[Greenkirby21]

Here is my noob review. I will do my best to answer any questions, so feel free to ask. I drove the car for about 15 minutes but now I probably have more questions than answers haha!

Thank you to Classic BMW in Dallas for letting me test drive it! If the M performance parts prices would finally come out, it would be appreciated so I can finalize my order!

First and foremost, I don't really have a lot of cars to compare this too (hence my noob review). My first car was a golf (aka rabbit), and my second car was my 128i. I have test driven the 981 cayman, and thats pretty much it.



Exterior
This car is really gorgeous in person, more so than I expected. It really is a refined/evolved 1 series, and I see no faults in it. Even the back looks great in person, something that in pictures, worried me for a bit. The front is REALLY aggressive looking, like it is about to eat you! I like the wheels yoo. They are a good style and color. I would have liked them to be a bit more thin, since the brakes don't really pop out as much as I would like them to!



In terms of size, if I didn't have my car, I wouldn't have been able to tell its longer. It really does not seem that much longer, and is not noticeable IMO



Interior
Compared to my 1 series, the interior is much more refined. Maybe its the wear over time, but my 1 series has hard plastic all over where you touch it. The interior in the 2 series is much more squishy!



The hex aluminum trim was ok - not my favorite in the world, but not bad either. Really, I don't like any of the aluminum trims, and I prefer darker wood. However, considering my M235i is going to be EB, the hex trim with EB finish will look great. No complaints of the hex aluminum trim from me, it just doesn't feel as exciting since aluminum trim seems to be standard for all cars. I would really love a glossy CF finish aka like the 1 series Performance Parts Range.

This car did not have technology package, which was a big plus for me since I am most likely not getting the tech package! I was worried that the standard display might look cheap and dull, but it doesn't! The screen resolution is still very easy to read, and its integrated nicely.

The downside is that you do not have as much customization (at least I think you don't)! I tried searching, no sports display. Pardon me if I am wrong, but I also couldn't find any place to fine tune the different settings?

I saw sports settings, and the options were "engine and suspension(or was it transmission?)", and you could select which one, or both, you wanted under sport mode. I didn't get to check, but I hope you can customize the other modes as well.... It would be nice to be able to select steering feel (see more below).



When you turn on the car, I did not see the M235i logo. Instead, I saw a BMW logo (white BMW font letters in black/red background). The logo only comes on for about half a second and then goes away. I am a bit disappointed that you only get the M235i logo on the tech package.

The steering wheel is so awesome!! My favorite part of the interior! One really weird thing is that I couldn't find a good position to see the digital display AND the top of the revs. If I tilted the wheel more towards the rev counter, the bottom display was hard to see. Likewise, if I wanted to see the digital display, it chopped off some of the RPMs/MPH. I think it was more of a seat adjustment, which I didn't really do.

Handling
I initially drove the car in comfort mode, and the steering feel was really soft, especially at low speeds. I immediately put the car in sports mode, which tightened up the steering wheel back to normal BMW. I'm really being honest here, I couldn't tell the difference in steering between the M235i in sport mode, and my 128i, which was the biggest thing I was worried about when driving the car.

The steering wheel is adaptive. When you go around in the parking lot, it is very fluid and easy to maneuver. The highest speed I hit was 65, and it really firmed up at that speed. Getting out of my parking space in my 128i, it felt pretty hard to move around.. so I think of this change as a good thing, for now. I think we have to get use to the adaptive steering. I never drove the car in eco-pro mode.. but I hope that there is a way of having the boosted steering feel in all the modes.. if not I will just have to drive in sport mode!

I'm not sure why, but the car did not seem as "low" as my car did. I don't have any suspension mods (except OEM sport suspension). Maybe the suspension needed to settle down a little bit. I took a "high" speed turn, and the car was stuck to the ground, but it had a little bit of roll to it. However, no matter how hard I pushed it, the car stuck to the ground, even though you could feel it roll a little. I think it is part of the aggressive nature of the adaptive suspension. Once you start thrashing the car, the suspension realizes it and reacts. However, I am curious how the M performance suspension feels like, since it is not adaptive and should get rid of that roll. The adaptive suspension is a curious thing I want to know more about.

