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BMW M135 F70 aims to be the new compact hot hatch that’s easy to drive very fast, but it also raises a bigger question: is it really new, and is it worth the money? In this BMW M135 review, the focus is on driving impressions, with a close look at how the fourth-generation 1 Series feels on the road, inside the cabin, and in everyday use.

BMW has kept the UKL2 platform, added a larger body, and moved to a fresh interior layout with OS9, no iDrive controller, no physical climate controls, and a very different cockpit feel. On the road, the M135 makes strong use of its 300 hp, 400 Nm, xDrive setup, and quick gearbox, delivering serious pace, precise steering, strong brakes, and a chassis that stays glued down. It’s fast, composed, and a little artificial in sound and feedback, which makes it a fascinating modern BMW hot hatch test drive.

For car review fans, BMW 1 Series shoppers, and anyone comparing the M135 with rivals like the VW Golf GTI or other compact performance hatchbacks, this is a detailed look at design, practicality, interior tech, fuel economy, and real-world driving feel. It also touches on pricing, with the M135 starting at €52,600 and the test car reaching €67,820.

SEO: BMW M135 F70 review, BMW 1 Series hot hatch, compact performance car test drive, BMW M135 driving impressions, xDrive hatchback review, BMW OS9 interior, sporty hatchback comparison, and modern BMW review content for car enthusiasts, buyers, and fans of fast hatchbacks.

