RE: You Know You Want To: BMW 1 M

[soad]

tommy vercetti said:

MIP1983 said:

I think the burnt orage looks best.

Me too

[Thejimreaper]

Love it so much, so much presence on the road as well. I would have one any day but need 4 doors so will have to make do with a 4dr M3!

[s m]

Hellbound said:

Will we be getting a video from Harris in the M135i?

He's got one for review this week so I'd say almost definitely!

[Mannginger]

Yup - this always come up top in my "1 car" thoughts as well. I'd probably have to "settle" for a 135 in the real world as my pockets aren't that deep so I look forward to later articles on that and more 1Ms from BMW in the future!

[crazy about cars]

1M is a hoot to drive and does feel very "alive". However, in my opinion the price it still commands would mean people will be having second doubts. It's a cracking car no doubt but as a complete package there are other more tempting options out there at the price.

[Gruber]

Oi Harris!! I thought we were agreed that the e28 M5 was the perfect "one car for all time" solution... what's happened??



I haven't had the opportunity to drive the 1M. I suspect that if I did, I'd quite like it. But I can't see me wanting to drop £40k on one. As others have said, an e46 M3CS would be my perfect modern-ish one car for all seasons solution, for a third of the price.

[nw28840]

Charlie Michael said:

GranCab said:

Now - if you want a £40K ish ugly/beautiful Y.K.Y.W.T. (slightly impractical - granted) I'd go for this;

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

I know that car, I purchased my BMW from that garage. It was originally up for 50k and didn't sell.

Lovely looking thing but probably needs a lot doing to it if it's only covered 180 miles in that many years.

The car doesn't need anything doing to it - it's been fully restored over the last couple of years.
It's in HWM Aston Martin / Alfa in Walton on Thames.
Owned by 'someone Senior in the dealership' if i remember correctly.

Still for sale for £50k : http://www.hwmalfaromeo.co.uk/usedcars/details.htm...

[anything fast]

Most people would assume its a pimped 1 series with big alloys, but this car really is IMO the best performance car BMW currently makes. The M3 is very dear, the M5 and M6 are amazing but big and heavy compared to this.

Would love a Black one. Just somehow looks perfect! The key to a good looking car is something you can not modify from the outside without making it worse...

Please no photos of ones with carbon fibre spoilers and lambo doors!

[Raitzi]

Crusoe said:

Interesting to hear how the 135i goes compared to the 1M, a lot less hardware (no m diff, no wider rear axle etc.) but a newer chassis, only 20bhp or so down and a fair bit cheaper.

No excessive understeer on 1M under track driving situations.

[405dogvan]

That looks quite nice - the colour hides the clunky/toy-car shape better than the other options.

Financially it's a risky package tho - they aren't going to hold their value forever and when the demand for new-ish examples is gone, they'll drop like rocks.

[sgq89]

To be honest, to me it doesnt matter how fast it is, how much power it has, its still a 1 series. It just screams "I wish I had an M3 but cannot afford one "

All these powerful German cars have the same boring styling too, huge wheel arches, massive wheels, lots of vents and holes. If these cars were people, they would be bodybuilders. Idiots. Vest wearing meat heads. Not sexy.

Not for me im afraid, I'd much rather buy Italian or British than German unless its a Mercedes SL possibly. For that money I'd buy a second hand Maserati. This to me seems to be a modern-day German Nissan Pulsar! Not cool. Unless your weekends involve hanging around in Tesco's carpark.

[astirling]

TheBigUnit said:

Read the article again: "released in the last year". This was a piece about a practical new performance car, with rear seats, for use as a sole car, not another interminable Pistonheads 'Why would you spend 40 grand on a new car when you could get one of these".

+1

[Wolands Advocate]

pagani1 said:

Ugh! Plug ugly like all new BMW's from Bangle era onwards and £40k!
What can you bur for 40K these days. Audi R8, Aston Martin V8, Porsche 911 turbo, Ferrari 355, Bentley Continental, BMW M1 if tatty, BMW E46 M3 CSL, Jaguar XK-R, Honda NS-X, Lotus Exige, Lamborghini Gallardo,
Sorry Chris but if you buy one of these 1M's you are in my humble opinion slightly off beam old boy.