This car hides its extra weight really well. It only felt slightly heavier than my 128i, and once again, that was with 3 people in the car. I was expecting it to be more nose heavy, but it wasn't.



Brakes
I can't really talk too much about the brakes since I had 3 people in the car. The brakes felt slightly better than what I have on my car (when driving by myself). The brakes are very easy to modulate - which I think is a good thing. My dad has a JCW, and his brake's initial bite are scary as hell. You barely have to touch his brakes and you decelerate like mad. I wish the M235i brakes were slightly more aggressive in this sense, but I bet for a track its better to have more modulation. Call me lazy to not want to put my foot down all the way each time



Engine
Really, the best part of this car is the engine, and I don't even think I am considering a C7 corvette anymore because this car already felt insanely fast (with 3 adults mind you). For daily driving, it is way more than enough. With 3 adults in the car, the car would destroy even my modded 128i. There just is no comparison. I have not driven the N54, but this car pulled the whole time to ~7K RPM. It never felt like it ran out of juice on top, which I think people say is common for the N55? Power was very linear. This is the first turbo car I have ever driven, and I never felt any "turbo" lag.

Once again, to keep the theme of the car being adaptive. When you drive normally, the engine doesn't make much noise. Put it in sports mode, or get on the gas, and the acoustics (aka fake engine noise) wake up, and the car is a beast! In terms of loudness, the engine sounds similar to my modded 128i. However, I would like more sound for sure, so intake + exhaust are a must in my book.



Transmission
The new 8 speed ZF auto transmission is amazing. It absolutely destroys my current 6 speed auto in every single way. When I got back in my 128i, I realized how old and archaic it felt. Shifting using the paddles in my 128i, it felt like an eternity before it would grab the next gear, even worse when down shifting.

While I am still getting the 6 speed manual (since I have never owned a manual car, and would like to own one before they phase out), the auto is no slouch!





Conclusion
So, what is this car, is it an M car, or is it just a 235i? To be honest, it's both, so I think the M performance name fits the bill. This car is adaptive thanks to newer technologies and continues to show BMW is the brand that does EVERYTHING well. While my 128i may be in sports mode all the time, this car can be whatever you want. When you are going on a cruise in comfort mode, it is a very nice and relaxing car to be in. However, put the car in sports mode, and the beast awakens. If you want a pure sports car, spend 10k more to get a C7 corvette or 981 Cayman. If you want a luxury car, get an IS350 or Audi A4. But if you want a car that has it all - gas mileage, speed, handling, quality, and looks - the M235i is pretty darn hard to beat and I don't think you can find a better package at this price point.

Sorry for the low quality pics, all I had was my iPhone, and I also felt awkward because there were so many people there that were looking at the car! No videos or anything unfortunately. I had my dad and salesman with me in the car, so I really didn't do any hardcore aggressive driving (but then again, who does on the streets?? :roll eyes

There was also a 228i there. Here are some pics of it:

[///Megalomaniac]

Could you take some (a lot of) sound/acceleration videos, please?

[Cosa Nostra]

Lots of pics inside snd out please

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Greenkirby21

If you have any questions you would like me to look at or ask, please let me know and I will do my best tomorrow.

Thanks! I will update this thread with my review as well.

Instrument cluster?

Since we both care and all...

[Greenkirby21]

Updated thread!

[unintelligible]

Originally Posted by Greenkirby21

Updated thread!

Great review! It looks pretty damn good in black in these pics. Funny that you're going to get the 6MT because they're dwindling - exactly what I did with my F30. I think next time I may get the ZF8 because it's so damn good.

[dmboone25]

Very nice review.

So was there ever anything showing up under the RPM tach ?

I just can't get over that BMW would leave that blank....

[Greenkirby21]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Very nice review.

So was there ever anything showing up under the RPM tach ?

