MONSTER BEEMA

BMW M135I XDRIVE LOSES MORE THAN ITS 6CYL ENGINE

For the past fifteen years, BMW’s hottest 1 Series has been powered by a 3.0-liter straight six sending power to the rear wheels. The only evolution to that format was the introduction of turbocharging from the 130i to the 135i. Looking at the new M135 xDrive, it’s hard to trace it back to its forebears because this is the furthest BMW’s hot hatchback formula has ever deviated, so much so that it’s now a generic facsimile of every other 268hp+ German hatchback out there. The BMW 1 Series used to bring something different to the table