[kadify]

[Esteban15]

great review overall...describes it 'as pure magic'...too many stop and goes with YouTube...only thing I don't agree to some of his comparisons as competitions

[tuco44]

Oh, man, here we go again, this is not an "M" car, it's an M Performance car - less than M, more than regular BMW.

[Esteban15]

I didn't right the review nor did I say it was an M...some of these reviewers need to not understand the difference...bring on the M2..when my lease will be up...I am ready..hey they might let me buy one before the lease is up..

[Devon K]

Reviewer understood the difference very clearly - he just thought the M235i was so good that it would meet the requirements of those looking for a full-on M car.

[kaputt]

Originally Posted by Esteban15

great review overall...describes it 'as pure magic'...too many stop and goes with YouTube...only thing I don't agree to some of his comparisons as competitions

The stop and goes in the player might be from trying to play it directly from the page. Just click the link in the title of the video and open it in YouTube and it should play perfectly.

[Esteban15]

thanks for the explanation on watching you tube from the link itself ..will save time

[M.barnes]

I also found having my wireless router on wep meant YouTube buffered a lot and changing it to wpa sorted it (or vice versa can't remember)

And M, Mlite, non M whatever! It's fast and handles well. I approve lol

[therealm3]

I love how a lot of these reviews say how awesome the sound is without mentioning a lot of that sound is enhanced through the audio system.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by therealm3

I love how a lot of these reviews say how awesome the sound is without mentioning a lot of that sound is enhanced through the audio system.

I have an issue with digital sound but I tried to stay open minded and test drove M235i. The digital sound hurt my ears at around 3500-4500 rpm. I do have sensitive ears for disclosure but I have never had that discomfort before. People complained about the 1M drone but it never bothered me...I actually loved it. I don't understand why they won't let you turn it off that way those that like it can keep it and those that don't can turn it off.

They did this with the start-stop feature. It remembers if you turned it off which I thought was a brilliant compromise by BMW.....now they need to take it a step further and let us turn that crap off.

The interior dimensions were just right in the 2 series and you can switch off the TV display which is nice too.

I think another car-guy disappointment is that they drop the oil temp gauge which has been useful in all of the turbo x35 cars. The steering was very precise and smooth but there was no feedback....it felt detached from the front wheels. The biggest disappointment of all was that you cannot get the awesome alcantara interior most of the world gets as the base interior. We get vinyl because that is what BMW USA thinks of us in the US. To make matters worse, the Boston leather is hard and not durable plus hot and slippery when cornering. This interior would make up for some of the drawbacks.



I contacted BMW USA and they said for anyone that wants this interior to email them and they will consider it in the future. C'mon guys stop settling for crap and start emailing BMW! There is no reason they can't make this the base interior in the USA!

[dmboone25]

Good review - I have never seen one by this guy, but I liked his style.

[buumer]

Originally Posted by nachob

I contacted BMW USA and they said for anyone that wants this interior to email them and they will consider it. C'mon guys stop settling for crap and start emailing BMW! There is no reason they can't make this the base interior in the USA!

How did you contact them?

I have an ED scheduled for summer and this interior would make that car perfect.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by buumer

How did you contact them?

I have an ED scheduled for summer and this interior would make that car perfect.

Here is the link.

https://www.bmwusa.com/Secured/Conte...ctaBMWRep.aspx

It might be too late for this model year but this is such a better choice for a car of this type and it's the base interior! Not only looks better but cooler and better for cornering, hard braking, etc.

Congrats on ED, it was AWESOME!

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by nachob

I have an issue with digital sound but I tried to stay open minded and test drove M235i. The digital sound hurt my ears at around 3500-4500 rpm. I do have sensitive ears for disclosure but I have never had that discomfort before. People complained about the 1M drone but it never bothered me...I actually loved it. I don't understand why they won't let you turn it off that way those that like it can keep it and those that don't can turn it off.

They did this with the start-stop feature. It remembers if you turned it off which I thought was a brilliant compromise by BMW.....now they need to take it a step further and let us turn that crap off.

The interior dimensions were just right in the 2 series and you can switch off the TV display which is nice too.

I think another car-guy disappointment is that they drop the oil temp gauge which has been useful in all of the turbo x35 cars. The steering was very precise and smooth but there was no feedback....it felt detached from the front wheels. The biggest disappointment of all was that you cannot get the awesome alcantara interior most of the world gets as the base interior. We get vinyl because that is what BMW USA thinks of us in the US. To make matters worse, the Boston leather is hard and not durable plus hot and slippery when cornering. This interior would make up for some of the drawbacks.

I contacted BMW USA and they said for anyone that wants this interior to email them and they will consider it in the future. C'mon guys stop settling for crap and start emailing BMW! There is no reason they can't make this the base interior in the USA!

