Since its introduction in 2012 as the
M135i
, the smallest six-cylinder BMW has established itself as something of a cult favourite. Oh sure, the suspension and steering were hardly BMW's finest efforts, but the combination of a sweet turbo straight six, rear-wheel drive and fairly subtle looks have created a wealth of fans. For good reason, too.
Out of my way puny humans!
The 135i was then replaced by the
M140i
, and now we have the facelift for that car. It's part of a wider 1 Series facelift, comprising touchpad infotainment, further connectivity options and new driver assist systems that you can probably read more about on What Car?. Of more interest to PH is the introduction of xDrive to the M140i and M240i.
Said to boast "sharper handling in situations such as when turning into bends", the M140i/M240i xDrive is only available with the eight-speed auto. Working together, they contribute to a 0-62mph time for both hatch and coupe of 4.4 seconds. Fuel consumption drops marginally in each, and CO2 is a little worse too, but an M140i xDrive hatch still officially returns 38.2mpg and 169g/km.
You'll notice both have slightly tweaked styling too, the main changes for the 40i models being the new rear light design and wheel options. An 'Edition Shadow' trim is mentioned in the international release too, which is the blue car you see here, bringing black inserts to the headlights and black kidney grilles.
There's more good news too - the M240i Convertible is also available with xDrive (!). No, the actual good news is a facelifted M2. If anything the new look hasn't improved it - and it's still the same car mechanically - but then it could easily be argued the M2 didn't need changing very much at all. Plus it means there are more available - hassle your dealer now!