We've all heard that current BMW's don't drive the way their previous generations used to. Some models, namely the 3-series, might still offer more driver engagement than their competitors but there simply isn't the same connected, engaged and exhilarating feeling when getting behind the wheel of a modern day BMW like one used to experience from behind the wheel of, say, an E46 M3.
Road and Track sums up this phenomenon rather well in the following quote:
"But there's a bigger point here. The 1-series is the last car that BMW engineered before the Germans, as a car-making culture, fell out of love with driving. The 3-series, which used to make so much more sense than the 1, is now a perfectly nice car that barely registers on the fun-to-drive scale. Like most new German cars, it focuses too much on electronics and the eventuality of a driverless future. It errs toward isolation where BMWs have traditionally favored refinement and engagement. It offers more in the way of electronic cockpit gadgets than feedback. Even the 135is's replacement, the European-market M135i, has the nerve to wear an M badge but with zero additional M chops. It's the next generation of the car you see here, in hatchback form, with a version of the F30's numb electric steering and no limited-slip differential. Worse, like the current M5, its cockpit is so isolated and quiet that you can't really hear the engine. (Also like the M5, the M135i plays fake engine noises through the stereo—a questionable trick to play on luxury-minded 5-series drivers, but unacceptable forgery in an M-badged 1-series.)
Most disturbing of all, Munich seems to have walked away from the very thing responsible for its success: the compact sports sedan. Right when Audi and Mercedes-Benz are about to jump into the market with the upcoming A3 and CLA—both of which are intriguing in spite of being front-wheel drive—BMW has nothing compelling to offer.
The 135is and the cars that came before it explain why BMW means more, to more enthusiasts, than any other brand. The Bavarians could slap sedan- and wagon-shaped four-door bodies on this car, call it the new 3-series, and it would easily remain the best car on the road for another decade."
So, what do YOU think after reading that review?
Read Article