[golf_234]

Just got back from a test drive on the M235i up here in Salt Lake City and wanted to provide some feedback to members of the forum.

Estoril Blue M235i
8 Speed Automatic


About myself: very big German car enthusiast in general. Previous cars E36, E46, E82, Current: Mercedes W203 C Class, Manual Transmission.


Before delving into the details of each section I wanted to offer an overall impression of the car. Pretty much every single thing this car is what I love in design. From a looks standpoint it is incredible, in a sea of 335's, 435's, and the other models in the dealer, it just stands out to me as looking the most fun, sporty, charismatic, and ironically wears the lowest cost too. Every line on the whole car is spot on, and it has a certain poise, refinement, sportiness, and style to it that i can't quite put my finger on but is just great. I don't think I would change anything about it. Sometimes, it can photograph a little weird, especially the back. I just want to say if you have not seen it in person, go do it, it is a bit of an illusion. It is very refined. The interior, coming from an E9X era car, is such a refreshment. I really think the E9X was the darkest time for bmw interiors, ever. They were just so bad. Everything cheap, everything plasticky, no driver slant dash, it was just such a bad time. I mean to even get close to liking one of those interiors it would have to be like a fully loaded M3 or 335 with every amenity and a perfect color combination. On this car, it is just there. I had the 135i prior to this and this part of the car just makes me so happy, because bmw is not only got back to their roots but in my opinion exceeded them by multiples. This interior surpasses the E46 interior, dare i say, even in its own time reference. the dash, is awesome quality, and is very foamy, like an e46 dash, but with a more modern foam feel. has a lot of give, and still durability to it, and is very high quality. Doors, center console, etc, are of mixed materials, but everything is high quality, and the areas where the more hard plastics are used are in like high traffic areas, like the rear vents on the center console. Compared to the E9X a HUGE improvement in every possible way. the cube trim and blue highlight are so awesome on the black interior. I highly recommend that blue highlight if you havent seen it in person it is very elegant , and actually has shape with a matte aesthetic design to it, not just like a blue bar. Worth looking at at least. The aluminum cube trim is phenomenal as well. If you are wondering what the interior is like, it is all of the same design logic from the 3/4, so it will be almost identical to them. The only thing I could say I noticed was that the instrument cluster could use a tiny bit of improvement. It is just a little small and a temp gauge would be nice. That is probably my only possible complaint.

Overall, I would say this is the first car since the E46 M that has been this iconic in design, and I finally feel that I have an answer as a BMW enthusiast and car enthusiast in general.

Onto sections:

Acceleration:
PSS tires stock, 20 extra horsepower, the motor is just incredible. I did notice a couple odd shifts at the wrong RPMs where I didnt have the blistering power that I wanted on hand, but honestly due to non optimal shift. and I guess you could feel that the car was heavy a little bit, but not really until I thought about it. In the drive I never thought that thought. The N55 is nothing new but this is really a great setup. I guess the car did have active sound, didn't even really think of that, but we had the windows down anyway and I would assume most people who truly wanted to hear their car would do that as well, so who cares.

Gearbox:
8 speed auto was phenomenal, but my choice will still for sure be the 6 speed. Cut off some weight and make it a truly amazing car. This is one area I will admit I am a very biased on, I am just a MT lover and this car demands it.

Steering
Forget everything you have heard about the steering. It is so awesome. I have had an E36, E46, and 135i, < which was an extreme example of very heavy hydraulic power steering. And the term here is Evolution. It is just a new system and I was loving almost everything about it. I think people get thrown off in the parking lots because it overboosts for you at low speed for convenience so you have a lot of people making judgements there. But the second you are going it tightens right up and is just so solid. It is a slight bit lighter than the 135 was, yes, but not in that bad of a way. I would not change this part of the car. The dynamicism of it is just cool. I really did like that. It is also nice knowing you don't have some rudimentary dirty fluid system. I just think it is an improvement and prior to this I would think I would have been in the camp to really not say that. I will say I did test drive an F30 335i xDrive, and the steering on this car felt a lot better than that EPS. I am not sure if it is a different tune, the fact that it isnt AWD, or just because it is a smaller car, but I thought it was awesome in this car. I think it is mostly just the fact that everything in a small RWD sport coupe is just better.

