It's now 10 years since BMW launched a 320hp, £30k 1 Series; hot hatches would never be the same again...
It was more than a decade ago - July 2012, in fact, with Britain in the grip of Olympics fever - that BMW launched the M135i. Not only did it continue the intriguing story of BMW’s six-cylinder hatchbacks , it also announced the M Performance model to the world. Now including everything from the M550i to the M235i Gran Coupe, M Performance offers something of the full M car look with a healthy dollop more performance than standard to ensure it’s no mere styling exercise.
It was fast, for starters, with 320hp from a turbocharged, 3.0-litre straight six. As well as ensuring 155mph and five seconds to 62mph, the engine was unique in the segment - nobody else offered six cylinders in hatchbacks anymore, even by 2012. And if the drawbacks of a 3.0-litre engine were plain to see , then the charm was even more obvious, the baby Beemer offering a rich, cultured soundtrack that no amount of four-cylinder farting could hope to match.
Add that to the M135i’s availability - it launched at just £29,995 - and the rave reviews that came back from the launch and M Performance was very successfully announced to the world. BMW had a hit on its hands, even once the cars reached the UK and the enthusiasm was tempered a little by suspension found wanting on our infamously rubbish roads. The M135i had more than enough going for it to ensure popularity.
And what a 10 years it’s been. With the six-cylinder 1 Series gone , the manual 3 Series also dead and each new model weirder looking than the last, the M135i that once seemed such an oddball now looks a charming throwback to a simpler time. There are three-door, manual, passively suspended M135is out there, if you look long enough. There are few cars out there so modern, with all the amenities you’d expect of a recent BMW, that will offer quite such an old-school feel.
That low initial RRP and the resultant popularity meant the M135i soon became even more affordable. They got; now you’re looking at £13k for a similar car with a six-figure mileage. Not quite the bargain they once were, then, if still quite tempting. This one, as a BMW-approved used car that’s only done 3k a year, is quite a bit more - £17,000 - but such is the way of used cars at the moment. Whether the market is up, down or inside out, the appeal of an M135i isn’t going to wane much.
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