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By Jonathan Crouch
Unlike its predecessors, BMW's M135i xDrive conforms to class expectations to widen its sales reach. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the revised version.
Ten Second Reviewword count: 86
In this modern-era form, BMW's M135i gained xDrive 4WD and a rather different outlook on life from the rear drive M135i and M140i older generation designs that preceded it. In late 2021, the brand added a few dynamic changes to give the car a sharper feel, creating the model we look at here. This Baviarian hot hatch still doesn't have the old school track-style appeal its rear-driven predecessors had, but that's because it's matured a bit. If you have too, then you'll probably rather like it.
Backgroundword count: 142
New models primarily appeal to those who bought the previous version of the same car - but this one's different. In its previous generation guise, the BMW M135i (later the M140i) was a rather unique hot hatch confection, rear driven with a howling straight six engine - a car for the hot hatch cognoscenti. The sort of model a race track instructor would use as his day-to-day drive. The problem for BMW is that there aren't a lot of those kinds of people. So the M135i has changed - into this, a four cylinder family five-door that's primarily front-driven, with occasional four wheel traction. It's a BMW of the 'M Performance' variety, rather than being a full M car. But it is, the Munich maker insists, despite the change of hot hatch emphasis, a proper sporting BMW. Is it? Let's find out.
Driving Experienceword count: 301
So what's different with this lightly revised model? Not too much. BMW has retuned the camber settings, plus a new hydromount has been installed for the front suspension, while the mounts for the trailing and control arms at the rear axle have been revised. The steering's now a little sharper and the engine note is now a little rortier. That's about it. Otherwise, things are as before, which means there's a 2.0-litre four cylinder turbocharged 306hp engine beneath the bonnet, in place of the previous generation model's sonorous 3.0-litre straight six. And AWD in place of that older car's classic rear-driven set-up. The performance on offer (rest to 62mph in 4.8s en route to 155mph) exactly replicates that of the old generation pre-2019 340hp M140i model. And of course, compared to that previous design, this modern-era M135i has the added advantage of standard xDrive 4WD, Launch Control and a mechanical Torsen limited slip differential to get its grip to the gravel. But it's a very different kind of car from before that still these days merely replicates what's on offer from obvious rivals like the Golf R and the Audi S3. There's not the same challenge in driving it that characterised the previous generation pre-2019-era model - but then, you might have expected that. As before with the M135i xDrive, this car differs from lesser 1 Series variants with its stiffer suspension set-up and features a 10mm-lower ride height, with two-stage adaptive dampers being optional. At the front, the subframe features an extra couple of bracing bars for extra steering accuracy and the electrically assisted rack features a quick ratio of 14:1, as opposed to the standard car's 15:1. Finally, the brake master cylinder is bigger than that of a standard 1 Series for better response and more consistent pedal pressure.
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Statistics (subset of data only)
Min |
Max |
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Price: |
£36,240.00 (At 19 Mar 2021) |
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Insurance group 1-50: |
36 |
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CO2 (g/km): |
167 (WLTP) |
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Max Speed (mph): |
155 |
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0-62 mph (s): |
4.8 |
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Combined Mpg: |
38.7 (WLTP) |
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Length (mm): |
4340 |
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Width (mm): |
1765 |
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Height (mm): |
1411 |
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Boot Capacity (l): |
380 |
Scoring (subset of scores)
Category:
Performance | |
Handling | |
Comfort | |
Space | |
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed. |