Discussion
zedstar said:
My friend has Golf 7R and when he drives mine he's always impressed by the pace of it - though not the lack of grip.
Lacking a LSD is it's big issue.......but I'd still rather have a non-LSD rwd car with excess power than any 'similar performance' fwd or fake awd car......although it would be nicer if it had a proper diff and no silly electronics to spoil the odd 'fun moment'....without having switch off the nanny control every time you get in the car.No idea how folks are getting 30+mpg, i have had mine for 22 months and it shows 26.9mpg as an average. That's not a complaint just an observation. Great car as a package, but i feel the competition A45 AMG, Golf R etc have surpassed it or are getting close to it but still very worthy of consideration.
My main gripe is that the rear cabin space is appalling, if you have small kids and Isofix you will struggle for front passenger space.
My main gripe is that the rear cabin space is appalling, if you have small kids and Isofix you will struggle for front passenger space.
buckline said:
No idea how folks are getting 30+mpg, i have had mine for 22 months and it shows 26.9mpg as an average. That's not a complaint just an observation. Great car as a package, but i feel the competition A45 AMG, Golf R etc have surpassed it or are getting close to it but still very worthy of consideration.
My main gripe is that the rear cabin space is appalling, if you have small kids and Isofix you will struggle for front passenger space.
Ours is on 32.6 mpg over 15k miles.My main gripe is that the rear cabin space is appalling, if you have small kids and Isofix you will struggle for front passenger space.
Pros:
Great engine.
Performance vs MPG amazing
Feels very solidly built
"Pointy" steering
Long service intervals (ours is not due 1st service until 23k miles)
Noise on cold startup "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Noise on downchanges into 30 limits "HUMMMMMMMMMMM"
Cons:
Difficult to get the gearchange right from 1st to 2nd, which means the traffic light grand prix is not its strong suit. Auto would be better
No steering feedback and high grip levels make it a bit dull/scary depending on the speed!
I loved the look of it when we got it, but now it just looks like a 116D M-Sport
Useless if you have young kids. With my 4 yr old and 6 month old in the back we can hardly squeeze into the front. It's so bad that we've bought an old CRV for family stuff.
0llie said:
I've never quite understood "In gear performance", is it opposed to "Out of gear performance" 
Harks back to the old days of direct top 4 speed gearboxes, so acceleration "in-gear" would be as in 1st,2nd and 3rd with the power going through gears in the 'box, as opposed to through no gears in direct drive 4th gear.Many cars of today often don't have a 1:1 direct transfer through the gearbox, but the term still prevails.
Pickled Piper said:
Surely, it comes down to what you are paying for the car. Some of the early lease deals made these cars stonking value.
Those deals meant that BMW0-GB shifted as many M135 in the first 18 months than it had done of the previous generation E82 135i in the whole of it's 5 year lifespan as they never 'offered' any such deals on those - hence their relative rarity.
aeropilot said:
Harks back to the old days of direct top 4 speed gearboxes, so acceleration "in-gear" would be as in 1st,2nd and 3rd with the power going through gears in the 'box, as opposed to through no gears in direct drive 4th gear.
Many cars of today often don't have a 1:1 direct transfer through the gearbox, but the term still prevails.
Interesting, never knew that. Thanks!Many cars of today often don't have a 1:1 direct transfer through the gearbox, but the term still prevails.
Papi89 said:
Thanks for the reply guys, I'm really racking my mind what to buy, love what I hear about them but as you said, I also think they look rather ordinary, but the wolf in Sheeps clothing aspect kind of appeals.
Stick a 114i badge and the 'hostess trolley caster wheels' on it then have some fun with 'da local rudbois' at the traffic lights 
SG167 said:
I cant be the only one who doesnt get the "junior supercar" tag - it just isnt.
Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
Two drives in two days in my E92 and I still cannot get over the raw performance of this car....amazing...reminds me in some ways of my old Yamaha R1....just revs and revs and revs Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
SG167 said:
I cant be the only one who doesnt get the "junior supercar" tag - it just isnt.
Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant.
It didnt feel that fast, certainly not as quick as the numbers say.
It left me feeling nothing. Not hating it, but nowhere near loving it.
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
Well the M135i is the same 0-100mph as the old E46 M3 (kind of as you'd expect given similar BHP and weight) anyway the E92 M3 is a 9 second car to 100mph (the latest M3 is 8 seconds to 100mph) so yes that would feel significantly faster than the M135i. Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant.
It didnt feel that fast, certainly not as quick as the numbers say.
It left me feeling nothing. Not hating it, but nowhere near loving it.
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
One cost £27k when new the other was a £50k++ car.
Welshbeef said:
SG167 said:
I cant be the only one who doesnt get the "junior supercar" tag - it just isnt.
Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant.
It didnt feel that fast, certainly not as quick as the numbers say.
It left me feeling nothing. Not hating it, but nowhere near loving it.
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
Well the M135i is the same 0-100mph as the old E46 M3 (kind of as you'd expect given similar BHP and weight) anyway the E92 M3 is a 9 second car to 100mph (the latest M3 is 8 seconds to 100mph) so yes that would feel significantly faster than the M135i. Having driven one - great hot hatch, but in no way does it have the drama or sense of occasion such a tag would warrant.
It didnt feel that fast, certainly not as quick as the numbers say.
It left me feeling nothing. Not hating it, but nowhere near loving it.
As a comparison, I drove an e92 M3 not long after and was seriously impressed.
One cost £27k when new the other was a £50k++ car.
St John Smythe said:
There is much more to an M3 that the time it does 0-100mph.
Totally agree - but the difference between a 9 & 11+ second car to 100mph is significant and adds some seat of the pants fun.If you don't do 0-100mph then your never exploring max power in anything but 1st and 2nd gear so wasting the available performance
I would much rather drive any old banger than my M135i if i fancied an exciting, involving drive. Anything with a cable throttle, hydraulic steering and lower grip levels offers 10x the thrills.
The M135i is essentially a very nice place to be (as long as you don't have a kid sitting behind you in an isofix), amazingly competent and mostly quite nice looking.
Driving it is like having sex with a really pretty girl, but you wearing a blindfold and 3 condoms (but not earplugs as the M135i does sound nice).
Yes, it is very fast. Yes, it does have very high performance levels. But that's not what i personally derive pleasure from.
The M135i is essentially a very nice place to be (as long as you don't have a kid sitting behind you in an isofix), amazingly competent and mostly quite nice looking.
Driving it is like having sex with a really pretty girl, but you wearing a blindfold and 3 condoms (but not earplugs as the M135i does sound nice).
Yes, it is very fast. Yes, it does have very high performance levels. But that's not what i personally derive pleasure from.
Dannbodge said:
PTF said:
Noise on cold startup "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
That is a good enough reason to buy any 6cyl BMW imoIn fact, my current favourite replacement for the M135i is a 2008+ 325i/330i touring, probably with an auto box.
Then get a boxster alongside.
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