Will i regret it.
Discussion
I ran an M135i for 3 years. I suspect the handling might leave you cold after the Fiesta. Think of it more like a mini GT car than a hot hatch. It sounds like modding is your thing so you can improve things on that front. Mine was pretty hopeless in wet or slippery conditions. You see the traction control light a lot. It is fun on roundabouts if that's your thing. OK, that said, even out of the box they are rapid. I've beaten more expensive and exotic machines on the A road dash to 70mph. They are easy to tune but I never felt short changed on power.
I drive a 5 series now and although it has the B58 engine, it;'s not as manic or fun as the m lite. That said, it's quicker most of the time given the xDrive system.
As long as you are prepared for the fact it's not a hot hatch in the old school definition of one, you'll love it. I still miss mine.
I drive a 5 series now and although it has the B58 engine, it;'s not as manic or fun as the m lite. That said, it's quicker most of the time given the xDrive system.
As long as you are prepared for the fact it's not a hot hatch in the old school definition of one, you'll love it. I still miss mine.
toon10 said:
I ran an M135i for 3 years. I suspect the handling might leave you cold after the Fiesta. Think of it more like a mini GT car than a hot hatch. It sounds like modding is your thing so you can improve things on that front. Mine was pretty hopeless in wet or slippery conditions. You see the traction control light a lot. It is fun on roundabouts if that's your thing. OK, that said, even out of the box they are rapid. I've beaten more expensive and exotic machines on the A road dash to 70mph. They are easy to tune but I never felt short changed on power.
I drive a 5 series now and although it has the B58 engine, it;'s not as manic or fun as the m lite. That said, it's quicker most of the time given the xDrive system.
As long as you are prepared for the fact it's not a hot hatch in the old school definition of one, you'll love it. I still miss mine.
Do you happen to know what helps the handling? I am worried i will miss a hot hatch handling BUT like i say i cant find any that suit what i want at all. I drive a 5 series now and although it has the B58 engine, it;'s not as manic or fun as the m lite. That said, it's quicker most of the time given the xDrive system.
As long as you are prepared for the fact it's not a hot hatch in the old school definition of one, you'll love it. I still miss mine.
I went from a 2015 ST3 to a 2016 M235i
The BMW sounded way better, was much quicker in a straight line, interior and particularly the sat nav was much much better.
But the BMW was nowhere near as much fun to chuck around. The M235i handled ok, just didn't like being pushed to the limit, it got worse the harder you pushed it. Whereas the M2 I subsequently had was more and more epic the harder you pushed.
Different kinds of fun.
By the way I also had a Leon Cupra 290 - they are not boring to drive IMO, felt like a grown up ST with more power so it might be worth a try.
The BMW sounded way better, was much quicker in a straight line, interior and particularly the sat nav was much much better.
But the BMW was nowhere near as much fun to chuck around. The M235i handled ok, just didn't like being pushed to the limit, it got worse the harder you pushed it. Whereas the M2 I subsequently had was more and more epic the harder you pushed.
Different kinds of fun.
By the way I also had a Leon Cupra 290 - they are not boring to drive IMO, felt like a grown up ST with more power so it might be worth a try.
You need to drive an M135i/M140i with the auto, the 8 speed is so good you'll wonder why they ever offered a manual.
I was in the same position and drove at length most of your shortlist, I also wanted a manual as my other car is an auto.
For me it was between a M140i or a FK2 Type R, I went with the FK2 simply because it was a better driving experience. The M140i is very very good but as a previous poster said its more of a mini gt car than a hot hatch
I was in the same position and drove at length most of your shortlist, I also wanted a manual as my other car is an auto.
For me it was between a M140i or a FK2 Type R, I went with the FK2 simply because it was a better driving experience. The M140i is very very good but as a previous poster said its more of a mini gt car than a hot hatch
Petrolsmasher said:
Do you happen to know what helps the handling? I am worried i will miss a hot hatch handling BUT like i say i cant find any that suit what i want at all.
I'm not into modifying but a few owners add an LSD. It's probably worth heading over to babybmw.net as there is a lot of content on modifying, tips, etc.Good all-round daily cars.
If you have the budget, and can live with the coupe, buy an M2. The M235i/M240i handle a bit better than the 1 series, but still no M2.
The M135i/M140i needs suspension and an LSD to improve the fun. I can't believe people throw even more power at them before doing that. I guess with them all on PCP they don't want to waste anymore money than a remap.
If you have the budget, and can live with the coupe, buy an M2. The M235i/M240i handle a bit better than the 1 series, but still no M2.
The M135i/M140i needs suspension and an LSD to improve the fun. I can't believe people throw even more power at them before doing that. I guess with them all on PCP they don't want to waste anymore money than a remap.
MOBB said:
I went from a 2015 ST3 to a 2016 M235i
The BMW sounded way better, was much quicker in a straight line, interior and particularly the sat nav was much much better.
But the BMW was nowhere near as much fun to chuck around. The M235i handled ok, just didn't like being pushed to the limit, it got worse the harder you pushed it. Whereas the M2 I subsequently had was more and more epic the harder you pushed.
Different kinds of fun.
By the way I also had a Leon Cupra 290 - they are not boring to drive IMO, felt like a grown up ST with more power so it might be worth a try.
How good do they sound? Do they sound good just cruising around or have you got to be flooring it? The BMW sounded way better, was much quicker in a straight line, interior and particularly the sat nav was much much better.
But the BMW was nowhere near as much fun to chuck around. The M235i handled ok, just didn't like being pushed to the limit, it got worse the harder you pushed it. Whereas the M2 I subsequently had was more and more epic the harder you pushed.
Different kinds of fun.
By the way I also had a Leon Cupra 290 - they are not boring to drive IMO, felt like a grown up ST with more power so it might be worth a try.
I had an the old m135i in manual guise for 2.5 years. The engine is silky smooth and makes a lovely sound but the car didn’t really excite enough. It didn’t help that I had a VX220 turbo for weekend fun ( was wondering if that may have become some what redundant). If anything it made me appreciate it more. I am due to have a new Cupra this week, it will be interesting to see how that compares in the fun stakes compared to the m135i. Don’t get me wrong though, it was still a nice practical, comfortable fast daily.
Driver101 said:
Don't get your hopes up too high how nice the interior is. Remember that with discounts a standard car wasn't much more than £25k. It isn't a plush interior.
The A45 isn't that much fun either, but it's easy to drive fast.
The interior may not be mega fancy but its leagues ahead of me mk7 fiesta, but yeh something to bear in me. The A45 isn't that much fun either, but it's easy to drive fast.
Petrolsmasher said:
I dont know what it is about them but they just dont do it for me at all, i dont even know why, ive never even considered them and i dont want to lol, i just dont like mercedes at all.
I can understand that point of view for me it would be one of these:https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
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