Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral 135i

One of these has popped onto my radar from a mutual acquaintance.

All the bits, leather, sat nav, top spec hifi, xenons, heated seats, PDC, LSD, electric memory seats, bluetooth, voice control etc etc.

BMW performance carbon fibre interior and a remap by DMS with a rolling road proven 390 bhp.

He reckons it'll hit 62 in 4.7 seconds which is better than the standard 5.3 due to remap.

This thing sounds like an absolute animal, and he still gets 30+ mpg on a run.

Will I miss the lack of roof if I change from the Z4?

Edited to add - he said it pulls away from an E46 M4 quite convincingly on the 1/4 mile!

No mate go for it, these go like stink, no hairdressers stigma attached to it either, looks like a mini E46

Road test review below



Engine sounds great and the black tailpipes look and sound awesome. I got in and off I was,first impression as I sat in was the nice thick M steering wheel, feels great and makes the driver feel confident and in control. Second impression was the seats, the bolsters are much larger and do a way better job of keeping you planted while hitting curves at twice the speed limit. I also observed the dash for a few minutes and quality of the interior and I was amazed to see no signs of cost cutting pure BMW materials and nothing less.

As I pull out of the dealer I notice a 335i sedan right behind me, so I tried to catch his attention by speeding out the dealer and onto the first light, he follows me with the same urgency. Good looks like he wants to play lets see what the 135 got over its bigger brother. I take a right which leads to an S curved road as soon as I do the 335i follows and just guns it. I punch the throttle and woosh ahead of the 335i and stayed ahead about 2 car lengths all the way through the S curve while topping out about 95-100mph. This little car has got some balls!! It handled great even though it feels sort of high and steering feedback is great but not as good as my 330zhp. I headed to some backroads to put it through some more curves, the 135 took all the curves I gave it and had no problem handling them at twice the speed limit.

I then got stuck in some traffic which gave me some time to further observe the interior, I personally love it!! It looks way better than the E90 interior while using the same materials and craftmanship. I also played around with the buttons and window switches everything looks good and feels 100% BMW. I then got out of traffic and head down the highway just blasting past every car on it with little effort, this thing is like a bat out of hell!!! Well the drive is finally winding down as I pull into the dealership and park it and just stared at it for a few minutes, the 1er looks awesome especially in jet black. My Sa comes over and asks what I think, with a grin on my face it's pretty hard not to know but I responded "looks like BMW did it again". This will be my next car no doubt.

Pros: An engine made by Gods, great handling,brakes,steering; excellent interior and craftmanship

Cons: Ride height too high needs a drop, not as good looking as the E46.

Verdict: The closest thing to an E46 with the 335i engine, fun to drive!!!

Google Hartge and AC Shnitzer, both are making some nice aftermarket kits aswell to meat the back end styling out

I'd be tempted to go for a 335 or M3 (3.2), similar but a bit more aggresive looking, wider arches etc.

Looks smart that.

Go for it Nobody,sod the roof its going to piss down most of the summer!

Al,

Do some homework on here before doing owt drastic, some good reading here

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=959829

M3 / 135 two cars are different in more aspects than similar.

the 135 is not an ///M car, therefore is it not designed for the performance aspect of a car.
The ///M Is not turbo'd so the torque wont kick in until a little higher rpms.
The 135 is meant to be a smaller car, hence the 1 series, while the e46 mentioned, is a 3 series.

Now money makes the difference here. Of course you can make a 135 have everything the ///M does, and vice versa. It all depends on how much you have to spend, and what you want to spend it on.

Personally, i would go with the ///M just because it IS the race inspired version of a 3 series, where the 135 is just the 1 series with the same motor as a 3 series.

BUT insurance costs more, parts costs more, service costs more etc. Find the equilibrium price and make your choice.

Keep your z, those 1 series are birds cars, seriously.

Hmm, my mother does have one... but then again, I own a Z4 so not fussed too much on the image.

But having said that, 390bhp does more than keep me interested.

I've looked at the E46 M3 already, before the Z - and the costs of servicing carry a hefty service premium and the number of miles I do etc etc, not really worth it. I've opted out of CC scheme so would like to think I can make the monthly payment cover everything it should, something which it's not doing at the moment as the Z is falling apart around my ears!

Seriously considering it though.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice car but not once have I seen a man driving one
The bhp is a big bonus though

Shame that Al, must admit my sister had had her eye on the 2.0l for a few months and Tash wanted one so they definatley appeal to the women, you can always consider the 335 but same applies on part servicing etc, i get stung for the same because they are the same size wheel,tire,profile etc and use identical parts, shoes, steering pumps blah blah, bar the block itself.

What about going up to a bigger Z 3.0L one just below the M?

Theres a silver soft top E46 M3 floating round for 9.5k at the moment that i've got my eye on, used to belong to my dad a year or so ago he flogged it to his mate who has since discovered the 1000rr bike and has no time for four wheels these days. Same applies though hefty m servicing costs and if anything big goes down it's going to hurt the pocket. I've been scouting about since i got the car back with a fat bill and to be honest mate hard pressed to find anything worth letting it go for, equivelant spec cars are 30k + refuse to go to the dark side though (A4 avants shudder) Better the devil you know mate ?

I drove the 3.0l Z4 prior to buying the 2.5i and at the time due to age etc there seemed to be a massive insurance jump for very little in the way of performance increase. Low down and at normal speeds they felt identical, it was only top end where I felt a bit more grunt. Also, I've done the Z4, and I'd feel like I was an identical car!

I don't want to spend a fortune, there's no need to because I have no phobia of older cars like a lot of people seem to - it's nuts that you can get such a car for the price of a nearly new Ford Focus or the like.

Absolutley mate, people who buy new are loosing far too much in depreciation, my old man has always taught me that, why buy a brand new 60 plate bog standard rep mobile when you can have a five year old m3 which would well out perform it etc, for a fraction of the cost, no brainer mate,

Have a look at the price of a new continental 120k plus then auto trader a 4 - 5 year old one your looking 40k for a near identical looking car

That Carrera is a good example, wanted 11k ish on a 55 plate,

Worth 4 times that for a new one, stick a private reg on it nobodies the wiser

Case example...

http://pistonheads.com/classifieds/2700564.htm

Yeah it's getting on a bit but it will have been looked after and it's low mileage. You just need to keep in mind that it'll still be a £120k car to look after.

Thats it mate, and as you go futher up the ladder the more tempremental they become, Lambo Murc gearbox's typically cost around 5k and last around 2000 miles bargain triptronic is even worse!, also prone to overheating and bursting into flames - Result !

I think if your sensible though and stay middle of the road you can work it to your advantage but buying top spec cars on a budget usually tends to bite you in the arse with expensive parts going etc or ridic servicing costs.

A lad i know took his skyline GTR round nurburgring, screwed the arse out of it and then needed a two grand retune to get home, money pits mate, Keeps up with F430's on the upside, downside still alot of dollar

Nice car though pics below

GTR is ridiculous for parts. If you have a very low speed impact and the pedestrian impact system goes off then you need to replace the bumper, rams, bonnet hinges AND the ECU.

More than £10k.

Ouch.