Suspension
A tiny bit more muted in feel than the E9X era cars, but you can tell performance wise is better every way. I think the answer here will be tuning for people who really want more raw performance and feel, but there is a certain greatness the stock setup has. I think if you wanted to go all out you would drop it on aggressive aftermarket setup and get 19's on it, this is nothing new though and the cars have kind of all been that way since the E9X.


Interior/Exterior
Absolute love. Honestly, don't really have a complaint.


Overall
My favorite mainstream production car that BMW has ever made. 9.99/10. I probably sound a bit biased but really it is just because it is exactly what I have been wanting BMW to do, forever. The only things I would really change would be, small change to the cluster, and an oil dipstick. That is about it. There is just not much to not love about this car.

[The J-Man]

I am highly skeptical of your interior comments. The E90 had almost no hard plastic. This car appears to have tons of it in photos. Center console? Lower dash including glovebox? Lower door panels?

[lichenlt]

Why are the pictures all chopped?

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by lichenlt

Why are the pictures all chopped?

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by The J-Man

I am highly skeptical of your interior comments. The E90 had almost no hard plastic. This car appears to have tons of it in photos. Center console? Lower dash including glovebox? Lower door panels?

Center console uppers were very plush, the lower, has a bit of that harder plastic, but again kind of a place where you want some durabilty. I guess I am just saying my overall impression was great and I felt every surface in the car pretty much, rode in the front, back, and driver's seat. The headliner is so awesome too in black. The lower doors were a harder plastic than the foam dash, but it isnt like shiny hard plastic, more of a matte, slightly softer. At no point did I really feel that anything was cheap.

[creepy coupe]

OP you forgot to look at the door bins. Just like the hatchback they're dire.I was really hoping BMW would have done something different for the Coupe. They look like something from a French van.

[The J-Man]

Originally Posted by golf_234

Center console uppers were very plush, the lower, has a bit of that harder plastic, but again kind of a place where you want some durabilty. I guess I am just saying my overall impression was great and I felt every surface in the car pretty much, rode in the front, back, and driver's seat. The headliner is so awesome too in black. The lower doors were a harder plastic than the foam dash, but it isnt like shiny hard plastic, more of a matte, slightly softer. At no point did I really feel that anything was cheap.

Interesting. I'm looking forward to testing this car.

[M.barnes]

yeah i would never buy a car with slightly harder plastic door bins...

[dmboone25]

Very nice review.

I like hearing the viewpoints of others who are coming from a 135 - this car is being positioned as the natural evolution of the 135is, so it's good to hear the pros and cons from people who are used to the E82 platform.

I am supposed to be driving the one at my local dealer tonight - unfortunately it is a 8 speed, not the 6 MT. I hope to be able to share some differences from the DCT in my 135 and the new M235 from a transmission standpoint.

[ska///235i]

About the interior of the e9x...very subjective as alot of ppl find the e9x have better interior (quality wise). I own an E90 and I do agree it looks too boring but it has the german quality to it (all the lower trims are soft plastic).

But this doesnt mean I dislike the new 2 interior...I cant wait to test drive one

[Mark's M]

Great review! Exactly my thoughts on the E90 as well. I had an '11 M3 (6MT) with lots of Individual extra leather and trim. At the end of the day, the interior was still a little bland (although the car was fabulous, don't get me wrong) and they've finally made up for it with the new 3's/4's.

Truth though....the 135 M-Sport that I had way back in '08 - '10 was more fun on a day to day basis. The M235 is going to offer a combination (somewhat) of both IMO. Based on my test drive this week I'd have to say that me driving the M235 at Watkins Glen (my track of choice) wouldn't have a hard time AT ALL keeping up with me driving my M3. I thought the M235 was THAT GOOD.

FWIW.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Very nice review.

I like hearing the viewpoints of others who are coming from a 135 - this car is being positioned as the natural evolution of the 135is, so it's good to hear the pros and cons from people who are used to the E82 platform.

I am supposed to be driving the one at my local dealer tonight - unfortunately it is a 8 speed, not the 6 MT. I hope to be able to share some differences from the DCT in my 135 and the new M235 from a transmission standpoint.

I personally am one of those and have one main con... and that is power. Although i am coming from a heavily modified 135 so not apples to oranges. Stock for stock, I would say everything in the 2 is superior.

