Z4 3.0 sdrive owner. Just had test drive in M135i, my thoughts!

J

Johnh1976

Member
 Braintree
I love my e89 very much, I also loved my e85 very much! I have the 3.0sdrive and I just wish sometimes it had more power hence I have started seeing what's out there. I don't really like buying on finance so an 3.0is is outta my range for the minute which brings me to the M135i obviously with a sunroof :P
Visited the BMW showroom today and have to say the sales guy was a great guy. I basically said to him it's unlikely I'm going to be buying his M135i as it didn't have a sunroof, however I needed to drive this model then ask him to source me a model which is specked to my liking.
So off we went!
Here are my thoughts on the car.
Fast, very fast and a lot better ride than the Z even without the active M suspension.
Interior did not feel as special as the Z although much much quieter and refined.
Great auto box with paddles back to being + and - :thumbsup:
I had the back end out at 40 mph around a roundabout and it was easily controllable and good fun, so I went round again :D
After the test drive I went back in my Z and took the same roundabout and as expected the Z would not budge even at 50 mph + my Z would simply eat the 135i around the bends which surprised me!

So overall 2 massively different cars! But maybe it opened my eyes to how good the Z really is. People say that the E89 went soft, but in the real world for us mortals its a great handling car. I had the old one as well and this one handles just as well if you feel like throwing it around :D

As for the M135i, I liked it a lot. I liked that you could have some fun with it and it is bloody quick in a straight line , just needs that sunroof and it looks like I'm changing cars again!

Guess my Z is up for sale :(
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    126.2 KB · Views: 1,817
If your looking at an early m135i I would recommend getting a warranty of some sort as there are some issues being reported with a whine on the zf8 gearbox which can throw up a £7k bill. I have a 235i and it's a great all round car.
 
I swapped my 2.0 SDrive E89 for my M135i 2 years ago and concur what you mostly said, as for handling, I'm guessing from what you are saying the demo you tried didn't have adaptive suspension? which does make a difference as in Sport mode it does sharpen things up over standard passive with comfort mode being softer than standard passive.

For me the M135i is pretty much perfect and just feels more modern than the E89 which really needs replacing now to bring it inline with the rest of the model range. I do still miss the Zeds looks though and its ageing well but don't miss the iffy build and leaky roof so much :)

Just waiting now for the M140i too appear on the configurator :)

End of the day the 1 Series is a mundane hatch but does most things well.



Tim.
 
Good advice everybody :thumbsup: I'm looking for sunroof, pro nav, adaptive suspension and of coarse trying to get the best money for my Z with low mileage. Dealer offered 12k and actually advised me to sell it privately which is always hassle :x but it's now on auto trader, so I'm basically in limbo until someone takes a fancy to it. I'm not expecting a quick sale as the English weather is being a bit well English :roll:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom