BMW has been busy fiddling with the M135i hot hatch. Specifically, it has done two things, one we like the sound of, the other we’re not so sure about.
The first is a couple of different tweaks to the chassis and the suspension that should make the all-wheel-drive M135i a little more fun in the twisty stuff. You get optimized camber values, some new suspension mounts, and recalibrated springs/dampers all around to reduce roll and increase steering feel, BMW says. Thumbs up.
What a shame, then, that BMW has also decided to pump even more engine noise through the speakers into the cabin. That’s an update we could probably do without.
The 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo remains the same and still pushes out 302hp and 450Nm of torque, while newly available BMW Individual colors have created 10 extra jobs at the 1-Series paint shop. You can have Frozen Pure Gray, Frozen Orange metallic, or Sao Paulo Yellow, pictured here. The latter was the launch color for the M4.
Top Gear found the M135i’s lesser-powered, front-drive 128ti sibling more fun, so is this update BMW's response? Thoughts below, as ever.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
