# A Muzzer homage - living with an M135i



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Liked the thing of Muzzles thread on his 308GTi so wondered if there would be any interest in my experiences over time with my new car.

Been along time since buying new, last few years has seen a number of cars on the drive, Saab 9-3 Aero convertible, Clio 182, Celica T Sport, E36 328i Sport Individual, Golf V6 4Motion, Boxster S etc so fair to say I don't have a particular "type" of car but I do like decent levels of performance

Having the Jag S Type R satisfies the need for something large, powerful and "different" so was looking at something to compliment that, smaller, cheaper to run but still with decent performance.

Decided to buy via lease due to having a decent car allowance and some good deals around.

Cars initially considered included Golf R, Scirocco R, Octavia VRs230, Megane Renaultsport but eventually plumped for the BMW

Reasons for the choice boiled down to 3 things, good lease price, RWD and the straight 6 up front

Standard spec was reasonable with LED headlights, nav, leather and only added metallic paint, sun protection glass and the adaptive headlights. Biggest decision was auto v manual. Test drove both and the ZF 8 speed auto is very good but as the Jag is auto I thought I'd stick with manual.

Colour choice was not great, I hate Estoril Blue with a passion, black is too much like hard work, came down to mineral grey or white, grey being the final choice with coral red leather and hexagon aluminium trim - its a nice combination in my opinion.

The M135i has dropped off the radar somewhat, dynamically its not the greatest but I like cars that have to be driven - too many cars are so competent that the enjoyment of driving has.been removed, the BMW has to be driven to get the best out of it.

Things I like so far - the noise, so much better than any 4 pot, the iDrive and overall functionality is very impressive, the seats are extremely comfortable and the fact that it slips under the radar - it looks like a 116d Msport which suits me fine, the LED headlights look good and very effective with the adaptive functions

Things I don't like - styling does not appeal but in this colour and spec its better than most 1 series, interior plastics are not great quality (the Octavia I tried was miles better) and tyre noise is intrusive

Only things changed so far is the disconnecting of the exhaust valve and fitting 335 / 340i tailpipe tips to replace the standard grey items

I will keep this updated as the months go by, I'm sure I will unearth more likes and dislikes


----------



## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

My friend has one with a jb4 fitted and it's stupidly quick, will run rings around an e36 / e46 m3.

I'm still not convinced by the looks, and shame they couldn't come with a proper LSD as standard, but simply cannot argue with the performance for the money.

I wouldn't ever want one brand new, but there are so many around I'm hoping they will a performance bargain secondhand in another 3-4 years.


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Harry_p said:


> My friend has one with a jb4 fitted and it's stupidly quick, will run rings around an e36 / e46 m3.
> 
> I'm still not convinced by the looks, and shame they couldn't come with a proper LSD as standard, but simply cannot argue with the performance for the money.
> 
> I wouldn't ever want one brand new, but there are so many around I'm hoping they will a performance bargain secondhand in another 3-4 years.


A proper LSD is a dealer fit option.

You can get a new one for £26k if you don't add options.

They are already 4 years old and you'll still struggle to get one for £17k. £9k depreciation in 4 years for a brand new car is very good.

I would say that the whole hot hatch market will be hit soon though. There is far too many new cars on PCP and lease deals that are all going to hit the market soon.


----------



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

All sounds pretty good to me overall, I think the pros out way the cons and you have made the right choice. All cars, no matter what they are from a family hatch to a sports car all have plus and minuses.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Soul boy 68 said:


> All sounds pretty good to me overall, I think the pros out way the cons and you have made the right choice. All cars, no matter what they are from a family hatch to a sports car all have plus and minuses.
> 
> View attachment 46949


Absolutely, the Golf R was ruled out because they seem to be everywhere, Octavia was ruled out because it was too sensible (damn good car though), Scirocco ruled out because it just felt very ordinary.

The BMW is not the most spacious or attractive of cars but the basics are very good, good seats and driving position, very well laid out controls and the engine is lovely.

Did a 90 mile round trip to the edge of the Peak District this morning, found some very good quiet but fast roads, yes the car is underdamped but it was a lot of fun and thats what I was looking for


----------



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

andy665 said:


> Absolutely, the Golf R was ruled out because they seem to be everywhere, Octavia was ruled out because it was too sensible (damn good car though), Scirocco ruled out because it just felt very ordinary.
> 
> The BMW is not the most spacious or attractive of cars but the basics are very good, good seats and driving position, very well laid out controls and the engine is lovely.
> 
> Did a 90 mile round trip to the edge of the Peak District this morning, found some very good quiet but fast roads, yes the car is underdamped but it was a lot of fun and thats what I was looking for


It must be it's rear wheel drive agility that adds to the fun of the car.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Soul boy 68 said:


> It must be it's rear wheel drive agility that adds to the fun of the car.
> 
> View attachment 46962


I'm old school (maybe just old) - learned to drive with RWD, been taught to drive on a circuit only ever with RWD so feel totally at home with it


----------



## Guest (Jun 1, 2016)

I rather like these car for exactly the same reasons as you, RWD, 6cyl and 326bhp . I'm fairly neutral about the looks, nothing to drool over but I don't find it offensive either. Out of interest, what do you not like about the dynamics? I've not driven one yet, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

BareFacedGeek said:


> I rather like these car for exactly the same reasons as you, RWD, 6cyl and 326bhp . I'm fairly neutral about the looks, nothing to drool over but I don't find it offensive either. Out of interest, what do you not like about the dynamics? I've not driven one yet, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.


