1 Series M Coupe First Drive

[x5mad]

Review from an australian website ''carsales.com.au''

Power and torque figures seem a bit dissapointing. Apparently they are saying that it is essentially the same in output as the Z4 35is.

''Prototype Test
Munich, Bavaria

What we liked
>> Brilliant, back-to-basics handling
>> Truly amazing ride quality
>> Smooth engine has mega muscle everywhere

Not so much
>> Too heavy...Way too heavy
>> Interior a bit plain Jane
>> Manual gearbox only, so no DSG

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings


Had an influential bunch of now-senior managers not been involved in a 1980s BMW supercar of the same name, this car would have been a natural fit to be called the M1. Instead, the twin-turbo, straight-six pocket rocket, built to open up the M club to younger and less wealthy buyers, will carry the clumsier BMW 1 Series M Coupe moniker.

Yet, if our recent drive is any indication, that won't mean the little dazzler won't drive like the M1 should, because everything, from its footprint to its body size to its sticky rear end, feels like a modern reincarnation of the original M3, with a few notable exceptions.

It's fast, for sure, but it could easily be faster and, at some point in its life it undoubtedly will be. The six-cylinder engine has been taken from BMW's stunningly good 335i and fiddled with and re-boosted until M found 246kW and 450Nm. Yep, it's the identical engine specification to the Z4 sDrive 35is, and about as elegantly named.

Yet, in one of the real disappointments for a car this size, the 1 Series M Coupe will still have around 1500kg to carry around when it reaches Australian shores in around June or July next year.

That's largely because the 1 Series runs the same suspension and chassis modules as the heavier 3 Series and partly because M has steered clear of fancy stuff like carbon-fibre to keep the cost down. Indeed, the car price in Germany will sit about a third of the way from the price of the 135i Coupe to the current M3.

So what will you get for your money? From what we could tell on a day-long drive in the Bavarian countryside, you'll get a nimble little machine that punches hard in a straight line, rides far better than the 135i and handles with an astonishing poise and confidence.

BMW won't fit this car with anything other than a six-speed manual (or so it says...), but it also inherits the M3's clever, multiplate limited-slip differential, so its rear-drive setup rarely wants for grip.

In fact, it's got so much grip that the little jigger is only five seconds slower around the Nürburgring's Nordschleife circuit than the V8 M3 and an astonishing 12 seconds quicker than the superseded E46 M3.

M admits it could have found more power out of the engine, but thought a zero-to-100km/h time in the very low five-second bracket was close enough to the M3, thanks very much. While that seems close to what the 135i already does, we suspect the 1 Series M Coupe is a fraction quicker than that.

In the end, it's got plenty of power for most situations. And it's still a lovely engine, in spite of running different turbos.

It fires up quietly, though with the slight burble of a born mischief-maker. Yet, with all that torque, it's a dream car around town. The clutch is heavy, though, and you'd have hoped BMW might have spent more time making the gearshift a bit nicer, given that you've got no option but to take it.

First gear is easy enough to slot into, but the rest are particularly notchy and clunky to get into at low speeds, especially while the gearbox oil is still cold. The engine isn't concerned by it, though, and will happily get the job done regardless of the gear you decide to leave it in.

There's just so much torque on offer at low rpm that the 1 Series M Coupe will pull sixth gear from as little as 60km/h and less than 1000rpm without even a hint of complaint. It just keeps doing its smooth thing until it gets to the point, at around 1700rpm, when the turbos begins huffing and then it pushes harder and harder until you're hitting the limiter at 250km/h. Well, officially 250km/h, anyway -- BMW admits it's really about 259.

That's one easy way to circumvent the clunky gearshift. The other is to drive a bit harder and fling the lever through the gates with more vigour. Do that and you find the crunching has gone and so has the awkward baulkiness. It just flies through from one gate to the next with a meaty, metallic feel and a strangely satisfying heft.

It's even better coming down the gearbox, especially because BMW has given the 1 Series M Coupe the perfect pedal positioning for heel-and-toe downshifts. It's just the gentlest roll of the foot on the brake pedal and there's a perfect blip to smooth out the load on the driveline.

All the time, the straight six is transitioning from smooth midrange gristle to smooth top-end power, pulling 7000rpm with a howl that never loses its composure. If there's a fault with it, it's that it's a fraction too sweet and too quiet and that doesn't quite match up with the menacing muscle under your right foot. It's like being threatened by a choir boy.

But the engine's not the best part of the 1 Series M Coupe. The handling is.

The body is 80mm wider than the 135i at the rear end, mostly to accommodate the 19-inch Michelin tyres that are, pointedly, not run flats. And where the M3 can be tricky to get the best out of, with its relatively high rear roll centre giving you the disconcerting feeling of the bodyshell moving up, across and over the rear axle if you change the line mid-corner or strike an ill-placed bump, the 1-Series M Coupe is not.

The smaller two-door just hunkers down on long corners, squeezing the weight down on the outside rear tyre and belting its way out again with blistering precision. It's a far more-composed operator than its big brother, and its electro-mechanical steering system (a first for M, which has traditionally stripped it off donor BMWs and replaced it with hydraulic systems) starts to make sense as you go faster.

