BMW M135i xDrive 2021 - UNPRECIDENTED??

The name's much the same, but the car could hardly be more different. BMW's M135i gains xDrive four-wheel drive and a rather different outlook on life from the rear-driven M135i and M140i older generation models that preceded it. This car doesn't have the old-school track style appeal those previous models had, but that's because it's matured a bit. If you have two, then you'd probably rather like it. New models primarily appeal to those who bought the previous version of the same car, but this one's different. In its previous generation guys, 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 racetrack 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. Previous high-performance petrol one-series variants gained something of a cult following thanks to their sonorous three-litre straight-six engines, so if you happen to be an enthusiast shopping at the top end of the range, you might be disappointed to find that this time around the model-badged M135i has a four-cylinder two-litre unit beneath the bonnet. Once you also factor in the switch to front-wheel drive, the result, as you might expect, is a very different confection, particularly as the power being developed has fallen significantly to 306 horsepower. BMW points out that the performance on offer rests to 62 miles an hour in 4.8 seconds en route to 155 miles an hour exactly replicates that of the old 340 horsepower M140i model and that the new M135i has the added advantage of standard xDrive four-wheel drive, launch control and a newly developed mechanical Torsen limited-slip differential to get its grip to the gravel. But it's a very different kind of car from before that now 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 characterized the previous generation model, but then you might have expected that. The M135i differs from lesser one-series variants with its stiffer suspension setup and features a 10mm lower ride height with two-stage adaptive dampers being optional. At the front, the subframe gains an extra couple of bracing bars for extra steering accuracy and the electrically assisted rack features a quicker ratio of 14 to 1 as opposed to the standard car's 15 to 1. Finally, the brake master cylinder is bigger for better response and more consistent brake pressure. There are the usual BMW drive modes available, comfort, eco pro and sport, the latter customizable through an available sport individual screen menu. This allows you to choose between sport and comfort options for the steering, the engine, the transmission and if it's fitted, the adaptive damping system. The center screen's car menu also provides a selectable sport display which shows you graphical readouts for turbo boost, oil temperature, torque and horsepower. As you might expect, the top M135i X-Drive variant has its own unique M Performance look. That gives this top version 18-inch M light alloy double spoke wheels with a bicolor finish through which you glimpse the blue calipers of the M Sport braking system. Plus, there's high gloss shadow line trim and a unique cerium gray finish for the side sill covers, the side M logo and the mirror caps. At the front, there's a bespoke look for the bumper styling and the frame of the kidney grille. As with the ordinary M Sport variants, you get this wide central intake and these distinctive vertical corner outlet slashes. The headlights feature full LED beams and on request are upgradable to the BMW icon adaptive LED headlamps that we've got here. At the rear, there's another bumper that's unique to this model as is the M rear spoiler and the cerium gray finish for the two potent looking exhaust tailpipes which are separated by this ribbed black diffuser. Time to take a look inside. The M135i's interior is set apart by M seatbelts, an M Sport steering wheel, M135i front door plates, an Anthracite headliner and M Sport seats with upholstery and trigon cloth and Anthracite alcantara. Plus, this flagship variant comes with the brand's desirable live cockpit professional package with its 10.25-inch center dash and instrument cluster screens plus its connected package professional additional media connectivity features. There's some clever stuff incorporated into this setup including what BMW calls an intelligent personal assistant which is there to answer questions that you can voice to the car as you drive it. Otherwise, the recipe is as with any other 1 Series. This car now has the cabin feel of a larger more luxurious product. Some of that's down to more appealing design and some of it's down to cabin quality. Soft touch surfaces and the solid feel of all the fixtures and fittings matched on a plusher model like this one by things like contrast stitching and intricate extended lighting door panel strips. The start button is down by the gear stick where it would be on a much larger BMW and finding the ideal driving position is easy. The M Sport seats are very comfortable and there's plenty of interior storage space. With this F40 Series model, we're promised much more room in the rear which is pretty much what you get. Two adults can comfortably fit on the back seat without having to squash in their knees as was the case with the previous rear-driven model. The height of this central transmission tunnel means a third occupant will feel cramped though at least it's lower than it was before. Now practical touches include central vents above twin USB-C ports, overhead coat hooks and reading lights. You get ISOFIX fastenings for the outer two seating positions and decently sized bins indoors that feature classy stitched panels. Out back, there's now a decently sized 380 litre boot. This top trim level includes BMW's luggage compartment package which gives you a package of useful extra features for this cargo area. An additional boot light, a strap in the side panel, a side compartment luggage netter, 12-volt socket, a rather impractical stainless steel loading edge sill cover and a cargo function for these second row seat backs that enables you to make them a touch more vertical so as to more easily cram in particularly bulky items like big suitcases. Need more room? Well if you've paid extra for the through loading option that gives you this versatile 40-20-40 rear seat back split, you'll be able to push long items like skis through between a couple of rear seated folk. Push forward the rear bench and 1,200 litres of space can be freed up. At the time of this test in summer 2021, BMW was charging just under £36,500 for this M135i xDrive, that's before on the road charges, which is about par for the course if you're cars in this segment, probably models like the Audi S3 Sportback, the Mercedes-AMG A35 and the Renault Megane RS, perhaps also the Honda Civic Type R. BMW also offers a four-door version of this model in the shape of its M235i Gran Coupe model. We've detailed most of the visual exterior and interior embellishments that you get as part of M135i spec in our design section. Standard kit we haven't yet mentioned includes front LED fog lights and specifically tailored M Sport steering and suspension. Inside there's two-zone automatic air conditioning, heated front seats, auto headlamps and wipers and cruise control. The standard live cockpit professional