10 pages of comments and counting in response to
our first report
on the M135i would seem to underline the fact it's a car we still want to talk about.
We like it so much we put out some bunting
First to sample the baby M's charms was Garlick, who despite reporting rather a lot of DSC activity returned it with a dreamy expression and nothing but praise for its silky drivetrain, discreetly menacing burble and understated looks.
Ah yes. The looks. A lot of 1 Series owning PHers came on to that initial thread to talk about their cars (keep it coming!) and most seem to have got past the aesthetics and been pretty effusive about the all-round ownership experience. Take uremaw, who tried the M135i back to back with a one-year-old M3 saloon and concluded "I've never really been sold on the looks but the interior is lovely."
Which is one of the reasons he bought it, saying "The M3 needed to be ragged to feel special, the M135i felt alive at any revs. It has that hot hatch feel but turned up to 11." His five-door auto, specced to a similar £37.5K as ours, ended up costing him £34K, many others reporting similar savings off list and proving sensibly specced £30K M135i isn't a figment of 'before options' fantasy.
Compact size helps on the back roads
A particular hat tip to irish boy, who paid £27K for a pre-reg black auto five-door with similar kit to ours and promptly stuck a 114i badge on the back. "For anyone who doesn't know enough to clock the brakes it's pretty hard to tell it's anything special, just the way I like it."
More number crunching to come, no doubt. But what about the drive? My appreciation of the BMW remains vicarious for now, a trip to Cosworth requiring a wheelman in the shape of on hols teacher brother Will. My job was on the maps, co-driving to keep us off the M1 and onto more interesting back roads.
After the Focus's glitchy, near-unreadable nav the BMW's beautifully clear, widescreen display was a real blessing and like going from a crusty old Nokia to a bells and whistles smartphone. I still had my old atlas though, old- and new-school nav unearthing some cracking Bedfordshire B-roads.
Beauty contests unlikely to be troubled
From the passenger seat one of the most striking things is how pliant the 1 Series feels. Before it turned up I'd braced myself for a bit of a beating but on 18s and non-runflat tyres it's - whisper it - actually quite comfortable. The suspension has a decent amount of travel and damping that lets the car work with the road rather than trying to hammer it into submission. It's even bearable in Sport and Sport Plus. Artificially enhanced or not it sounds ace too, the additional cylinders an instant trump card over the predominantly four-cylinder rivals.
Word from the driver's seat concurred on the ride too, Will saying, "I was happier with the dampers on the comfort setting; bit more movement in the suspension on those roads made sense. Not sold on the steering - sharp but not much to tell you what's going on; however bags of grip. Either I wasn't trying hard enough or Garlick has only been driving in the rain!"
We'll leave the manual versus auto debate rumbling for now, Will reporting in the meantime "it is really impressive changing up but can get a bit confused with more than one rapid downshift. However, considering it's not dual-clutch it's pretty slick."
'Subtle' the most polite aesthetic appraisal
And the lack of a diff? PHer Jonny TVR doesn't miss its absence on his Estoril Blue auto, which he got for £28,900 from a £32,700 list price. "I don't care about this nonsense with LSDs," he says. "I don't drive enough like a w**ker to notice. I'm never going to put it on a track so it's an invalid argument for me."
I'll have to see when I get a drive but even from the passenger seat I'd venture to differ, the chassis squatting under power exiting tighter corners and seemingly going limp just at the point you'd want the rear axle to really come into play. And this isn't some wannabe drifter posturing, just a sense the chassis isn't fully tapping into the engine's formidable resources. Birds does a Quaife LSD conversion, which I'm keen to try for a proper comparison - more on this ASAP.
FACT SHEET
Car: 2013 BMW M135i (five-door)
Run by: Everyone!
On fleet since: July 2013
Mileage: 9,412
List price new before options: £30,525 OTR (£37,680 as tested inc. £515 for Adaptive M Sport suspension, aluminium trim, complimentary BMW Business Loudspeaker system, £295 for DAB, £360 for Driver Comfort Package comprising cruise and parking sensors, £90 for 'extended storage', £250 for dimming/folding mirrors, full black panel display, high-gloss black finish, £95 for 'internet', £200 for driver/passenger lumbar support, £1,995 for BMW Professional Multimedia, £515 for metallic paint, £235 for front/rear Park Distance Control, £265 for seat heating, £1,600 for Sport auto transmission, £290 for Sun Protection Package, £450 for Visibility Package inc. adaptive xenon lights)
Last month at a glance: 'Baby M' puts itself about a bit, impresses everyone it meets