Hey nachob! How long was your test drive and would you give us a more detailed 1M/M135i comparison review here or maybe in the 1M Forum?

[nachob]

Sure, here is my comparison of the 1M to M235i.

Looks
I never thought the 1 series was a good looking car but the M235i makes it seem good looking. The side profile is nice and the front is pretty aggressive but the rear tail lights look out of proportions and the gas lid looks huge. It doesn't have the crazy arches like the 1M but overall, I think it's better looking than the 3 series front. Aerodynamics are better. The brakes look very cool if you don't know the difference between the M3 brakes and these. The wheels sometimes look nice though something is slightly off and not as crazy cool as the M3 wheels. There are a lot of M badges but they look smaller in person than in the pictures so not as tacky as I expected it to look.

Interior
The dimensions of the interior seem actually slightly better than 1M. While I prefer smaller cars, there seems to be slightly better back leg room which was a pleasant surprise. All of this without making the car seem that much bigger. The M235i came with sunroof and power seats. I am 5'9.5" and there was only about 1 inch of headroom left with the seats at the lowest setting. My 1M had manual seats and no sunroof so there was always plenty of room, even with helmet. While the backseat legroom was better, my head was touching the ceiling in the M235i. I tried to find a 2 series without a sunroof but non available. They kept the speedo and tach clean which I am happy with and the dash material is nice and rubbery. It feels better than 1M but it's also too busy for an ///M-ish car. The TV display is a total fail. Too high up, coupled with large rear view mirror there is a narrow field of vision in the middle part of the windshield. Otherwise, not bad. The seats felt about the same as 1M seats and it had decent cup holders like the non-iDrive 1M did though they are near the front. Overall, the interior is a wash for me. If you could order it without iDrive and TV display and the Alcantara/Cloth interior above, it would win hands down over the 1M but I feel BMW again missed an opportunity. The windows didn't seem to bang when closed like the 1M did. They seem to close normally but only did it once. They dropped the oil temperature gauge in the intstrument cluster which is another epic fail especially for those of us that have seen the oil temps rise and now don't have anything to go by.
Another fail is that you cannot control both sides of the climate control on the AC. If you want to drop the temperature you have to turn right knob then left knob every time. Maybe there is a way but neither myself, E90 owning friend or salesman could figure out what to do. Like there is a wall between driver and passenger and you can drop your side to 70 degrees and they can leave theirs at 78...wth? Huge fail IMHO.

Startup
After the 1M startup roar, rumble and earth-shaking, it was a huge dissapointment. It sounds like any 335i from the outside. For guys that have never owned or heard a 1M at cold-start you can't understand the difference...it is night and day. The motor trend guys said the E90 M3 sound should be weaponized. I agree but they must have gotten their 1M warm because 1M cold-start could be considered a weapon. Not really fair to compare these yet we know that everyone keeps comparing them in the press and online.

Interior Sound
Full disclosure! I believe the digital exhaust sound is for poseurs and has no place in an M car. I tried spelling it in a Frenchy way because everything always sounds better in French.....like Faux Exhaust Sound instead of Fake Exhaust Sound..or Cul-de-Sac instead of Culo de Bolsa or Bag's butt hole. Anyway, I hope the Frenchy spelling helps a bit. So anyway, the sound seemed less intrusive than I expected even with my bias! All was good and somewhat quiet after spending 20 months with a 1M until I put it in Sport mode and it hit around 3500 rpm. There was this high frequency digital ghost that hurt my inner ear . While many complained about the 1M drone, I never had a problem but 235i bothered me. Maybe it's just my imagination but I was actually surprised at how mild it was until it revved higher. Now I have one more reason to not like it. This was the first time that this has happened. As I mentioned, they should just let you turn it off....period.

Suspension
Suspension was pretty good, you could hold a conversation while talking. Sometimes in the 1M you would try to talk and it was like when kids move their finger over their lips to make funny vibrating sound. It's more comfortable albeit softer. The PS2s weren't broken in so it felt slightly soft on turn-in but felt precise. i wish the steering was slightly quicker but then again, there is no feedback from the wheels so it might be dangerous to make it faster without the feel? The steering is very precise and doesn't have the fake steering effort changes of the 1 series and there are no complaints except the lack of feel. It's as if the front wheels are on an alignment rack with ball-bearing turntables under each wheel. Very smooth and precise but no communication otherwise.

Braking
Braking felt pretty good though felt slightly overboosted. It's hard to compare because the transmission downshifts during braking in auto mode making it hard to get a feel. I tried it with paddles and it was a little better so no real complaints on brakes. They look nicer than 1M brakes unless you know about the 2 piece cross drilled M brakes in the 1M.

