Photo Gallery:
2014 BMW M235i
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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Some days having this job is like being a kid in a candy store. This week is one of those types of weeks where I get all giddy as I look at the car in my driveway and put on my shoes before heading to work. This week I’m piloting an all-new BMW in an all-new line of vehicles for the manufacturer, the BMW M235i — oh yeah.
I’ve heard that the 2 Series is the beginning of the end of BMW as an enthusiast brand. Why? Because BMW has done away with conventional power steering and has moved to electric power steering. Honestly that is how some enthusiasts feel, but I can tell you after driving this car for a day that really that’s a bunch of hog wash. Besides, nearly every car produced and some very well tuned performance machines use electric power steering — this is 2014 after all.
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The M235i is larger than outgoing 1 Series coupe but smaller than the 3 Series, add in a inline six-cylinder turbocharged engine with 322 horsepower and you the recipe for the near perfect ratio of size, power and comfort in a BMW sports coupe. Sporting the M badge of course this vehicle comes with many performance upgrades like improved brakes, aerodynamics and a slick six-speed manual transmission.
My tester is also loaded with features like dual-zone climate control, navigation, back-up camera with parking sensors, moonroof and more. Leather seating, a leather wrapped steering wheel and a comfortable driving position sum up the interior in a nutshell, more on that tomorrow but it seems like the M235i is somewhat impractical — not that there is anything wrong with that.
It’s unfortunate for me that I won’t get to experience this car on the track this week but lucky for BMW I guess as they won’t have to fork over for new tires and brakes as a result (not that I’d ever do that without their permission of course). But I’ll try to put as many KM on this car this week as I can, as I can already tell I’m going to enjoy driving this machine.
Pricing: 2014 BMW M235i
Base Price (M235i): $45,000
Options: Premium Package – $4,500, Executive Package – $2,500, ConnectedDrive – $850, Metallic Paint – $895
A/C Tax: $100
Freight and PDI: $2,095
Price as Tested: $55,940
Competitors:
Audi A3/S3
Infiniti Q30
Mercedes-Benz CLA 250/45 AMG