media package that we mentioned in our design section mirrors the kind of setup that you'd find on BMW's larger models. With this, you get a big touch-sensitive 10.25-inch centre dash monitor, a control display screen of the same size to replace conventional dials in the instrument cluster, Wi-Fi hotspot preparation and touch functionality for the iDrive controller, plus of course all the usual navigation, Bluetooth, DAB audio and Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, smartphone mirroring elements feature. You can interact closely with all this tech by using what BMW calls an intelligent personal assistant, which works a bit like the Siri or Google assistant systems you might have on your phone and is there to answer questions that you can voice to the car as you drive it, prefaced by the command, hey BMW. In addition, this so-called operating 7.0 package has what BMW calls intelligent vehicle functionality, which helps the driver learn their preferences and is familiar with their favoured settings, for instance for the seat heating or the places they frequently drive using the navigation system. What about options? Well, many M135i buyers upgrade to the optional M135i Plus pack, which includes sun protection glass, a Harman Kardon audio upgrade and a choice of two designs of larger bi-colour 19-inch wheel, M V-spoke or M double spoke. Bear in mind though that you can't upgrade to this pack if you specify the optional adaptive damping system, as quite a few customers for this hot hatch are going to want to do. You can also look at what BMW calls its comfort pack too. This includes steering wheel heating, powered front seat adjustment, an automatic tailgate and what BMW calls comfort access, basically keyless entry and gesture control for the rear hatch. There's also an optional technology pack which includes a head up display, a reversing assist camera with park assist to steer you into spaces. There's enhanced Bluetooth with a wireless charging mat, Wi-Fi hotspot preparation and BMW icon adaptive LED headlights that adapt themselves to road conditions and feature a high beam assistant. A number of the items just mentioned can also be ordered as standalone options if you don't want to stretch to a pack, as can the Harman Kardon surround sound audio setup that we mentioned earlier. We'd also want to consider the panoramic glass sunroof that we've got here. If you want to go further then your dealer will introduce you to BMW's range of M Performance accessories. Handcrafted carbon fibre attachments are available for the rear diffuser, the side skirts and the mirror covers. You can also add a race style rear roof spoiler finished in either carbon fibre or high gloss black and you can have the front splitter and its associated aero flicks in high gloss black too, if that's the look you like. Enough with optional extras, let's move on to focus on safety which is as you'd expect from BMW well accounted for, hence this car's full house five star Euro NCAP safety rating. If you own the previous F20 generation M135i or M140i models, you'll find that camera safety tech has advanced quite considerably with this F40 generation car. The key new inclusion being the Active Guard Plus package that now features across all of BMW's modern designs which gets you the brand's front collision warning autonomous braking technology. Now Active Guard Plus also includes a speed limit assist, an alertness assistant, you get a hill start assistant to stop you from drifting backwards on uphill junctions and the BMW emergency call with teleservices system which in an accident can automatically alert the emergency services. Want to go further with safety kit? Well the key extra cost option here is what BMW calls its driving assistant pack which gives you a whole range of extra camera based safety features. These include five key elements, lane departure warning with blind spot detection, the rear collision prevention and rear crossing traffic warning features and approach control and pedestrian warning with city braking function. For the open road there's also BMW's active cruise control with stop and go function tech which will automatically keep you a safe distance behind the car in front on the highway seamlessly slowing you and starting you off again if you come across a tailback. Okay what about cost of ownership issues? Well this Autoroni petrol hot hatch variant manages up to 38.7 miles to the gallon and on 18 inch wheels up to 167 grams per kilometer of CO2 on the WLTP cycle which puts it amongst the class leaders in this segment when it comes to efficiency and means a BIK tax rate of 37 percent. Insurance is at a group 36e rating. To get close to the quoted efficiency figures you need to drive the car as often as possible in its most frugal eco pro drive mode. There's a screen menu that allows you to tailor various eco pro mode functions coasting, seat heating, climate and a light and sight section and you can adopt more eco-conscious settings for the steering and if adaptive damping is fitted for the suspension too. Routine maintenance is dictated by condition-based servicing that monitors oil level and engine wear taking into account how long it's been and how far the car has traveled since its previous garage visit. You can check all of this using menus in the iDrive center dash display. The center dash screen's car section tells you engine oil level and service requirements plus the car will give you four weeks notice of when a checkup is needed so you have plenty of time to book it. A teleservices feature comes as part of the BNW connected drive services you can also access through the iDrive infotainment system. Via this before each service appointment is due your 1 series can automatically put in a teleservices call to your nominated BNW service center complete with detailed information on vehicle condition. You'll then get a call to arrange a service appointment something you'll already have budgeted for if at the point of original purchase you opted for one of the two fixed cost service inclusive or service inclusive plus packages which cover you for five years or 50,000 miles. What do you think of the M135i xDrive? Depends largely on the expectations you approach it with. It was clearly never intended to be a direct replacement for its six-cylinder rear-driven predecessor but see it as what it is. The unique maker's alternative to a Golf R, a Mercedes AMG A35 or an Audi S3 and you'll get the point immediately. We're disappointed that BNW no longer offers something so refreshingly radically different to cars like those but we can understand why the business case for a version to a more established uber fast hot hatch formula was so compelling. Compelling isn't the first word that springs to when considering the drive experience this car serves up but it's undeniably impressive. Traction out of corners that thing that you had to fight for in the old rear-driven model on damp roads is superb and the four-cylinder powerplant makes up for in willingness what it lacks in authentic howling character. For the first time here's a really quick one series model you could justify to the family. The M135i may no longer be a unique confection but it's an undeniably more complete one.