They have somehow made the ride firm but left it underdamped, too soft on compression, rebound is fine, already thinking I might stick of set of Eibachs on it - I don't mind a firm ride as long as it delivers decent control which this doesnt


----------



## Guest (Jun 1, 2016)

andy665 said:


> They have somehow made the ride firm but left it underdamped, too soft on compression, rebound is fine, already thinking I might stick of set of Eibachs on it - I don't mind a firm ride as long as it delivers decent control which this doesnt


Thanks for the reply. I guess this car does not have the adaptive suspension? Not sure how much of a difference that would make though.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

BareFacedGeek said:


> Thanks for the reply. I guess this car does not have the adaptive suspension? Not sure how much of a difference that would make though.


I have never driven a car with adaptive suspension that has impressed me - a well set up passive suspension should be all that is needed. This is far from bad, just not as taut as I like


----------



## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

Out of curiousity do you prefer the looks of the 16 or 15 plates?


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

RisingPower said:


> Out of curiousity do you prefer the looks of the 16 or 15 plates?


I prefer the LCI (facelift) - apart from the rear lights.


----------



## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

I have adaptive on mine and its definitely an improvement over the passive car. Apparently Eibach springs are a good upgrade but mine is staying stock for now.

The LCI is a huge improvement in looks. I quite like the shape of the car, its much more interesting that the slab sided cars that are common nowadays.

To expand on what Kerr said, you can buy an LSD as a dealer fit item, retains warranty etc. The unit is a drexler diff if I recall correctly. This is a complete replacement unit, so could be removed in the future.

Third party items (Quaife and Wavetrac) are available, unfortunately fitment is a bit complicated, in their infinite wisdom BMW builds diffs with the crownwheel welded to the carrier. This means that you can't just replace the diff itself as with many other cars. So, to fit the diff the crownwheel is machined off the original carrier and then bolted to the new diff unit. You can see this being done to a similar BMW diff here: 



What it means is fitting the diff is a one way street unless you have a donor diff to use.

Why didn't it come with one ? well, remember this is an "m-lite". It was more than close enough to the E92 when released, (some suggest BMW even played it down a little on release) it'd be a bit embarrassing for the "baby" of the range beating an expensive fully fledged M car. There is obviously a cost aspect too.

I have the 8 speed auto, my first auto and to be honest its a revelation. Its a conventional auto not a twin clutch box, but to drive it you wouldn't know., its a very good box. Some people have had an issue with noise from them that shows up quite early on - one car had a new box at 100 miles. I believe a revised box has now been released.

I've found it a comfortable, nice place to sit. Its not a raw car like a Renaultsport Cilo/Megane, so if you're looking for thrills per minute - wrong car. What it does provide is a certain amount of refinement while still having the performance on tap that you'd expect from a hot hatch.

Ultimately where else can you get a great sounding, RWD straight six for not very much money ?

In my eyes the only real rival is an A45 AMG, but at £10k+ more and no 3 door it didn't quite add up for me.

How far can they go ? Well, there's a Belgian chap who has a Pure Turbos upgrade. The result ? north of 500hp. It does this:





Plenty of other videos on his youtube account: https://www.youtube.com/user/darkiedm4/videos

For those unaware, the M135i is now out of production. Its replacement is the M140i. This is a change to the B58 engine from the 340i (and not much else). A little more power and torque, but that torque drops off earlier. The car has maybe 2 years before the replacement 1 series is in production.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Now I'm starting to live with the car a bit more a few things have appeared in the like and dislike columns

*Likes*

Effortless overtaking, it pull so strongly and immediately in any gear that overtaking traffic on country roads is much easier and safer than in lower powered cars

The playfulness of the back end, easy to break traction but very controllable

*Dislikes*

Economy - yes the engine is still tight (500 miles) but 26mpg is less than I get in the S Type R under similar driving conditions - so much for more modern and allegedly efficient engines

When the car is wet and you open the rear doors you get a lovely stream of water running straight down on to the rear seat squab - already drenched two people and is mildly irritating


----------



## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

The car should easily do 35mpg on the motorway, 40mpg if you nurse it a little. On a trip where I did nurse it a lot I managed just shy of 50mpg over 35 miles. That's not realistic for real life long term results. 

26mpg is a bit lower than I'd expect from an average driver in normal circumstances. That would be a fair amount of city driving and not longer trips.

The average window does appear to be around 30+/- 3mpg.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Kerr said:


> The car should easily do 35mpg on the motorway, 40mpg if you nurse it a little. On a trip where I did nurse it a lot I managed just shy of 50mpg over 35 miles. That's not realistic for real life long term results.
> 
> 26mpg is a bit lower than I'd expect from an average driver in normal circumstances. That would be a fair amount of city driving and not longer trips.
> 
> The average window does appear to be around 30+- 3mpg.


I'm hoping so - the engine certainly still feels a little tight and to be fair most of the mileage has been short journeys and a 90 mile cross country trip yesterday so hardly the best for decent economy


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Combination of waking up early, decent weather and no real plans saw me going out for a drive and getting some pictures of the car this morning

Now its done 500 miles its starting to loosen up a little more and the in-gear thrust really is relentless, no sign of any lag at all

Pleased I saved the money on the Pro nav by sticking with the standard set-up, has sufficient features / usability for me, if I was doing regular long motorway trips I'd think differently

Managed to unearth some nice A roads this morning that suited the car well, turning off on to narrower / bumpier B roads confirmed that this is more of a mini GT car with the performance of a hot hatch rather than a B road blaster - that suits me fine

Also and rather unexpectedly is I'm finding the styling growing on me - it will never be pretty but its got a lot of interesting swages / creases that in M135i spec give it a certain presence


----------