That's just as well, because at low speed, it's about as intuitive and fun as the gearbox. It's oddly light just off centre, then gets overly quick as you wind on more lock. At speed, though, that all changes and it feels instead like it's one, completely integrated part of a focused unit.

It's a joy to fling, actually, and plenty of people will prefer the 1 Series M Coupe to the M3 just because of the accessibility of its handling. The surprise is that it runs exactly the same ride height as the 135i Coupe.

It takes about 10 seconds in the 1 Series M Coupe before you realise just how easy it is to get at its depths and the little sucker begs you to brake later and turn in harder. It communicates back to you every little thing that's happening underneath it and gives you enormous warning when it's running out of grip.

It feels like it corners with a flat stance and it's so beautifully damped that even big mid-corner bumps don't shake your confidence in its ability to hang on, even when you've got all of its grip already committed to the battle. Indeed, its balance is so good that you can stand it on its nose under the strong brakes and fling the wheel and expect it to bite.

You can also swing it through direction changes at high speed at a rate that belies its short wheelbase and I defy anybody to fling it through second gear sweeps without giggling.

It does all of this while imparting a calmness to the driver; a feeling that it's got your back covered while you're extracting all the fun it can give you.

One of the keys is its ride quality, which is far softer than anything you can get in any 1 Series and approaches 5 Series levels of comfort on vertical bump strikes. It's ridiculously comfortable, especially given what it can achieve mid-corner.

It gets this done with one suspension setup (there are no tricky electronic damper maps here) to match its one gearbox philosophy. The back-to-basics thing is in evidence, and there are four fat exhaust pipes at the back and massively flared guards at every wheel.

BMW insists the Leipzig-built 1 Series M Coupe will only ever be a coupe, ruling out both convertible and hatchback versions, and insists that, even in the US, manual gearboxes will be all it ever uses.

Inside, there's a piece of black tape over the still-secret Sport button, which will overboost the turbos to give the 1 Series M Coupe even more power and torque. It will also tighten up the steering and the throttle response. That's one notable addition on the ultra-fat leather steering wheel.

The rest of it will receive the mildly updated dashboard from the 1 Series facelift (hence the timing of the 1 Series M Coupe's launch at the Detroit Motor Show in January). ''

[as7920]

Well if I get picked for the test drive event don't expect a review like that! The other 11 will have to!

Awesome review and very in depth confirming again some of the most important features of this car for me.

Cheers for the post x5mad!

Mark.

[Kurt_OH]

WOW, holy cheap speed Batman! 135i price + ( ( M3 price - 135i price ) / 3 )!

$36350 + ( ( $58400 - $36350) / 3 ) = $43,700.

Of course, that's among the cheapest reports provided, and they also have other outlier comments such as identical ride height to 135i.

So, I'd take the general impression (lots of grunt, ridiculous levels of handling capability) as accurate, while the pricing and ride height may be off a bit.

[M3Power79]

Originally Posted by as7920

Well if I get picked for the test drive event don't expect a review like that! The other 11 will have to!

Awesome review and very in depth confirming again some of the most important features of this car for me.

Cheers for the post x5mad!

Mark.

+1000

[cpippolo]

Great review. Much more detailed than the rest, although generally consistent. Their pricing estimate is pretty close to the $43K from Car and Driver. Perhaps that's doable if the standard 1M comes with less equipment than a 135i. So, essentialy, similar power to 135i but much better handling. Think I can live with that. Was a little disappointed by their characterization of low speed driving as this will be my daily driver, but guess I just have to drive enthusiatically as often as possible!

[Kurt_OH]

I like the fairly consistent message of:

Plenty of power
Fantastic handling
Nice ride

Sounds like a fantastic car.

[BBK]

Don't forget this was an Australian review. 135i cost about $76k base price here. M3 Costs about $175k! So a third between is about $105,000 for us Aussies... I doubt it will be that cheap, maybe $110-115k seems more likely.

[amalgamman]

I agree, I don't think it will be that "cheap" in Oz, but here's hoping.

I'm getting really really excited about this car. Can't wait to see the final specs and the finished product in December

[Madozu]

Very good review, thanks for posting! They said the most about the driving feel compared to all other reviews I've read. Especially liked the comments about heel-and-toe downshifts ... the guy seems to know how to drive

[niuniu]

So we will get the newer updated dash from the upcoming 1 series.

[MikesBMW]

i want one so bad

[HERR FSTIR]

Originally Posted by x5mad

In the end, it's got plenty of power for most situations. And it's still a lovely engine, in spite of running different turbos.

Another reference to using different turbos on this car.

The end of the review suggests they did not get to use the overboost during their test drive, and yet they were pretty satisfied with the power output.

[PrimoM3]

Originally Posted by niuniu

So we will get the newer updated dash from the upcoming 1 series.

I'm not sure I read it this way, but that would be more than welcomed. The interior is a bit ho-hum on the 1.

[BMW86]

Great review and fairly consistent with what I've read about the 1M thus far.

