► BMW tries to dial up the fun factor
► Revised chassis but slightly down on pace
► Would we have it over a Golf R?
Even after five years many purists have still not forgiven BMW for changing the 1 Series from rear wheel drive to front, and even more controversial was to make the sporty M135i all-wheel-drive. Yet sales for BMW’s baby hot hatch have remained strong, tapping into a lucrative market for pricier, posher, performance-led hatches.
But a slightly diluted driving experience meant the AWD M135i was never regarded as one of the best hot hatches on the market. But BMW is now back with a new version that features a host of chassis changes – and interior improvements as seen on the new standard 1 Series – which it hopes will improve things, but is that the case?
At a glance
Pros: Quick whatever the weather, great interior, costs less than rivals
Cons: Not all that fun, unsettled ride
What’s new?
The first thing to note with the M135 is that it no longer has the ‘i’ in its name, as it’s part of BMW’s new naming strategy that will apply to all its forthcoming petrol cars. The four-pot engine remains similar to before, though it is slightly down on performance thanks to having to meet the latest European emission regulations.
A new ‘M Technology Package’ is also available, bringing a stiffer chassis, lightweight 19-inch forged alloy wheels and brakes that just about fill all available space in the alloy. BMW says it hopes this will unlock a new character for its hot hatch.
Elsewhere, it gets all the changes affecting the regular 1 Series – predominantly the interior. This is completely redesigned around the Curved Display dashboard layout, first seen on the electric i4 in 2021 and now commonplace on almost everything BMW sells.
What are the specs?
Like all of the M135’s key rivals, it relies on a powerful four-pot, all-wheel-drive and a seven-speed automatic gearbox. Unfortunately, manual, FWD hot hatches are quite a rarity these days.
Compared to the previous M135’s engine, a slight detune knocks it back 6bhp and 37lb ft of torque to 302bhp and 295lb ft, but it can still crack 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, a tenth of a second slower than before. The top speed remains 155mph.
As long as you aren’t too ham-fisted with how you drive it, running costs shouldn’t be too painful, either. BMW claims 37mpg with CO2 emissions of 176g/km.
What’s it like to drive?
The best way of describing the weather around the outskirts of Munich on my drive is that it was proper all-wheel-drive hot hatch weather (N.B. the pictures were taken on a sunnier day). Heavy rain and lots of standing water are conditions that the M135 relishes. Though ever so slightly down on performance compared to before, you’d never know it with the way it accelerates away, with a linear and rapid response aided by its smooth-shifting ‘auto box.
The engine, like many of its rivals, it must be said, is rather lacking in character. At first, you think it sounds quite raspy, but this is primarily being pumped in through the speakers and if you have it out of ‘sport’ without the synthesised sound, can sound quite coarse and hardly any better than the standard 120.
In conditions like this, the sure-footedness and ability to deploy its power out of a corner even with heavy rain is impressive. Not too dissimilar to a Golf R where there’s the confidence to push on. While the steering is direct and it’s quite darty, the M135 is never what you’d call fun. Safe and predictable are quite valuable traits in a hot hatch such as this, but from a BMW there’s the expectation for a touch more playfulness.
I also expect the M135’s ride will prove just too stiff for UK roads. Though there is the caveat that it is ‘shporty’, it was too firm even on Germany’s smoother roads. While it comes with adaptive dampers as standard, there’s no real controllable element to softening them up (such as with Volkswagen’s DCC), you’re reliant purely on the mode you’re in. This test car’s large 19-inch alloy wheels did it no favours, either.
What’s the interior like?
The new M135’s interior has had quite the tech makeover, with the key change being the Curved Display. Though it does mean an absence of physical switchgear (even the iDrive controller), BMW’s touchscreen tech is some of the best, with the new 1 Series getting its latest setup that includes new shortcut buttons, with the climate control buttons always present on the screen.
The quality on the M135 is impressive, with little impression of cost-cutting, which is good considering this is BMW’s cheapest car. The same can’t be said about rivals from Audi or Mercedes that feel as if the accountants have been looking to make savings.
But inside the M135 is incredibly hard to tell apart from a regular 1 Series. I drove it back to back with a 120 in M Sport trim and aside from a red 12 o’clock marker on the steering wheel, the cabins are practically identical. That’s not a bad thing, given the standard 1 Series’ impressive interior, but I’d personally like a few more changes to help justify the M135’s additional cost. Even the new Alcantara and leather sports seats, which look great but aren’t the most comfortable, come as standard on the M Sport model.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
The M135 faces three core rivals in the premium all-wheel-drive hatch market – the Volkswagen Golf R is the most obvious, but as is the recently-revised Audi S3. Don’t forget the Mercedes-AMG A35, either, which has the perennial problem of standing in the famed A45’s shadow.
Quite surprisingly, the BMW is actually the cheapest of the trio, coming in at £43,000. It’s by no means the bargain of the century, but does usefully undercut that trio, which starts at just shy of £47,000.
You still get plenty of equipment for your money, too, including 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, a Harman Kardon sound system and the impressive Curved Display touchscreen.
Verdict
In many areas the new BMW M135 fulfills all of the requirement of a posh hot hatch. Quick? Most definitely. Usable in all weathers? Absolutely. Feels well-made? A big yes – I’m not sure any hot hatchback has a better interior.
But like the previous M135i, it still feels like something is lacking in the fun department. It’s never going to be the slightly lairy six-cylinder, RWD legend that its predecessor was, but it just feels slightly too serious for a BMW M car, even an entry-level one.