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Transcript
00:00this is the bmw m135 no longer i the fourth generation is called f70 and at first glance
00:07it looks a bit like the f40 facelift and a bit like ford focus
00:12is the new bavarian hot hatch worth considering and is it really new
00:19let's find out in this bmw m135 review i'll focus mainly on driving impressions i'll expand more on
00:25the practical aspects in another video where i'm comparing it to the refreshed mark 8 vw golf gti
00:31channel members already can or soon will be able to watch this comparison without ads
00:36it'll become available to everyone else a bit later
01:22the new one series is still made on the uk l2 platform which it shares with the two series
01:28grand coupé the x1 the x2 and the mini countryman bmw decided to drop the i suffix from its petrol
01:35models so as not to confuse them with the i whatever evs diesel powertrains still have the
01:41letter d after the serious number and the engine variant bmw 1 series f70 is several centimeters
01:48longer and taller than the f40 it replaces other dimensions remained virtually unchanged
01:54the biggest noticeable change is the front end bmw listened to the market make fun of its oversized
02:01grills and decided there is no need for a broil king fascia and this is how we ended up with
02:06a front
02:06which at first glance looks like it was taken off a forward focus to better illustrate how low the front
02:13is i'll show you how i usually set up my tripod for beauty shots these days but in order to
02:19film the focus
02:30other changes outside are pretty much cosmetic the boot still has 380 liters capacity and still
02:37has that hinged double floor which you can theoretically take out but wouldn't be easier to just lower it like
02:43in most other cars
02:44on the plus side the partial shelf fits perfectly under the floor there seems to be more headroom in
02:51the rear and perhaps the extra two and a half centimeters in height helped raise the roof line
02:56sufficiently high so i don't hit my head getting in and out the biggest changes are visible in the
03:02cockpit as far as i remember the f40 kept the old cockpit layout with a separate gauge cluster and the
03:08central
03:08infotainment screen physical ac controls and an i drive controller until the end of production only the
03:14m2 which rides on a different platform got the bmw os8 and a wide screen clearly an afterthought because
03:21it was propped up against the dashboard the f70 dashboard seems to have been designed with the new
03:26layout in mind there are no physical ac controls there's a new steering wheel with less buttons on it
03:32there is no iDrive controller the gear selector is more of a discrete sex toy and next to it are
03:37some
03:38haptic buttons which require you taking your eyes off the road to find and press them there are two
03:43trays one of them featuring a wireless charger the cup holders are decent and so are the door pockets
03:49however the glove box is ridiculously small especially taking into account how big the lid is
03:54i suppose it's more of an access hatch to a cabin filter the infotainment system is bmw's os9 while the
04:02shift from os7 to os8 was a painful revolution the upgrade to os9 is in my opinion unnoticeable here
04:10the pr department is trying to strangle me through the monitor because the os9 has so many new features
04:17but as far as i'm concerned as long as i can adjust my settings i'm happy with android auto and
04:24just like
04:24i didn't constantly check the tesla sentry feature i don't care what's happening around my bmw also i
04:32can't launch the external 360 camera view remotely because of my privacy settings something that stood
04:38out for to me at least and for the wrong reason is the ambient lighting especially these side lights
04:45here which reflect around the wing mirrors and why are the gear paddles so cheap on the plus side the
04:56seats are very comfortable but these are the sporty version in a couple of months i'll be driving a more
05:01down to earth two series so watch this space for an update on the non-sporty interior
05:22back in the days of the first generation one series before bmw made its naming scheme easier
05:28introducing even serious numbers first for two-door coupes and then for everything else that didn't
05:35fit the odd numbers there was the 1m coupe it had 340 horsepower 500 newton years of torque it had
05:43a
05:44manual gearbox and it was rear-wheel drive i drove it once unfortunately it was on an unfamiliar mountain
05:50road it was wet foggy and it was coat brown all the way after all these years i'd love
05:57to own one but for the time being i cannot justify a toy at this price point the f70 m135
06:05has 300 horsepower
06:06and 400 millimeters of torque it also has x-drive which for some reason bmw doesn't seem to boast about
06:13usually there are x-drive badges all over the car but not here
06:20those of you who know car specs by heart probably noticed the new m135 has six horsepower less
06:26than the previous m135i according to the specification it's also heavier and one-tenth of a second
06:33slower zero to 100 kilometers per hour than the outgoing model i checked and instead of claimed 4.9
06:39seconds i got 4.8 seconds in sport mode with launch control in normal mode i was a second slower
06:53i mentioned the m1 coupe for a reason it had just 40 more horsepower but it scared the living daylights
06:59out of me i suspect i wasn't the only one scared hence bmw started adding all-wheel drive to later
07:06hot versions of the one and two series the m2 and even the m240i are more powerful than the original
07:14one
07:14m coupe but they aren't as scary well maybe the current m2 is close but still second the m135 is
07:22yet another bmw which is a tool for driving fast and fast for no reason this car doesn't teach me
07:27humility i get in i press the gas pedal and the m135 just flies through gears until i'm going faster
07:33than i'm ever going to admit the steering is precise but gives no feedback the suspension
07:40is set up so the car stays glued to the road which is a kind of a compliment but i
07:45know these roads and
07:46i know how other cars react on some of the bumps and in this bmw i have no idea when
07:54the car is going
07:54to lose its grip i mean i can't rule out that the m135 is just too good for me but
07:59this means i can get
08:01into a lot of trouble when i accidentally test the car's limits the brakes are very effective at least they
08:07give me hope that if the fit hits the shun i stand the chance of survival visibility is good the
08:14seats
08:14hold me well and yes my heartbeat is up when i take every corner faster and faster but in the
08:21back of my
08:21head there is still a feeling that i'm feeding an addiction rather than having harmless fun in a car
08:28the soundproofing is average compact hatch level regardless of the premium badge on the bonnet meanwhile
08:34the sound inside the cabin is as artificial as the steering when filming drive-by shots i only heard
08:40a strained four-cylinder engine at the same time the cabin is filled with sound which makes this car
08:47feel almost like it has a has an inline 600 bonnet but something tells me sooner or later bmw is
08:55going to offer some m parts performance exhaust upgrade for the m135 not just the carbon exhaust tips
09:03because this just sounds like nothing
09:14the way the engine and the gearbox are programmed make the m135 easy to live with there is a lot
09:20of
09:20grunt down low so it's easy to squeeze in in traffic according to bmw fuel economy should be around
09:288 liters per 100 kilometers combined however if you drive this car as intended expect 10 liters or more
09:35the fuel tank holds 50 liters and why do i have to click around the screen to turn on the
09:42sport mode
09:42and then return to normal what was wrong with the old rocker switch and do i have to personalize each
09:48of the modes
09:59prices of the bmw m135 start at 56 200 euro this test car with options costs 67 820 euro
10:11the bmw m135 is a good car in the sense that it's easy to drive way too fast if this
10:18is what you're
10:19looking for this is the car for you i like more feedback at lower speeds and this is why i
10:24look back
10:25fondly to the 1m coupe and what do you think about the bmw m135 let me know in the comment
10:31section below
10:35if you like my sarcastic down to earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews join me every friday 3pm
10:42central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this video as it helps me with the youtube
10:48algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next one
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