[MaDoNiOn]

Great car just dont like the look of it

[Gtrain]

Curious as to see how he compares the M135i to the 1M. I wonder who will do that comparison first.

[dreamspeed]

The funnest part is mashing the pedal and smashing through the gears. I've noticed that with each progressively "faster" car i've bought i've been able to do that less and less because while with my slow mobile i can put the pedal to the metal and click through 4 gears before reaching "illegal" speeds...i can barely hit the end of 2nd gear in my faster cars before being paranoid about cops

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by dreamspeed

The funnest part is mashing the pedal and smashing through the gears. I've noticed that with each progressively "faster" car i've bought i've been able to do that less and less because while with my slow mobile i can put the pedal to the metal and click through 4 gears before reaching "illegal" speeds...i can barely hit the end of 2nd gear in my faster cars before being paranoid about cops

Here in Norway, I am beyond the highest speedlimit we have at the limiter in second gear in my 116i! :-)

[135Pats]

Great review, I for one love Clarkson's snark, and his point about M being diluted is spot on. M badges belong on M cars, not a dressed up "normal" bmw.

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

Great review, I for one love Clarkson's snark, and his point about M being diluted is spot on. M badges belong on M cars, not a dressed up "normal" bmw.

Far too late for that now. Even the real M cars are very far from the motorsport origins, unless the X5M was meant for tractor pulling.

[zenderm3]

Thanks for posting. I do enjoy clarkson!

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by Gtrain

Curious as to see how he compares the M135i to the 1M. I wonder who will do that comparison first.

There will definitely be comparison reviews between the two but since there are no more brand new 1Ms the test specimen must be chosen carefully in order to make it as apples to apples as possible. I hope they pay attention to one detail: that 1M also wears Michelin PSS in stock sizes. Lots of them already finished the factory PS2 sets and naturally passed to PSS.

Otherwise, some things seem easy to predict: a 8 speed auto will be equally fast on straight line acceleration, manual I don't think so. Seems that M135i does sound better in stock form. It is the more practical choice but if it is a 2 door not by too much. Better plastic quality, more modern layout of controls, more options to choose from are all facts. Better ride quality too. Overall a very good car with some advantages over 1M. And this before you factor it to price.

On the 1M side, it is for sure the quicker car around curves and race tracks. It has more power and torque (all 1Ms are minimum 350-360 ps and 550+ nm, never heard any less). But it is also heavier than M135i. It is the simpler, more straightforward car for enthusiasts. More visceral maybe. Manual to manual I doubt M135i box can be better than the 1M's, it seems that they worked heavily on the 8 speed auto for this car. Ultimately brakes should be better with the 1M as well as the steering feel and response.

I think one is really the little M car and the other is versatile M Performance car, for anyone who don't care about these differences then M135i is definitely the right car, especially with that price difference! And yes bang for buck the newer car offers more but it also is not as special as 1M, it will be all around the globe (sorry NA guys) in big numbers and it just doesn't have the aggressive and headturning looks of a 1M (especially so in VO).

These are my educated guesses at best but I would love to read a balanced review with a real road test about these two from someone that knows what he is talking about and not trying to highlight one over the other, wouldn't be fair for both cars. They are the best BMW offered in recent years and I like that they are quite different from each other if you take into account what they focus on.

[richb811]

Great review by Jezza.

Wish we could get them in the states!

[franzzz]

Good review.

BUT LSD is mandatory in a M car.....

[Mickcasey]

point is (Mercedes A 250 AMG I tested recently was bad. )

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by franzzz

Good review.

BUT LSD is mandatory in a M car.....

I agree. I think it is very strange that BMW doesn't offer a limited slip differential as at least an option on all their cars.

[SoCali E36]

Originally Posted by MaDoNiOn

Great car just dont like the look of it

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by franzzz

Good review.

BUT LSD is mandatory in a M car.....

It's not an ///M car is it? It's from the ///M Performance Automobiles range..?

[as7920]

Originally Posted by franzzz

Good review.

BUT LSD is mandatory in a M car.....

That's the point though isn't it?

The M135i ISN'T an M Car, it's an M-Performance car. They have to differentiate between the two somehow.

M Sport < M Performance < M

Aside from the looks, it's a cracking car and looking forward to driving one.

[DASHOCKER]

clarkson blabs too much

[franzzz]

Originally Posted by as7920

That's the point though isn't it?

The M135i ISN'T an M Car, it's an M-Performance car. They have to differentiate between the two somehow.

M Sport < M Performance < M

Aside from the looks, it's a cracking car and looking forward to driving one.

Ok......

[Pauldramos]

Originally Posted by StevenY.

Great review!

+1

[F555]

Good Review.

[pkimM3r]

Originally Posted by Munit

He seems to contradict himself in my view. He talks about the AMG and the GTR with this power that you essentially never will use but "is nice to have" Yet he than says the same thing about bringing the rear around in the m135i and how "its nice to know you can" even though you never will.

So I like the review, just do no tfollow his layout and analogies

One is a noun. The other is a verb. Hence have and can. Otherwise they both say the same thing.

[Feli_330i]

did he just say "it has a proper automatic gearbox"? that's weird.

[wvoz]

Nice simple yet effective