RE: BMW M135i (F20) | PH Used Buying Guide

[GTEYE]

W12AAM said:

Nice cars these ...And my son has just purchased a very nice 2nd hand one over Xmas..

However; I am always teasing him that what he's actually bought is the Rover 25/45 replacement....Originally engineered by MG Rover at Longbridge....and would have been called the Rover 30 / 35 !

Link here :-
https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes...

What could have been eh?.... had MG Rover not gone bust,back in 2005!...

What you're referring to was the 1st generation 1 Series. The M135i was based on the 2nd gen car which was a completely different car.

I tried a later M140i with a view to buying one. What I found was a fantastic engine bolted into a fairly mediocre car. Frankly, it had too much power for the chassis.

The new 4 pot M135i x-drive is a vastly superior car dynamically, but it will forever on here be slated because its not a 6 pot and not RWD...

Edited by GTEYE on Tuesday 28th January 12:39

[s m]

Sport220 said:

E82 135i over this any day

Frank Sytner’s favourite iirc

Although EVO had a go at ‘supeing’ one up
....and then ran out of steam

[Court_S]

GTEYE said:

The new 4 pot M135i x-drive is a vastly superior car dynamically, but it will forever on here be slated because its not a 6 pot and not RWD...

Edited by GTEYE on Tuesday 28th January 12:39

The new one is bloody ugly and it looses it’s USP; it’s virtually the same as the competition. I understand the reasons for it, doesn’t mean I like it.

[J4CKO]

I like mine, dont love it, 2016 5 door auto, the auto is fantastic but it does rob it of some interaction, can use it manually but its not the same, then you show up the chassis limitations, it just all ends up a bit confused.

It goes well, especially with a tuning box, the engine is nice and spins round to 7000 revs, its not bad on fuel if you are careful or on a decent run, in traffic with short blasts it can drop as low as 17.

The brakes are good (on the road at least)

the interior works fairly well, its comfy enough but a bit dour.

Suspension is pretty good for that class of car, comfort wise.

Its been reliable over the 20 months I have had it, have spent £300 on two rear tyres, £120 on a brake fluid change, £25 on some windscreen wipers and got the big service due at the end of Feb, £360 at a respected BMW indy locally.

Tax and insurance work out at £270 is and £350 ish respectively (it more due to the tuning box)

Mods wise, I just put a BlueSpark tuning box on it as it was pretty cheap and got good reviews, it did what it said on the tin. people say put an LSD on it, new suspension, M4 this, M4 that, but to be honest, I know its not an M car but it should have been a bit better finished in terms of driving dynamics, so I dont see it as a keep, plus being an auto I think it will never actually satisfy me totally as a driver, I am perhaps a bit old fashioned but I miss having a manual and with the other shortcomings, its all a bit meh.

[anonymous-user]

Court_S said:

I’m a long way from replacing mine but I’m struggling to come up with anything at the mo other than an M2 or an M3. Both of which will cost far more and probably won’t be such good daily cars. The new one doesn’t really appeal at all.

I’m working on my other to swap her cheapy 116 for a 130 and she’s starting to come round to that idea.

The 135i I tested it as great, but hated the gearbox, contributed to make it feel a bit bland, wasn’t the 130 on steroids I was looking for.

I’m due an M2 manual test drive next. Again, tried a DCT and it took away a lot of what I enjoy. But, the brakes were epic (a first for me and M cars)

[fioravanti]

KPB1973 said:

A car that certainly divides opinion.
Sadly, for me, their composure disappears alarmingly just at the point where I want a car to entertain. My local 'fun' roads are undulating B-Roads which are like kryptonite to these, at least on standard suspension. I soon grew to hate it.

I had a similar experience. Shortest ownership period of my car-buying career, my low mileage 2016 LCI lasted only 2 months and 1500 miles before I had enough. I found the ride to have the worst of both worlds, being both unforgivingly hard and not having adequate body control. The way it put down power was not confidence inspiring, as each spinning wheel alternately gained traction it felt like it wanted to steer the rear. It desperately needed an LSD. I was stongly considering having the Quaife diff and Bilstein suspension fitted, but sadly these mods would only have solved some of its many problems. It's been the only car I ever had that gave me chronic back ache after just 30 mins; the side-saddle driving position combined with a lack of lumbar support contributed to this I am convinced. For this reason, I think the excellent ZF 8 speed is the way to go with this very unconfortable pedal layout.

The final straw for me was when I discovered how to disable the "Active Sound Module"...Turn this off and it sounds as dramatic as a 1.6i Avensis. I sold it to "webuyanycar" the very next day.

It is indeed a very flawed diamond, as said on here, less than the sum of it's parts. A shame, as I had lusted after one for about 5 years!

For reference, I have also had a 125d, and really enjoyed that. I guess my expectations were lower, and that the a lower powered engine was a better match for the car.

[new666uk]

Had mine for 5 years from new and now on 68k miles. F21 auto. In that time the major issues are:

New auto box at 36k /3yr;
New steering column at 36k / 3yr
New prop shaft at 65k / 5yr

Aside from that reasonably happy. Economy if pretty decent, pickup from most gears is great.Terrible audio unless you have HK upgrade. The chassis is very harsh and really does spoil spirited driving on less than perfect roads. Rears will spin in 3rd or even 4th.

