IT’S FAAR OUT ON HANDLING

That the new FAAR platform is both stronger and lighter than the old car’s architecture is hardly surprising. But it’s not just in the pursuit of greater safety; it has also improved the handling.

For instance, under the bonnet is a strut brace between the top of the suspension towers, while lower down are a pair of stiffening bars for the transmission tunnel. M135i models also get two further struts that run from the top of the suspension struts to the bulkhead below the windscreen. At the rear is the ‘boomerang’ cross-member that tightly controls the movement of the multi-link rear axle for even more accurate geometry.

There have been electronic changes too, the 1 Series being the first internal combustion-engined model to benefit from the i3’s ARB traction control. Monitored by the engine’s ECU more precisely controls torque to just keep the wheels from spinning.