Trio con brio

In recent articles about the Birdsmodified BMW 135i on your longterm test f leet, you have asked for owner’s experiences.

My past three cars have all been 1 Series: a 130i, a 135i and now a 140i. It has been interesting to track the differences between them.

The 130i (5dr manual) had the best engine – the sweetest and most responsive and, to be honest, all the performance you need on the road.

The 135i (5dr manual) had a big jump in performance and a great induction/exhaust noise in Sport mode.

The 140i (3dr auto, adaptive suspension) has another jump in performance (more than I expected) but has lost some of the sporty feel and noise of the 135i. It’s as though they’ve dialled in a little more refinement, which is a bit of a disappointment.

With all of them, there’s a sort of looseness to the rear suspension. On the 130i, a set of Bilsteins at around 80,000 miles improved matters a bit. The 135i and 140i are better but still exhibit a noticeable tramping sensation.

Each car I changed from run-flats to non-run-flats and noticed an improvement in ride comfort. The 140i is still on run-flats and seems better than the other two, no doubt down to the adaptive suspension.

Overall, it’s a great all-round performance car. I don’t really see it as a hot hatch. I feel it’s a bit more sophisticated than that.