My dad’s car is faster than yours. And it matters when you are a teenager.
I bought a Volkswagen Scirocco when I was 20 because What Car? magazine said it accelerated from zero to 60mph a little bit faster than my mate’s Vauxhall Chevette. But when you are an adult you realise that you will never accelerate from zero to 60mph as fast as possible because a) people will think you are an imbecile and b) you will need a new clutch afterwards.
Nor can you ever indulge in the 1970s pastime of proving to other motorists that you have a faster car than they do, because these days all cars can do 120mph. This means you have to do 140mph to make your point, and when you’re at that speed, someone’s going to put you in a prison.
Let’s get to the point. If all you want from a car is speed, you should buy a Nissan GT-R. If you use its launch control, it will leave the line as though a comet has crashed into the back of it. And it will keep on accelerating until stark, naked fear causes you to remove your foot from the pedal. And we haven’t got to its party piece yet: its all-wheel-drive ability to get round any corner at any speed of your choosing. With the exception of a few silly track-day specials, the Nissan GT-R is the fastest car money can buy.
But you didn’t buy one, did you? Because it’s a bit ugly. And it’s a Nissan. And you thought your friends and neighbours might laugh at you.
My colleague James May recently bought a really fast car. It’s a Ferrari 458 Italia and with a fair wind it will zoom along at 200mph. But he will never drive it at anything like that speed. Ever. And even if he did take it to ten-tenths on a track — unlikely, I know — he’d still get overtaken by a GT-R.
You buy a Ferrari because you think it makes you look interesting, rich and attractive. You buy one because you like the feel of the thing, or the styling, or the cut of the salesman’s jib. You buy one so, at night, when it’s dark and you’re feeling worthless, you can say to yourself, “But I have a Ferrari.” And you will feel better. I know. I’ve been there.
Another friend recently bought a Mercedes C 63 AMG Black Series. And within days he was sending me texts saying it was a bit scary on full throttle. Wouldn’t know, mate. I’ve never used full throttle on my Black, the CLK, because there’s a big difference between admiring a slumbering crocodile and running up and poking it with a stick.
I have a Black for all sorts of reasons. I like the pillarless doors. I like the flared wheelarches. I like the body-hugging seats. And I like the noise it makes. Unfortunately, in order to make its tremendous sound, the engine has to be very powerful, which, as a by-product, makes the car very fast. But it’s not fast not in the way that a GT-R is fast. You can use the speed in the Nissan. If you try to use the speed in a Mercedes Black it will put you in a tree.
Every human being on the planet, with the possible exception of Ed Miliband, likes the feeling of being a little bit out of control. Push a child high on a swing and it will squeal with delight. But when the big kids start pushing the roundabout too fast, the sound it makes tends to change somewhat.
Which brings me to the new BMW 1-series. The top-of-the-range M135i has been winning rave reviews because, unlike the hot hatches made by every other company, it has rear-wheel drive. This means you can “hang the tail out in a corner”.
Indeed you can, but there is a price to pay for this. Because the car has rear-wheel drive, the big six-cylinder engine is mounted longitudinally. Also there is a prop shaft running under the cabin, and at the back, beneath the boot, are many components that aren’t necessary in a front-wheel-drive car. Net result: you have less space inside than you do in, say, a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Astra. So you pay more and get less space, simply so that you have the ability to power-slide through roundabouts. Something you will never, ever, do.
However, here’s the thing. I have a watch that will still work 3,000ft underwater. I have plumbing that can deliver water so hot it can remove skin. And I often eat in restaurants that serve food so complex that it’s way beyond the limited range of my smoke-addled palate. Also, as we know, I have a car that can go 80mph faster than I will ever drive.
And that’s what gives the BMW M135i such massive appeal. You will never go round a corner trailing smoke from its out-of-shape rears . . . but it’s nice to know you could.
There is a lot more to commend this car as well. It has a supremely comfortable driver’s seat, an excellent steering wheel, impossibly Germanic controls and a perfect driving position. Get in and, no matter what age has done to your frame, you will immediately feel at one with the machine.
