The BMW M135i xDrive was recently put to the test by the guys from Motorsport Magazine in France. Lucky for them, they have a track at their disposal at all times so they ca post some lap times. This is how they ended up having a rather impressive list of lap times in their portfolio.
The latest name added is the BMW M135i xDrive. But could it beat its main rival? What would that rival be? The Mercedes-AMG A35 hot hatch, of course.
This is the one the M135i has to trade blows. Pricing, performance and even the styling on these cars makes them really close. Both cars are powered by a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine with 306 HP. However, the BMW has a bit of an edge compared to the Merc in the torque department with 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) versus 400 Nm (295 lb-ft).
This is one of those rare cases where a BMW actually has more torque than its Mercedes-Benz rival. On the track, the two should be really close too and, as it turns out, that’s actually the case.
The BMW M135i xDrive, as you can see in the video below, posted a lap time of 1:28.58 whereas the AMG 35 finished in 1:27.29. The Mercedes A45 AMG S on the other hand is faster than both by a considerable margin, at 1:23.38.
What’s interesting though is that we also have the lap time here of the older M135i xDrive model, the ‘original’ F20 model, if you will. That one posted a lap time of 1:26.86 and that’s understandable, considering the different layout, more power and torque it had at its disposal.
Inadvertently, this video also provides a look into how the two generations compared. The M140i would’ve been even faster.
Also, the tires are equally important. The AMG A35 used ultra-sticky Pirelli P Zero tires and the older rear-wheel drive M135i had Michelin Pilot Super Sports.
So the new BMW M135i, with its much less aggressive Continental PremiumContact 6 tires, is at a distinct disadvantage.