I had planned to change after 3 years but couldn't find anything interesting enough to tempt me so still plodding on. Looks wise it's somewhat Q car-esque in that it's a dull hatchback aesthetic but I sort of like that.

Past history is almost exclusively big straight 6, RWD BMW's (e36's, e46, and a Lexus is200) so hard to find alternatives that have a similarly enjoyable recipe.

Still mulling over what to do. May just keep this, fix the suspension with an upgrade and enjoy it maturing into cult status.

[helix402]

new666uk said:

Had mine for 5 years from new and now on 68k miles. F21 auto. In that time the major issues are:

New auto box at 36k /3yr;
New steering column at 36k / 3yr
New prop shaft at 65k / 5yr

Aside from that reasonably happy. Economy if pretty decent, pickup from most gears is great.Terrible audio unless you have HK upgrade. The chassis is very harsh and really does spoil spirited driving on less than perfect roads. Rears will spin in 3rd or even 4th.

I had planned to change after 3 years but couldn't find anything interesting enough to tempt me so still plodding on. Looks wise it's somewhat Q car-esque in that it's a dull hatchback aesthetic but I sort of like that.

Past history is almost exclusively big straight 6, RWD BMW's (e36's, e46, and a Lexus is200) so hard to find alternatives that have a similarly enjoyable recipe.

Still mulling over what to do. May just keep this, fix the suspension with an upgrade and enjoy it maturing into cult status.

What went wrong with the prop?

Re engine oil these need any LL04, available in various grades, not just 0w30.

[Court_S]

yonex said:

Court_S said:

I’m a long way from replacing mine but I’m struggling to come up with anything at the mo other than an M2 or an M3. Both of which will cost far more and probably won’t be such good daily cars. The new one doesn’t really appeal at all.

I’m working on my other to swap her cheapy 116 for a 130 and she’s starting to come round to that idea.

The 135i I tested it as great, but hated the gearbox, contributed to make it feel a bit bland, wasn’t the 130 on steroids I was looking for.

I’m due an M2 manual test drive next. Again, tried a DCT and it took away a lot of what I enjoy. But, the brakes were epic (a first for me and M cars)

The M2 is starting to get more and more appealing especially now there are some good non-comp AUC’s for sensible money. The N55 is an attraction because it sounds really good. I’d want the DCT though; I really like that gearbox.

I’m constantly keeping an eye 130’s; prices seem all over the place. The good news is the boss is coming round to the idea. Her current E87 is a good little car (better steering feel than my M140i) but it’s slow and I don’t think it’ll cost much more to run a 130.

[NGK210]

The autobox is the ubiquitous off-the-shelf, standard 8-speed ZF, right? So, why are there problems when the ZF is fitted to the F20 M135i/140i? Is BMW’s software the cause?

[J4CKO]

new666uk said:

Terrible audio unless you have HK upgrade.

I tried examples with and without HK, couldn't really tell much difference, both werent much cop, that was at standstill, using the same songs, once moving they are fairly noisy anyway.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've always loved the engine in these and I like the idea of a bigger engine in a smallish car. I've never really took to the looks though, but I'd imagine it to be a belting daily driver for sure.

[stugolf]

I had one for 18 months, well a 235 so almost the same thing

I liked it, drivetrain was excellent, and the 8 speed was very quick for an auto box, easy to live with, you not easy to drive fast, I still never felt as if I'd mastered how to drive it, mainly due to brown trouser moments, such as tricky car to drive fast ruined the experience a little

[glasso]

Unforgivably ugly car from the front and also over-rated in general just because it has a 6 even though it's a turbo with piped fake sounds. Frankly feels dangerous on a mildly bumpy road.

Edited by glasso on Tuesday 28th January 14:57

[Sport220]

Luke. said:

Why?

Because the F20 looks ste and the active sound is naff.

[fioravanti]

glasso said:

Unforgivably ugly car from the front and also over-rated in general just because it has a 6 even though it's a turbo with piped fake sounds. Frankly feels dangerous on a mildly bumpy road.

Edited by glasso on Tuesday 28th January 14:57

Piped sounds would be more acceptable, these are straight up computer generated. Naff.

[cocopop]

Agree with a lot of the comments here, it's very compromised, a bit too stiff, piped/generated noises are a bit rubbish, and I'd rather have a pre-PPF car.

Absolutely love mine though.

[Court_S]

glasso said:

Unforgivably ugly car from the front and also over-rated in general just because it has a 6 even though it's a turbo with piped fake sounds. Frankly feels dangerous on a mildly bumpy road.

Edited by glasso on Tuesday 28th January 14:57

Whilst they’re far from perfect if I don’t recall mine ever feeling dangerous over bumps roads, no did this get mentioned by the likes of PH, Harris etc in reviews.

[bodhi]

Sport220 said:

E82 135i over this any day

Not sure why you'd take the 2nd best E82 over this one?

[driftingphil]

Court_S said:

Whilst they’re far from perfect if I don’t recall mine ever feeling dangerous over bumps roads, no did this get mentioned by the likes of PH, Harris etc in reviews.

It was always said that the suspension was setup for autobahns with a full load of passengers and kit.

New set of dampers is the way to go Bilstein B6/B8 B16, those with adaptive you can get the Bilstein B6 damptronic, although this will set you back about £1300+