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by ASAP

I personally am one of those and have one main con... and that is power. Although i am coming from a heavily modified 135 so not apples to oranges. Stock for stock, I would say everything in the 2 is superior.

Agreed. I came from a tuned N54 135i so I was in the same camp. Everything about the 2 was better minus, the fact that the car feels a bit bigger. But it's one of those things you just get used to in like 1 day.

Originally Posted by M.barnes

yeah i would never buy a car with slightly harder plastic door bins...

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Very nice review.

I like hearing the viewpoints of others who are coming from a 135 - this car is being positioned as the natural evolution of the 135is, so it's good to hear the pros and cons from people who are used to the E82 platform.

I am supposed to be driving the one at my local dealer tonight - unfortunately it is a 8 speed, not the 6 MT. I hope to be able to share some differences from the DCT in my 135 and the new M235 from a transmission standpoint.

You will love it. I agree though, while the transmission is impressive, nowhere near a 6 speed in my opinon. Just can't beat that purity.

Originally Posted by ska325xi

About the interior of the e9x...very subjective as alot of ppl find the e9x have better interior (quality wise). I own an E90 and I do agree it looks too boring but it has the german quality to it (all the lower trims are soft plastic).

But this doesnt mean I dislike the new 2 interior...I cant wait to test drive one

I think you will find it more involving, for sure. I was pleased at least.

Originally Posted by Mark's M

Great review! Exactly my thoughts on the E90 as well. I had an '11 M3 (6MT) with lots of Individual extra leather and trim. At the end of the day, the interior was still a little bland (although the car was fabulous, don't get me wrong) and they've finally made up for it with the new 3's/4's.

Truth though....the 135 M-Sport that I had way back in '08 - '10 was more fun on a day to day basis. The M235 is going to offer a combination (somewhat) of both IMO. Based on my test drive this week I'd have to say that me driving the M235 at Watkins Glen (my track of choice) wouldn't have a hard time AT ALL keeping up with me driving my M3. I thought the M235 was THAT GOOD.

FWIW.

Agreed on all comments. I feel like it is a perfected 1 series really.

[pimp4cheddar]

Drove one last night...was very impressed even with the 8spd tranny.

The exhaust was quiet at first but after the 8 mile test drive...that bad boy was awake. Lots of burp and rumble.

The interior was beautiful...light years ahead of my E92 335.

[superpenguin]

Damn that looks sharp in blue! Almost enough to change my mind about custom ordering a Sakhir Orange one...

[vinny84]

Originally Posted by superpenguin

Damn that looks sharp in blue! Almost enough to change my mind about custom ordering a Sakhir Orange one...

Individual option is not available on the 2 series

[superpenguin]

Originally Posted by vinny84

Individual option is not available on the 2 series

Interesting, I will have to follow up with my sales guy, because he told me just the opposite

[vinny84]

Originally Posted by superpenguin

Interesting, I will have to follow up with my sales guy, because he told me just the opposite

Yeah, sorry to let you down

[Nebraska330xi]

Good to hear positive reviews. Saw the first one on a truck today. Looked small with an alpina b7 but very nice! I will say the E9x interior QUALITY wise was the best of the class IMHO. Design wise it may have been a bit staid, but I would say pretty timeless. 2005-9 audis are poor quality and that gen c-class was low quality from what I've seen. Excited to see how this drives myself!

[300f87]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

About the interior of the e9x...very subjective as alot of ppl find the e9x have better interior (quality wise). I own an E90 and I do agree it looks too boring but it has the german quality to it (all the lower trims are soft plastic).

But this doesnt mean I dislike the new 2 interior...I cant wait to test drive one

+1 Test drove an M235i over the weekend. Liked everything but those hard plastic trims (especially, the door bins and the piece surrounding the rear A/C vents). Those things reminded me of my old MINI. I too own an E92, and felt like my E92 has better quality interior. It's not a deal breaker though.

[IZAGLO]

As mentioned in another post..I as well test drove the M235i last night and loved the car. Pretty much agree on all your points except i wish from the rear it had wider tires to give it that beefy look, other than that it was great..As far as speed...it has enough.I signed up for the M2 yesterday...but knowing me i may pull the trigger on this in the meantime...as well in blue. Have the dealer pricing one out as we post..

[Husker]

Originally Posted by IZAGLO

I signed up for the M2 yesterday...

Please explain-->