BMW 135Mi

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Factfile
Engine: 3.0 litres, six cylinders, turbocharged
Top speed: 155mph
Price: £29,995
Power: 315bhp at 5800rpm
Fuel/CO2: 35.3mpg, 188g/km
www.bmw.co.uk

Don’t be fooled by the name: the BMW M135i is not an M-car in any conventional sense. Instead it is intended to be a halfway house betwixt BMW’s standard offerings and their vaunted and expensive motor sports offshoots. It is meant to offer a taste of what M is about, but at an affordable price.

In this case, £29,995. Or, put another way, for £3000 more than a 280bhp, 2-litre four-cylinder, front-drive Vauxhall Astra VXR, you can drive a 315bhp, 3-litre, sixcylinder rear-drive BMW. If that sounds tempting, wait until you’ve driven it.

In the past I have been quick to criticise BMW’s pollution of its once pure ‘M’ brand by applying the leffer to cosmetically augmented but otherwise standard cars. The difference with this one is that it’s actually more engaging to drive than one or two full-fat M-cars.

I’ve always believed that the true spirit of ‘M’ lies in compact cars like this. Call me a die-hard old traditionalist who cannot lay to rest the memory of the original E30 M3, but my almost unwavering experience of these cars is that the bigger and more powerful they are, the less satisfying they have turned out to be.

The M135i weighs around a tonne and a half, and with turbos that blow so gently it can keep a 10.2:1 compression ratio, it feels more like a larger capacity, normally-aspirated unit than a forced-induction motor. You can choose either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed auto and while I always gravitate towards three-pedal solutions for cars like this, the automatic was so good I had to confirm with BMW that it wasn’t a double-clutch transmission.

BMW is also one of depressingly few makes who quite correctly programme their sequential gearshiffers to change down when pressed forward. In race cars you push forward to change down and pull back to change up because that’s the direction in which your body is being pushed under forces of braking or acceleration. To have to push forward in order to change up is entirely counter-intuitive or, put another way, nuts.

I digress. By any standards, this M135i is a fine highperformance hatchback. With the automatic gears BMW says it’ll beat 5sec to 62mph, but the car I drove felt quicker even than that, fast enough to provide the chassis with proper work too. I guess because it’s relatively light and simple, the M135i felt alive in a way I associate more with performance BMWs of the past than present. It grips quite well even in marginal conditions, but is also an always-willing coconspirator in any tractionoff mischief you may wish to make. All I’d live happily without is the thick and squidgy rim to the steering wheel that clearly robs you of a degree of feel the car would otherwise happily provide.

But it’s not much of a complaint, not when the rest of car is so competent and accomplished. It’s quiet and sufficiently comfortable to make a very pleasant only car and you can buy it with three or five doors and find enough room in the back for your children in either.

Over the years we’ve seen many fine fast BMWs, but this one is slightly different: not only is it an outstandingly strong competitor in its class, it is also a bargain. For a BMW that’s rare.