135i M Sport Auto 2dr Coupe

brilliance marred by hard ride

We bought our pre-reg 135 coupe with 20 miles on the clock after spotting it on the fabulous BMW used car website. It came hot on the heels of our 335 convertible. To be honest we should have kept faith in the 335, but the 135 coupe is petite and easier to exploit on Britain crowded roads.
So here are the highlights of our 24000 miles together (it has since been replaced by another 3 series).
The performance was awesome, it was never figured by any of the UK magazines but has been fully tested in the States. Incredibly it always sprinted far quicker than BMW claimed. The ability to seize overtaking opportunities was staggering. We usually got 32 mpg on a run and 27 in normal use, pretty good for a performance car. Four adults fit in comfortably (certainly the rear seats are better than that of a 335 cabrio). The flappy paddle auto was superb, and I don't think there is any benefit from the heavy clutch manual gearbox version which i tried.
There are of course down sides to a performance car, and I can't recall how many times I winced as the wheels crashed into shallow potholes, I lived in fear of broken rims, although in fact only one wheel ever broke (incredibly the tyre survived).
The other big disappointment was the stability of the front end, it wouldn't hold it's line like a 3 series.
The standard headlights were poor after having Xenons previously, so if you are looking for one try & get this "must have option". The Sat Nav system is better than many pundits report.
If you live in a speed bump & potholed city steer well clear of this model, if you live in the sticks then why not give the 135 a try?

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