[BMW335iOn18s]

Originally Posted by nachob

Being utmost respectful, it really is tough question. Some M3 people say the 1M was not really an M car also, while some of us that picked the 1M after backing out of the E90 m3 did it because we consider it more M than the luxury models that they have become. Some people think that super luxury that goes fast is an M car. Some of us that are older were blown away by the M3, Camaro LS, Mustang Boss that were essentially club racing cars or race cars that should could drive on the street legally and semi practical. That was the formula that defined M for us. Those cars were were nice, comfortable but the focus was on performance and most of the comfort items didn't detract much from the its core mission which was to handle, stop and brake with great balance, feedback and control.

What made them even cooler was that aside from the 1 M badge in the rear, they looked like a regular E30 with a wing.

So the problem with the M235 is that it has more M badges than any other ///M car including a glowing M235i in the instrument cluster where a temperature gauge should go. All M cars have a temperature gauge. It has fake sound which I guess now has been made legit by the M3, M5 and all other new BMWs but still fake. M cars were about pushing technology for performance's sake. Most M motors were always some of the highest NA HP per liter motors of their time. this included alloy suspension bits which M235i does not have. It's heavy for its size. You also cannot order it with a cloth or alcantara interior which is superior for track duty. It doesn't have a limited slip diff like most cars. Actually, the M cars use a 100% full lock diff.

The brakes look nice on the M235i and work well but they are not the floating disk design that prevents heat transfer between hub and braking surface. The suspension on M235i is sadly soft and it's focus is comfort not performance. It does well despite it, but it's focus is clearly slanted to comfort where M cars of yore were slanted to performance. The NAV screen up high in line of sight is also a nod away from performance and something that many of us that take driving seriously don't want in the line of site. On the M235i racing version...they cut it out....for a reason! Most M cars have had great sound..the M235i while better than most new BMWs is also weak in that department.

So for me the issue was that the M235i was overbadged, oversold as an M car and 1M killer because it can post similar numbers but if you judge it by M car standards it falls very short. If you judge it by all other BMWs, it is great.

I read a great quote from Einstein...it goes something like: If you judge a fish by it's tree climbing abilities, it would be a failure. It is BMWs fault that said the 1M was tree climbing fish when in fact it's a really cool fish by other standards.

If you want to get rid of iDrive, you could always do this: