RE: BMW 135i M Sport: Spotted

[mcmikey43]

Had one of the N55's with the dct box for nearly 3 years and 35k miles before a clown in a 307 came round the outside of a bend overtaking a lorry and wrote it off. I went to a 235. I can only recommend the car to anyone interested, it pushes on at the front end isn't as tight as the 235 but it's pretty good. I put the quaife diff in the 235 and it made a big difference to the traction so would advise either looking for one that has it or fitting one after buying, better spend on this rather than more power. I went to it from an E46 M3 and although the M was a much more balanced car there was a peace of mind, the M3 was in good condition but at the end of the day they are 15 years old now, now good when you do 20k miles a year.

On the practical side it did 33mpg, pretty incredible for what it is though for motorway trips my 235 does 37! Also I walked away from a 120mph closing speed head on with mild concussion and a low level whiplash injury so they are pretty robust when you need them to be. My wife's comment 'buy another one of those'.

[mcmikey43]

JackReacher said:

What's the consensus on how these drive compared to the more recent m235i? Presumably it's a touch ligher and has hydraulic steering in its favour.

I have a m240i on order and it's interesting to hear about the modifications that transformed the 135i coupe, as they could have a similar effect on the m240. LSD and better dampers seem important.

Edited by JackReacher on Friday 14th July 10:43

Definitely get the LSD, the quaife I had put in my 235 transformed the traction. These have massive torque from 1500 rpm so if it's slightly wet or you are pulling out of a side road they light the traction control up every time. I hardly ever have the tc kick in now even in the gentle comfort mode. You need to be careful on kick down if it's an auto though, after it was fitted when overtaking under hard acceleration the back end follows the camber and steps out, a bit of a surprise the first time.

I was quoted £2500 for a dealer fit msport LSD on purchase but opted to go for post fit quaife, this is cheaper at around £1800 but because they give you the old diff with the dealer fit you get something worth ~£1200 on eBay so the real cost is lower. I would probably go this route with the next one. Overall the 235 is a better car than the 135 but I would prefer the DCT box from the 135, I used it on the paddles a lot where with the 8 speed in the 235 it's somehow harder to know what gear you are in and manage the changes. The auto works so well that it becomes easier to let it do its own thing, I only come down the box with the paddles when pressing on to slow the car in to corners but not going up the box.

[greenarrow]

I really like these, although £13750 seems a lot for a 7 year old car TBH. But still well under half price of a new one and very cheap compared with a 1M which less face it isn't massively quicker. This is why we love second hand cars!

The current M140/240. 235, M2 is also my favourite of the BMW range. Don't like the current M3/M4, but the smaller 1 and 2 series look good and give you all the performance you could ever want in a car. When EVO tested the M2 against a Focus RS, it was alarming just how much quicker the M2 was, considering on paper they have similar power to weight ratios....

I think the first gen 1 series saloon is my favourite BMW design of recent years.

[Wolands Advocate]

s m said:

Wolands Advocate said:

Thanks. The worst thing about the 135i coupe was that I owned one when the 1M came out... I had a good go in the 1M pre-launch and liked it a lot, and could have had a slot, but the idea of paying double for a 1M what the 135i was then worth trade really put me off because the two cars didn't feel all that very different to me. I wouldn't quantify it as night and day.

Obviously it wouldn't have done had I known that the 1M would go on to effectively not depreciate.

• *Goes off to find a wall to bang my head against...again***

Yes, they never quite depreciated as so many predicted the turbo engined M-car would. I do like them but at least you get to have a sunroof with the non-M coupé

I wonder if FS upgraded to the 'M' car

Nice! We had a house for years at Roquebrune, above Monaco, so I took mine over all those same roads - all the way up the Col de Turini out the back of Menton and back around the top down to Nice, across the border into Italy and the hills behind Ventimiglia, along the Route Napoleon, up towards Isola 2000 etc. Lots of fun. You want a car that is small and wieldy for those roads.

[mikeyscott]

Got my local dealer on look out for a 3 door LCI high spec M135i

Like my 135i, but thinking change.