1 Series [Official] The BMW M135i

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[Mr Robert]

I'm starting to like this little f*ck*r... damn, I now need to question everything.

 

[klier]

That's the hottest possible version, and it still doesn't look 'great'....

Does look good, but maybe I just badly want it to look good because it's such a great car...

 

[Betty Swollocks]

That's the hottest possible version, and it still doesn't look 'great'....

Does look good, but maybe I just badly want it to look good because it's such a great car...

I specced up an M135i and M235i and spoke to my local BMW dealer yesterday. The M135i is a complete bargain compared to many other cars, even in Holland. I'm entitled to a diplomatic discount and I can get into a fully loaded M135i for around €53,500 including BPM and BTW. The M235i to the exact same spec would be nearly €59,000. To me it's a no-brainer. The M135i all the way. 3-door and with the 8-speed Sports auto.

Looks wise I think the 1 Series M Sport looks fantastic. I actually prefer the looks of a standard 1 Series with the M Sport package like a 118d, because the 18" wheels look better than the standard 18" wheels you get with the M135i.

This is currently the car which will replace my A1. I may wait until after the facelift later this year though.

 

[as7920]

Colour Betty? Tough choice.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Colour Betty? Tough choice.

OK, my feelings at the moment. Of the six colours available, I think the following:

Alpine White
No cost option but I'm wary of white showing the dirt.

Black Sapphire
Same as white. Looks good but shows the dirt.

Glacier Silver
Looks very nice, especially with the slightly darker hue to it compared with Titanium Silver. However, I've had a lot of silver cars and want something a bit different.

Mineral Grey
Also like it but it hides the sporty elements like the rear valence.

Estoril Blue
A very nice colour, but already this colour is EVERYWHERE!

Valencia Orange
Looks good in real life, shows off the sporty elements, it's unique to M Sport cars, and it's RARE. Currently my first choice.

 

[klier]

So you'll have a 5k difference with an M235. I don't know, but from what I've read the M235i drives even better than the M135i. 5k worth better I don't know.....but in looks at least the M235i looks 100k better.

And only 6 colors? None of them particularly interesting? Hmmmm...
Mineral gray is like space gray a bit? Or is it lighter?

 

[as7920]

....Mineral gray is like space gray a bit? Or is it lighter?

I think it's more like the old Sparkling Graphite without the purple tinge. Darker than space grey. Perhaps they'll offer another grey come LCI, seems par for the course.

I like Melbourne Red on the couple, it's a shame it's not offered on the hatch other than Sport model.

Yeah White is a B1tch to keep clean, but so was black. As you pointed out Betty, white was the free option here, paid for the Adaptive suspension in mine. VO, now there's an interesting idea.

 

[bmwownage]

imo there are only certain specific angles that the front makes sense.. you can see what it's trying to get at. I hope the LCI will clean things up a lot and make it look easier to the eye, then with its price advantage and extra practicability over the 2er, it's a serious contender (which i think is exactly why BMW chose to make the 2er look a lot better than the 1er too because they don't want this to happen)

 

[Betty Swollocks]

(which i think is exactly why BMW chose to make the 2er look a lot better than the 1er too because they don't want this to happen)

Do you honestly think car designers make a conscious decision to make a car "look better than the 1 Series because otherwise people will just buy the cheaper car"?

Honestly?

 

[Mr Robert]

I'm thinking Valencia Orange, Saphire Black or Glacier Silver, 3-door. RWD.

 

[klier]

Do you honestly think car designers make a conscious decision to make a car "look better than the 1 Series because otherwise people will just buy the cheaper car"?

Honestly?

I agree. Ownage, it doesn't work like that at all.
People who drive an A8 are not going to drive A3 sedan because it looks a zillion times better. They just won't, clearly.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

If anybody saw the latest Top Gear which was broadcast two days ago (Sunday 2nd March), then you will know that the first ten minutes was dedicated to Jeremy Clarkson comparing the BMW M135i with the VW Golf GTi.

Now, it was all going very well for the BMW until JC almost rolled it when the car suddenly veered off the runway whilst going in a straight line and whilst accelerating through 120 mph. The camera caught the on board footage and JC looked visibly shaken. I think would have been the same. From then on the BMW didn't receive a favourable review. In fact, the Golf won by a clear margin as far as JC was concerned because it didn't try to kill him.

Now, I couldn't give a toss what JC thinks of a car. I don't regard him as anything other than a TV presenter which presents a programme loosely based around cars. I don't take him seriously. But what I do care about is the truth and manipulation of the casual TV viewers. Viewers who take what JC says as gospel.

So, what is my point? Well, the weather conditions were VERY wet and JC was driving around with the traction control disabled on the M135i, so when they discussed the crash after the video was shown you'd have thought the fact that the traction control was turned off would have been mentioned wouldn't you? Well, it wasn't. Even worse, they actually edited footage of the instrument dials to HIDE the fact that the traction control was disabled. If they'd just failed to mention it then it wouldn't have been so bad, but to actually go into the video footage afterwards and EDIT the disabled traction control light out of the shot it really is deceitful and if I was BMW I would be very annoyed and would consider legal action, or at the very least issue some kind of press release. To the casual viewer the BMW was portrayed as having a tendency to just spin off the road in the wet, and not only was no mention made of the fact that the traction control was disabled, but Top Gear actually went to the trouble of even hiding it. Disgraceful.


Here are the screen shots from the programme:

First you can see the dashboard before the traction control light has been edited out. "Sport+" is selected on the DPC, which means by default the stability control is reduced, as indicated by the yellow car symbol.



In this second shot the "Sport+" is still selected on the DPC, but the yellow "reduced stability control" light has been edited out of the frame. I have checked and it is IMPOSSIBLE to have Sport+ selected and not have reduced stability. So somebody has subsequently edited the footage before broadcast.

 

[Sayyaaf]

^ Sharp. Thanks Betty. Lawsuit worthy

 

[Soup]

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I've looked but I can't find this segment online anywhere.

 

[as7920]

I've looked but I can't find this segment online anywhere.

What are you after Betty?

Shame this wasn't the episode I went to the recording of! Not only the M135i but the Porsche 918.
Previous week was the P1.

All I got was a "celebrity" who had been on before and a fire breathing Danish "supercar" LOL.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

What are you after Betty?

The Golf v M135i segment. I've obviously seen it and have it on my Sky HD box but I was hoping to provide a link to it so people could view the moment JC spins out.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

This is the best I can find so far. At the start you can see the dashboard shot with the traction control light edited out.