M135i joins long term fleet

One has now joined our Citizen Motoring long term fleet for the coming months and will be my basic form of daily transport. It will also be utilised to have a little fun at the BMW Car Club Gauteng events.

I am going to keep this brief as we will still have plenty of time to get into the nitty gritty of what this premium hot hatch offers the enthusiast. Our car is a three door six speed manual derivative finished in awesome Estoril Blue Metallic with Dakota Black leather. There are also a host of optional extras to properly demonstrate all that BMW has to offer a buyer.

The body details are typical of a car designed to handle the aerodynamic requirements associated with dynamic, high-performance driving situations – it is such details that convey the unique M style and flair. The front apron is typical of M styling that reflects the car’s firm and responsive road handling, with the large air intake vents needed to meet the cooling demands of a high-performance straight six-cylinder engine, auxiliary units and oversized brakes.

The competitive character of the car can also be seen in the three-dimensional flaps on the outer air vents, a detail inspired by automobile racing. These air inlets take up the space reserved for the fog lights in the other versions of the three-door BMW 1 Series.

They are separated by horizontal struts in Ferric Grey metallic – a design detail that distinguishes BMW M Performance cars.

In addition to the BMW Individual high-gloss Shadow Line and the exterior mirror caps in Ferric Grey, the specially contoured side skirts and 18-inch M light alloy double-spoke wheels with mixed tyres intensify the side profile of the M135i. The rear apron, the lower portion of which is finished in Dark Shadow metallic, also encloses the dual exhaust pipes.

Next month we get a bit more technical and talk about exactly what is under the R461 000 base price hood and the cost of the extras. We will also be putting the car against the clock and go to a club event or two!