And a Zonda isn't plug ugly!?! It's a great car but in my personal view, little is uglier. But the looks don't matter when you're driving it. Plus the running costs/experience on your little £40k list there are not feasible on most people's notion of a daily basis:

Audi R8 – are these really £40k for a non-knackered one yet?
Aston Martin V8 – not a cheap ownership prospect
Porsche 911 turbo – as above
Ferrari 355 – as above and then some more
Bentley Continental – if you're 70
BMW M1 if tatty – tatty M1……(i) find one…..(ii) enjoy the pain
BMW E46 M3 CSL – yes, granted, but even more extreme as a daily-driver than the 1M
Jaguar XK-R – fuel bills
Honda NS-X – bit unkind to use one as a daily driver
Lotus Exige – only car? If you're genuinely mental.
Lamborghini Gallardo – see 355.

Daniel1 said:

I do like the 1M in principle but id rather save for a bit longer and get the M3 personally - based on looks, noise and high revving V8.

I thought so and then I test-drove a (manual) E92 M3. And preferred the 1M. The M3 is the more delicate driver's tool and no doubt better at 10/10ths if you have some moorland roads at your daily disposal. It's probably also the more comfortable commuter, fuel bills aside, and better-looking by far.

But as a general driving experience, I thought the 1M beat it hands down. The 1M had me grinning like a loon (a trait it shares with my M5). The M3 didn't, and feels weighty in normal driving, which was a surprise. And if it's a V8 you want, get an C63 AMG. They sound heaps more classically "V8".

[astirling]

sgq89 said:

To be honest, to me it doesnt matter how fast it is, how much power it has, its still a 1 series. It just screams "I wish I had an M3 but cannot afford one "

The rest of your post was good, but this bit I disagree with. If you can afford to buy and run one of these, you can afford an M3, albeit 2 year old.

[WheresMyCar]

Maxus said:

I would love a go in one of these. I have driven a 135i in this shape and it was great fun.

Has anyone owned both able to provide a comparison between the two?

Yes, had an N54 engined 135i before the 1M and it's chalk and cheese. Getting out of one and driving the other was a total revelation. The 1M feels far more planted, corners better and accelerates far more aggressively. Put a proper LSD, a decent set of non-run flat tyres and get a mild tune and the 135i would probably come close but I wouldn't swap back.

[Charlie Michael]

nw28840 said:

The car doesn't need anything doing to it - it's been fully restored over the last couple of years.
It's in HWM Aston Martin / Alfa in Walton on Thames.
Owned by 'someone Senior in the dealership' if i remember correctly.

Still for sale for £50k : http://www.hwmalfaromeo.co.uk/usedcars/details.htm...

Ahh, OK. I do remember speaking to someone who said it was very well known to them, didn't realise that it had a full restoration. It looks an immaculate example.

They're a marmite car but I really liike them.

[TaylotS2K]

Not overly keen on the looks. It looks a bit bubbly to me.

[Wolands Advocate]

astirling said:

sgq89 said:

To be honest, to me it doesnt matter how fast it is, how much power it has, its still a 1 series. It just screams "I wish I had an M3 but cannot afford one "

The rest of your post was good, but this bit I disagree with. If you can afford to buy and run one of these, you can afford an M3, albeit 2 year old.

Agreed. You can get a perfectly good E92 M3 for £25k. You need at least £10k more for the cheapest 1M.

[garypotter]

Another ugly car released by BMChrisW, Wonder what values these will be in a few years time, drop like the M3??

Not for me

[BoRED S2upid]

1 car £40,000. Im sure the topic would run and run im also pretty sure not a lot of people would agree with Mr Harris. My money would be going elsewhere for sure but then again why does one have to have only one car? everyone knows three cars is the minimum a family needs.