Then there’s the engine. To appease those of a tree-hugging disposition, it is fitted with a compound turbocharger, which means that, after a hint of lag, there is a never-ending stream of bassy, gutsy power. In the real world, where there are other motorists and lampposts and policemen, this car is as fast as you would ever want.
And because it’s rear-wheel drive, the front wheels don’t have to multitask. They have only to worry about steering, which means the car feels balanced. It’s fantastic — as good as the Mercedes A 250 AMG I tested recently was bad.
There’s more, too. While it’s better- looking than its predecessor, which had the appearance of a bread van, it’s still no beauty. But, unlike all its rivals, it’s free of bling. Like all modern BMWs, it’s understated and tasteful. Yes, rivals have more space inside, but we’re talking about a few centimetres here and a bit of an inch there. And if you truly like cars and truly like driving, that is a price well worth paying.
One thing, though. I do wish BMW would reserve that M badge for cars that have come from its motor sport division, rather than sticking it on anything that’s a bit faster than usual. The M135i may say M on the back. But if you look underneath, there’s no limited-slip diff, so it isn’t an M car, really. Unless the M here stands for marketing.
That, however, is my only gripe. And it isn’t enough to warrant a lost star. Because the M135i is so lovely to drive and because it’s available with a proper automatic gearbox and because it has pillarless doors and because it’s only £3,000 more than a similarly powerful Vauxhall, it gets full marks from me.
- *
I've just swapped my M6 in for one of these and I'm so glad I did....its superb. The auto gearbox makes the smg of the M6 just feel so slow. On the road the get up and go that the thing has makes it feel at least as fast as the M6 and when I get to the twisty stuff there's no comparison....M135 all the way. I loved my M6. I had it for 2.5 years and it ticked all my boxes but it started to cost me serious money (new clutch, a couple of electrical issues) so I started to look at my options.
I spent months deliberating what to replace the M6 with. I wanted 4 seats. I wanted better economy. I still wanted speed. I didn't want anything too boy racer (I'm 45). I looked at and drove...Scirroco R (hammered it because the dealer let me out on my own) , Jag XF S (diesel), Audi S3, Toyota GT86 and then got talked into test driving an X5 in a moment of madness (good car but not for me).
The Scirroco R was pretty good but torque steer and lack of grip (it was pissing down) left me feeling it was best to look elsewhere for my driving pleasure.
Looks wise I'd say for sure its not the best but there are certainly worse looking things on the road. And when I'm driving it I honestly don't care it looks a little uninteresting when it goes like it does. This one is pretty well loaded up too so its got all the stuff I was used to in the M6 plus a bit more.
To finish the best way to explain how good it is might be this. In August we drove to the south of France in my wife's Mini Cooper S Clubman. On the way back we took the scenic route (Mont Ventoux, Alpe D,Huez etc) and I was thinking how ideal the Mini was for those roads. It was superb. Next year I'm looking forward to doing the same thing in a car that handles even better and has another 100+ bhp.
Honestly, for anybody who likes driving "enthusiastically" this thing is hard to beat.
I spent months deliberating what to replace the M6 with. I wanted 4 seats. I wanted better economy. I still wanted speed. I didn't want anything too boy racer (I'm 45). I looked at and drove...Scirroco R (hammered it because the dealer let me out on my own) , Jag XF S (diesel), Audi S3, Toyota GT86 and then got talked into test driving an X5 in a moment of madness (good car but not for me).
The Scirroco R was pretty good but torque steer and lack of grip (it was pissing down) left me feeling it was best to look elsewhere for my driving pleasure.
Looks wise I'd say for sure its not the best but there are certainly worse looking things on the road. And when I'm driving it I honestly don't care it looks a little uninteresting when it goes like it does. This one is pretty well loaded up too so its got all the stuff I was used to in the M6 plus a bit more.
To finish the best way to explain how good it is might be this. In August we drove to the south of France in my wife's Mini Cooper S Clubman. On the way back we took the scenic route (Mont Ventoux, Alpe D,Huez etc) and I was thinking how ideal the Mini was for those roads. It was superb. Next year I'm looking forward to doing the same thing in a car that handles even better and has another 100+ bhp.
Honestly, for anybody who likes driving "enthusiastically" this thing is hard to beat.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff