BMW 1-Series Forum (F20) 135i - 1Addicts.com > Second Generation 1 Series Forum > 2012 BMW 1-Series Sporthatch (F20) Discussion > My review on the M135i
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      04-16-2013, 09:15 PM   #1
madvlam
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My review on the M135i

Just my 2 cents

http://madvlam.blogspot.hk/2013/04/m...rformance.html
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      04-16-2013, 10:00 PM   #2
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Thank you for taking the time to write the review.

I wish the suspension is harder in SPORTS+ like the old KONI Yellow yet retaining the same softness in Comfort. It was a good read
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      04-16-2013, 10:03 PM   #3
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Thx westphone, for that I guess you need adaptive M running gear (change damper stiffness according to selected mode) but my car doesn't have it
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      04-17-2013, 01:24 AM   #4
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Nice review. Could you elaborate on what happened with the air in the brakes, please?

I really dislike the brake feel in VW cars. The sensitivity is too high for light braking, so you start slowing down before you can feel the pedal under your shoe. The BMW brake sensitivity is a lot better for efficient modulation.
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      04-17-2013, 01:35 AM   #5
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Thanks for the great review!

Your comments pretty much parallel my initial experience.

Regarding brakes....I've just sold my Z4M and expected the M135i brakes to be at least as powerful but my first impression was of lots of pressure for relatively little retardation. I've now covered about 1000km and feel that the brakes are slowly improving to give sharper response and better retardation for the same pressure. Is this something you found, that the brakes improved with time?

On the subject of comfort I ordered Lumbar Support but so far it just feels like being poked in the back with a blunt stick. I've yet to find a comfortable position other than fully retracted. Probably need to play some more.

On the subject of the HK speakers....have you found them to improve with use. My initial impression is that I'm a little underwhelmed. There are certain areas I like, clarity for example, but bass is a little 'one note' and I spend a lot of time turning it down, which is a sure sign of listener fatigue. Lots of speakers need quite a few hours before sounding their best...did you find this to be true with the HKs?

For the rest, I'm quite delighted with the car. The way it passes other cars in Comfort without exceeding 4000 rpm is remarkable. The low down torque and acceleration remind me of my 330d, which was a lot faster than the Z4M at anything under 5000rpm. At 5k+ the Zee was a rocket but did not feel so quick below that. The 135 on the other hand is already pulling really hard at 2k. The adaptive Xenon lights are an event in themselves. I have had plenty of cars with Xenons, but never anything that makes night driving so easy. And so far no other vehicle has flashed me so I'm not blinding other drivers.

I will not be using the auto-stop feature and remain unconvinced by Eco-pro, which feels like you've given the car a very large dose of anaesthetic. I honestly think its only there to please the authorities and is not meant to be taken seriously by anyone who enjoys driving......hmmmm, come to think of it my wife will probably love it, given that she always grabs something the minute I put my foot down.

Overall, I really like the M135i, especially its ability to switch from highway cruiser to back road blaster at the flick of a switch. Wishing you lots of fun and safe miles.
Steve

Last edited by SteveC; 04-17-2013 at 01:50 AM..
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      04-17-2013, 01:49 AM   #6
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Hello I do have their adaptive suspension, I can't really complain. Yes racing situations definitely calls for something stiffer. I drove 118i and 120D with regular factory suspension, and I was happy with the lack of body roll. I drove in HK several times with no one watching, and you are right in saying the current suspension works well enough. Yes race situations would call for something stiffer, but the chance of that happening in HK and in Taiwan are small.

May I add my personal experience in the blow off valve, in terms of sound volume (perceived by me in a tunnel with no other car) @ 5th gear starting at 2000 rpm and half throttle for about 3 seconds. I assume louder blow off valve means turbo is working harder.

Sports+: 10 points (also served as basis)
Sport: 8
Comfort 4~5
ECO PRO 1~2

Yup I believe everyone knows it, but I was surprised by the subtle difference in SPORT and SPORT+

Last edited by westphone; 04-17-2013 at 01:54 AM..
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      04-17-2013, 02:00 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
Nice review. Could you elaborate on what happened with the air in the brakes, please?

I really dislike the brake feel in VW cars. The sensitivity is too high for light braking, so you start slowing down before you can feel the pedal under your shoe. The BMW brake sensitivity is a lot better for efficient modulation.
Thx ovekvam!

I guess I got too used to the servo-assistance in my Golf GTI I found the longer pedal travel distance in the bimmer a bit uncomfortable. But later I found that there was actually some problem with the stopping power of the brakes (i have to push way down and there was kinda strong resistance there) so I took it back for service. They said air get into the brake ducts (somehow) which interfered with the brake fluid so they have to bleed it out, now things are getting better...
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      04-17-2013, 02:08 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveC View Post
Your comments pretty much parallel my initial experience.

Regarding brakes....I've just sold my Z4M and expected the M135i brakes to be at least as powerful but my first impression was of lots of pressure for relatively little retardation. I've now covered about 1000km and feel that the brakes are slowly improving to give sharper response and better retardation for the same pressure. Is this something you found, that the brakes improved with time?

On the subject of comfort I ordered Lumbar Support but so far it just feels like being poked in the back with a blunt stick. I've yet to find a comfortable position other than fully retracted. Probably need to play some more.

