Right out of the gates InsideLine goes for the jugular and lets the readers know their overall opinion of the car.
"The 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe is a fantastically compelling machine. It is fast — faster in real-world terms than the M3 on most roads." And that is the basis for the rest of the article, which is filled with praise after praise.
Engine
Edmunds states what we know, the power doesn't match up to the M3, however the massive torque figure makes up for the difference giving the 1M more than enough straight line pull. Whats really notable is that in their drive they felt the power all the way up the RPM band to 7000, without getting any sense of power trailing off. So much so that they believe the car to be underrated in horsepower/torque figures as well as 0-60 times.
Suspension
Edmunds loves the changes made to the suspension and give a character separate from their long term 135i and is the piece that qualifies this car as an M car
Edmunds does have gripes with the car, especially the throttle response which still does not have the M3 sharpness. They also did not like the fact that because the tires can easily be broken loose by the sheer power of the car, DCT has to engage to often.
But this is just a synopsis of their review, make sure to head over to InsideLine and read the entire article by clicking on the source link below.
[Source:
Edmunds InsideLine]