The more I read about it, the 1M sounds like nothing more than a nicely tuned and modified 135i, which isn't a bad thing at all. I still think if this comes in at an odd 130k the most economical option would be to buy a 135i and spend 20k on performance and cosmetic mods if you want bang for your buck performance sports car. At least BMW is making the cars we want though.

The 135i v 1M relationship in my opinion is strikingly similar to the WRX v STI. I just wish the 135i had an LSD because that is the most distinguishing feature the 1M has and the probably the biggest expense.

[BBBluey]

If I don't win the test drive, then I hope someone who drives a modded 135i as a daily driver does.

It'll do us all some good to hear about the differences. Someone with say KW V2/PSS10's , JB3 and actually that's enough mods to set a bar on the performance improvements.

And to top it off, I also hope the winner can write a review as good as this one.

[poody]

Originally Posted by BMW86

The 135i v 1M relationship in my opinion is strikingly similar to the WRX v STI. I just wish the 135i had an LSD because that is the most distinguishing feature the 1M has and the probably the biggest expense.

Except the newer '09-11 WRX's are faster than the STI in the 1/4 mile and the both share the STI fender flares and rear panels

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by poody

Except the newer '09-11 WRX's are faster than the STI in the 1/4 mile and the both share the STI fender flares and rear panels

I wasn't aware of that as I haven't looked into it too much. I think I read somewhere that the STI only has an extra 20kw but it weighs another 70kg over the WRX? If this is the case, I think the WRX would be a better platform if you want to go all out with modifications as you could spend the savings on performance mods.

[poody]

Originally Posted by BMW86

I wasn't aware of that as I haven't looked into it too much. I think I read somewhere that the STI only has an extra 20kw but it weighs another 70kg over the WRX? If this is the case, I think the WRX would be a better platform if you want to go all out with modifications as you could spend the savings on performance mods.

Although the stock wrx is faster on straight, the sti is still the better platform for mods. The sti 6 spd transmission is near bullet proof and the slip differentials are worth the price alone. I still dig my sti and know it ll be faster then the 1M but i need a sporty luxury car now.

[Zuzu]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Inside, there's a piece of black tape over the still-secret Sport button, which will overboost the turbos to give the 1 Series M Coupe even more power and torque. It will also tighten up the steering and the throttle response. That's one notable addition on the ultra-fat leather steering wheel.'

Great write up mate..

Still the most interesting insight was in regards to the " Secret M Sports button "...

Could this be their cat in the bag, that they havent disclosed for more killer wasps..

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by formula M

I disagree with your whole post.

Your trite approach, to what is equal (vs), is extremely superficial.

For starters, the 135i = 215/40/18's up front, & the 1M = 245/35/19's..! By the time you get done rolling the front fenders and widening the 135i to achieve the handling characteristic this car is sure to have, you end up with an extremely botched "modded" 135i... Not a race tuned M car!

If so, then why hasn't someone done it already?

Why hasn't someone done it already? Lol. There are plenty of people with modded 135i's that will no doubt out perform the 1M already There are wide body kits available for the 1 series and many of us are already running wider tyres with lighter wheels etc. I'm not sure what mods your 135i has or if you've ever driven one but there is plenty of room for potential for these cars. I was comparing the 2 cars at a price point. Of course if you plan to max out the modding potential of a 135i and a 1M the 1M will come out on top

I'm predicting a 50k price difference between a base 135i and a base 1M here in Australia. That's a lot of money. I'm confident the 135i would be the cheaper and more economical option if you wanted the best peforming sports car for the money. LSD, M3 bits, widebody kit, wider tyres, lighter wheels, exhaust, oil cooler, upgraded turbos etc - There is no doubt it will outrun a stock 1M on the track and in a straight line.

One of the guys here in Brisbane is getting the RB turbo upgrade and he will pumping out 500whp easy with his supporting mods. If you add up the cost of the entire project it still works out cheaper than a stock 1M.

The reality is most of us won't go all-out on mods but the truth is you can potentially extract 1M performance from the 135i. I agree with Sparoz in saying this more like a 135M. The predicted specs of the 1M don't exactly push the boundaries of what has already been done to the 135i. If modding isn't your cup of tea or warranty is your primary concern the 1M is the perfect option. If money isn't a consideration and you just want the best performing car then yes, the 1M is your best bet.

[M3Power79]

Originally Posted by formula M

I disagree with your whole post.

I also follow FormulaM point of view. You are talking about some M3bits,suspension, widebody,etc......
Widebody = SHOW , wide track = GO , remember the reartrain from E92 M3?
but in fact we are talking about 2 different cars. The only thing they have in common is their engine (N54/N55)
If we follow your reason we can to de same for 335i(s) and the M3. A 335i will also easily outperform an M3 with some cheap modifications, in a STRAIGHT LINE!
Let us see what will happen in 20 laps endurance race on the Nordschleife.

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by HERR FSTIR

Another reference to using different turbos on this car.

The end of the review suggests they did not get to use the overboost during their test drive, and yet they were pretty satisfied with the power output.

Interesting. Imagine if the 1M was fitted with two of the twin scroll blowers from the N55.