Performance
This was a brand new car and I refuse to abuse it or take it past 4500 rpm but I got a pretty good feel for it. The idle is smoother than 1M and throttle response is slightly better.

This is something I always wanted for the 1M and I think if the 235 motor had better sound it would be basically a wash. I would give up 15 horsepower for quicker throttle response on any day.

On the other hand, it was quiet (compared to 1M) which made it feel slower and didn't wow you like the 1M. Despite this, the performance was very good on the 235i.

I also stated once before that the automatic is quick enough and as the owner of dual-clutch GTi, I actually found the smoother shifting better than DCT.

I would still like to drive a manual M235i but I don't know who has one. If I get an opportunity, I will update this.

If BMW decides to give a damn again about being the ultimate driving machine, they have a great basis to start here.

Just offer the Alcantara interior, allow you to drop iDrive/TV display and turn off digital sound. Make the limited slip diff available and offer a performance exhaust a-la-1M and allow you to get a fixed firm suspension instead of active suspension and 1 would probably seriously consider it.....but then again maybe that is for the M2? I'm still not sure about giving up steering feedback...but then again that's the way things are going. I'm sure they are working on an iPhone app so you could steer your BMW with the iPhone!

I hope that helps Ozi!

[italia]

Comparisons like this from 1M owners are terrific benchmarks. Thanks for taking the time to do a nice write-up.

[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by nachob

Sure, here is my comparison of the 1M to M235i.

I hope that helps Ozi!

nachob! Seriously good review

One thing which is very good news for actual or future M235i owners is the throttle response being better than the 1M which is serious since 1M has always been praised by reviewers by the relatively good response for a turbo car. However, you and I were always among the group feeling that stock car could use some progress there which is why I executed some careful and mild modes to that end. Also, I bet you were taking into consideration 'normal' mode of 1M as a reference and not the 'M' mode which has pretty sharp, even jerky throttle response which I do not prefer to engage during city driving.

On another note, I feel what you say in between the lines, it is impossible not to miss 1M, isn't it? 1M and new 2 series are on the opposite sides of the fault line as I would describe an oldschool, mostly analog driving experience vs. a more sophisticated but also less visceral and less communicative driving experience. Modern times.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by ozinaldo

nachob! Seriously good review

One thing which is very good news for actual or future M235i owners is the throttle response being better than the 1M which is serious since 1M has always been praised by reviewers by the relatively good response for a turbo car. However, you and I were always among the group feeling that stock car could use some progress there which is why I executed some careful and mild modes to that end. Also, I bet you were taking into consideration 'normal' mode of 1M as a reference and not the 'M' mode which has pretty sharp, even jerky throttle response which I do not prefer to engage during city driving.

On another note, I feel what you say in between the lines, it is impossible not to miss 1M, isn't it? 1M and new 2 series are on the opposite sides of the fault line as I would describe an oldschool, mostly analog driving experience vs. a more sophisticated but also less visceral and less communicative driving experience. Modern times.

Ozi...exactly! They are two very distinct cars that share some DNA but very different. The M235i is the future and the 1M is the past. The M235i is like flying in a Learjet Obviously a great experience, more comfortable, auto amenities, video display, etc. The 1M is like flying in a perfectly restored and functional F4U Corsair. It's slower than the Learjet, handles nastily on the ground and can bite you back. When you arrive at your destination you are not as relaxed as the Learjet flight but for me, the Corsair is special because the Learjet is not that much different than flying in an airliner but flying in a Corsair is thrilling, dangerous, loud and exciting.

The problem is that while the Learjet crowd has tons of choices from BMW from X5M, X6M, 6 series, 7 series, 8 series, 3 series, 4 series, Audis, Mercedes all which are cushy-mobiles, there is less and less choice for those of us that want a our senses challenged.

[ska///235i]

Nothing I havent heard

[Devon K]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up. Pretty damning indictment of the steering feel. As someone who finds even the BRZ steering rather numb I will have to pay close attention to this when test driving.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Devon K

Thanks for taking the time to write that up. Pretty damning indictment of the steering feel. As someone who finds even the BRZ steering rather numb I will have to pay close attention to this when test driving.

Actually it's
Not bad just no feedback. It's
Not numb, it's
Pretty good except you can't feel the road through the wheel. If I didn't have an e46 or 1M I would probably be ok with it but with my experience I would
Miss the feedback. I hope that paints a clearer picture of my opinion.

[G8r3Series]

Nacho, good write up. You do know there is an m performance exhaust and fixed suspension available for the M235i? If you haven't heard the m performance exhaust the clip is on this forum somewhere or you can check it out on YouTube, sounds great.