On the subject of the HK speakers....have you found them to improve with use. My initial impression is that I'm a little underwhelmed. There are certain areas I like, clarity for example, but bass is a little 'one note' and I spend a lot of time turning it down, which is a sure sign of listener fatigue. Lots of speakers need quite a few hours before sounding their best...did you find this to be true with the HKs?

For the rest, I'm quite delighted with the car. The way it passes other cars in Comfort without exceeding 4000 rpm is remarkable. The low down torque and acceleration remind me of my 330d, which was a lot faster than the Z4M at anything under 5000rpm. At 5k+ the Zee was a rocket but did not feel so quick below that. The 135 on the other hand is already pulling really hard at 2k. The adaptive Xenon lights are an event in themselves. I have had plenty of cars with Xenons, but never anything that makes night driving so easy. And so far no other vehicle has flashed me so I'm not blinding other drivers.

I will not be using the auto-stop feature and remain unconvinced by Eco-pro, which feels like you've given the car a very large dose of anaesthetic. I honestly think its only there to please the authorities and is not meant to be taken seriously by anyone who enjoys driving......hmmmm, come to think of it my wife will probably love it, given that she always grabs something the minute I put my foot down.

Overall, I really like the M135i, especially its ability to switch from highway cruiser to back road blaster at the flick of a switch. Wishing you lots of fun and safe miles.
Steve
Hi Steve,

1. in my case the brakes are fine after they bleed the air out.
2. sitting position are fine by me (no lumbar support but I don't think I m gonna need it), just that visibility to the dash is a bit of a problem, anyway I compromised a bit and it's fine now
3. agreed with you on the HK speakers, a bit "one note" feeling especially on the bass, also true with the engine sound channeled through + exhaust humming + subwoofers under the seats moaning one get fatigue easily, hope it gets better after bedding in (yet to find out, just get the car for a month)
4. as for the rev range, i think between 3000 to 4500rpm is its sweetspot, go beyond that it's less dramatic (will rev more to feel it more accurately
5. auto start-stop? first thing after switching on the engine (if I remember to do it) is to disable it!
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      04-17-2013, 02:23 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madvlam View Post
Thx ovekvam!

I guess I got too used to the servo-assistance in my Golf GTI I found the longer pedal travel distance in the bimmer a bit uncomfortable. But later I found that there was actually some problem with the stopping power of the brakes (i have to push way down and there was kinda strong resistance there) so I took it back for service. They said air get into the brake ducts (somehow) which interfered with the brake fluid so they have to bleed it out, now things are getting better...
Air is supposed to enter the brake ducts too cool the brakes. There is no way the air can go from there to the fluid in the brake lines. I think it must have been unsufficient bleeding after installing the brakes.
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      04-17-2013, 02:37 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
Air is supposed to enter the brake ducts too cool the brakes. There is no way the air can go from there to the fluid in the brake lines. I think it must have been unsufficient bleeding after installing the brakes.
Pardon me for the confusion I meant they said the brake lines have air in it, hence needed to be bleed
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      04-17-2013, 06:58 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madvlam View Post
Just my 2 cents

http://madvlam.blogspot.hk/2013/04/m...rformance.html

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We have an almost identical car history!

2006: Peugeot 206RC
2009: VW Golf R32 MK5
2013: BMW ///M135i


(Sorry for this off-topic first post)
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      04-17-2013, 07:24 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threadless
Quote:
Originally Posted by madvlam View Post
Just my 2 cents

http://madvlam.blogspot.hk/2013/04/m...rformance.html

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2009: VW Golf GTI MK6
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We have an almost identical car history!

2006: Peugeot 206RC
2009: VW Golf R32 MK5
2013: BMW ///M135i


(Sorry for this off-topic first post)
Wow that's really similar
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      04-19-2013, 03:13 AM   #13
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Great write up, thanks. I'm curious to know if anyone else doesn't have fuel consumption graphs available on their idrive? Are they part of an option? Business nav?
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      04-19-2013, 03:26 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Petoz View Post
Great write up, thanks. I'm curious to know if anyone else doesn't have fuel consumption graphs available on their idrive? Are they part of an option? Business nav?
I don't. Maybe something to do with extendend instrument panel, which I don't have?

Last edited by ovekvam; 04-19-2013 at 10:02 AM..
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      04-19-2013, 08:08 AM   #15
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I have them on mine (pro nav and extended panel).
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      04-19-2013, 08:44 AM   #16
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Some owners here in Hong Kong also notice without extended instrument cluster, no consumption history barchart, what a ripoff from BMW - even software only feature costs $
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      04-19-2013, 10:04 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by madvlam View Post
Some owners here in Hong Kong also notice without extended instrument cluster, no consumption history barchart, what a ripoff from BMW - even software only feature costs $
No options prices are baser on material cost. They are based on what they are worth for the customer. Too bad BMW forgets to tell exactly what you get from the different options. It is not always obvious, and the sellers don't know either.
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      04-19-2013, 10:17 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
No options prices are baser on material cost. They are based on what they are worth for the customer. Too bad BMW forgets to tell exactly what you get from the different options. It is not always obvious, and the sellers don't know either.
Indeed I wrote an email to BMW AG commenting on exactly that, the dealer (no matter where) should give us a complete list of options with description and whether it comes as standard so we won't miss anything useful - for instance I missed the extended storage compartment option and now left with no storage net behind the front seats...
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