BMW

Date Acquired:

04 Mar 2009

Year:

2009

Cost:

Fuel consumption:

20.1mpg w/skis

Odometer:

11,700

Servicing:

None to date

Annual Insurance:

£500

Other costs:

£570 (Performance Exhaust)

Four days after picking the car up from the dealer, I slapped a GB-plate on its pert rump and headed off to the French Alps for some skiing. The opportunity to quickly run the 135i in, and in the unstressed manner of long-distance motorway work, was just too good to miss.   

It was a great way to get familiar with the car and its character. While I wouldn't go so far as to describe this as a Jekyll and Hyde car, it definitely has two sides to it. The first is one of surprising maturity - the large-capacity straight-six and weighty feel of the controls endow it with the effortless feel of an expensive luxury express. You can see why the likes of Evo and Autocar were disappointed that it wasn't the hooligan machine they were hoping for. In sixth gear, it devours trans-European motorway distances in perfect cruise-controlled comfort. With that in mind, this could probably be a perfectly nice car with an automatic gearbox. But that would be a waste. Because, if you prod past the initial stages of throttle aperture, the car shapeshifts into an alert, growling, weapon-like device, ready to streak up a challenging road with a previously unsuspected snarl.

Hooligan? Perhaps not. But it nevertheless certainly has a darker edge beneath that demure facade. On the rockface-edged roads up to the ski resort, this is a car where you open the sunroof and windows to revel in the rise/fall crescendo of howls and growls. It's a glorious and sophisticated-sounding noise that wantonly encourages you to seize the car by the scruff of its neck. It doesn't shriek through the upper rev-range quite the way the older BMW straight sixes -like the one in my Z1- do, but it's still pretty special. I've heard people complain that the twin-turbo 3.0 straight six sounds muffled compared to the normal 3.0 in, for example, the 130i. Well, I've driven a 130i in anger and yes it's a fabulous-sounding engine, but I don't feel short-changed in the 135i on the aural front.  

Make no mistake, this car goes like absolute stink for a "baby" coupe and will show a clean pair of heels to many more overtly sporting machines. Because the performance is -unless you deliberately provoke it- delivered in such a seamless wave, it's easy to feel that the car isn't actually as urgent as the statistics suggest. But it is and a glance at the speedo can be a shock if you aren't concentrating.

The 135i also handles beautifully - fluent and friendly. I haven't attempted any 10/10ths (or even 8/10ths) attacks on favourite roads in it yet, largely out of sympathy for the youth of the mechanical bits, so cannot comment on its "on-the-limit" behaviour or whether indeed the E-diff is the kill-joy that the motoring press suggests. However, in normal driving, it's a joy with flat, grippy cornering and agile responses. The ride, on the dreaded runflats, is stiff and can be jiggly at low speed on scarred tarmac but it's certainly noticeably more compliant and comfortable than my old Alfa GTA. The coupe bodyshell also doesn't seem to suffer from the rear-end "bounce" that reviewers report can afflict the 130i MSport hatchback.

Talking of a clean pair of heels, one slightly disappointing part of buying a new car was the finish it had on delivery, which was to be honest not very good. I don't care how mass-produced a car is - any sign of orange-peel effect is unforgivable these days, and scratches are just a bit sloppy. BMW were peddling a "Supagard" sealing option, but since they don't prepare the car first, that would simply seal all the defects into place. So instead of Supagarding it, I spent the money on a proper professional detail by a chap called James who runs an outfit called Auto Finesse (http://www.autofinesse.co.uk/), based near Ware in Herts. James had the car for three days for a new car protection detail and did an amazing job - the car actually looked new and untouched by the time he'd finished with a deep glossy finish (three layers of sealant) that really flattered the colour and design. It is expensive but wholly recommended. He'll be getting the Z1 to resurrect one of these days!

Detailing pics courtesy of Auto Finesse.

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