I just can't get over that BMW would leave that blank....

nope! Nothing : (. Really looks out of place IMO. I know its ridiculous but I am considering getting the tech package just for that haha. We will see, depends on price of LSD

[SW19]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Very nice review.

So was there ever anything showing up under the RPM tach ?

I just can't get over that BMW would leave that blank....

Yes there is info there but I didn't really take a close look at it when I drove the car today.You can see some info in this pic I took today.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Greenkirby21

nope! Nothing : (. Really looks out of place IMO. I know its ridiculous but I am considering getting the tech package just for that haha. We will see, depends on price of LSD

I don't think that makes you nuts at all - wtf were they thinking ??!?!?!?

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Nantucket

Yes there is info there but I didn't really take a close look at it when I drove the car today.You can see some info in this pic I took today.

My guess is that this car had the tech package???

I guess I am just too anal or OCD or whatever...but I swear to god that I will be pissed over that for three f*cking years...

[Mark's M]

Well done and great pics!!

[lichenlt]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

I don't think that makes you nuts at all - wtf were they thinking ??!?!?!?

yep. totally weird. who f*** needs to see the real-time MPG!

Even my old MB C300 has engine temp. wtf was BMW thinking for a performance car like this one!!!!

[SW19]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

My guess is that this car had the tech package???

I guess I am just too anal or OCD or whatever...but I swear to god that I will be pissed over that for three f*cking years...

Why,did you already order the car?It must have had the tech package,it was fully loaded with every option.At least that is what my salesman said.Here is another pic of the interior.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by lichenlt

yep. totally weird. who f*** needs to see the real-time MPG!

Even my old MB C300 has engine temp. wtf was BMW thinking for a performance car like this one!!!!

Seriously - oil temp or coolant temp should be there. I'm just dumbfounded.

Originally Posted by Nantucket

Why,did you already order the car?It must have had the tech package,it was fully loaded with every option.At least that is what my salesman said.Here is another pic of the interior.

Sure did. :/ my car is on the boat and will be getting to the port on Wednesday - which oddly enough is the wrong one. FML

My luck isn't starting good with this car...but on a serious note, this seems like an idiotic omission by BMW. How in the world did no one notice this ??

[flyga3]

Thanks for the review!!
And on the 6MT decision!!

[five3three]

Awesome photos.

The more photos I see of this car in black, the more I want to get rid of my grey order and go for black. I'm just worried about how hard it is to maintain. It does look really nice.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by five3three

Awesome photos.

The more photos I see of this car in black, the more I want to get rid of my grey order and go for black. I'm just worried about how hard it is to maintain. It does look really nice.

Get a porter cable random orbital, a mild buffing compound, and some Zaino for afterwards, and schedule a Saturday in April and October, and you will be just fine with black.

[GFK007]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Seriously - oil temp or coolant temp should be there. I'm just dumbfounded.

Sure did. :/ my car is on the boat and will be getting to the port on Wednesday - which oddly enough is the wrong one. FML

My luck isn't starting good with this car...but on a serious note, this seems like an idiotic omission by BMW. How in the world did no one notice this ??

My car gets here on Wednesday as well!!

The wrong one?? What happened?

[lichenlt]

Originally Posted by five3three

Awesome photos.

The more photos I see of this car in black, the more I want to get rid of my grey order and go for black. I'm just worried about how hard it is to maintain. It does look really nice.

haha, on the opposite, the more colors I see, the more I like AW, but I too want to get rid of my grey order LOL.

[lichenlt]

Originally Posted by Nantucket

Why,did you already order the car?It must have had the tech package,it was fully loaded with every option.At least that is what my salesman said.Here is another pic of the interior.

Is this coral red interior? doesn't look too bright like some have suggested.

[Esteban15]

first...great review...really appreciated it...again color is a choice..ex and in..
I went for blue outside and coral inside..supermans' colors...don't agree on the alum inside ..got the darker black accent....I noticed on the 228 model....an off brand in my opinion tire....love the Michelin PSS summer on the M235i.....thanks again for pictures and posting..