Gadgetory

oddly BMW does not classify the m235i with its other end performance cars they don't seem to think it quite qualifies but I think it does BMW used to offer a fairly limited model range yet the three series the five series the seven series and occasional six and an eight but now go to a BMW dealer lot and you'll be able to count from two to seven without a stop there's X's for SUVs and crossovers there's also GTS and Grande coupes as a long time BMW fan I find it a little bit bewildering but then I drove the 2015 BMW m235i and it all began to make sense again this is a really fun little car it has fantastic handling easily tap power this is really what BMW used to be all about this is a very pure expression of a sports car this is a completely stop m235i so we have none of the options that are available in the cabin tech we do have this basic iDrive controller it's a dial here on the console we got a few buttons for audio and telephone and main menu if I hit the main menu button on this screen here I get some basic functions here I get multimedia radio telephone so this has hands-free phone I've got my iPhone paired to the card if I click this menu option I get my phone book I get a ability to dial numbers individually for audio I've got my choice of radio or media sources right now I'm on radio I've got HD radio here so that's a nice standard addition to the car if I go to my media sources right now I'm looking at Bluetooth here and the cool thing about this is that I'm a go to the music search screen I actually get a full list of the music library that's on my phone not too many cars do this so I can choose artist songs albums podcasts whatever I want to listen to with a wireless connection from my phone to the car I also have a USB port in the console here now I could option this up with the tech package that's $2,150 to get the full navigation system app connectivity and BMW has a lot of good features with all that stuff so I would definitely consider getting that I mean you might say well this is a sports car you don't need all that stuff but this car is just so comfortable I might want that navigation system to find the cool places to drive the driving character the handling feel that that's what this m235i is is really all about it's just a great car to sit in the driver's seat and drive really anywhere under the hood we've got a standard VW engine now it's a inline 6-cylinder three liter and it's got a twin scroll turbo on it in this instance they have a tune depth of 325 horsepower 302 pounds eat of torque it's great power for this little car and that's dialed in to a six-speed manual transmission at least in this example you can also get an 8-speed automatic but with this car you're really going to want the six-speed manual so right now I'm in Eco Pro Mode that's this little rocker switch on the console on that dials it's most fuel-efficient settings it activates that idle stop feature don't be afraid of that will actually save you some gas at the stoplight but then I push it into sport mode and that's where the throttle sharpens up and that actually is different suspension a little bit too because this actually has an adaptive suspension that's a pretty cool feature in this car to get standard BMW usually charges you extra for performance features like that one thing I like quite a bit about this car the suspension in this mode you know it stiffens the car up a little bit makes it handle better but it's not too stiff it's still a very comfortable car to drive I'm not feeling too many of the bumps on the road now the trick is pushing this rocker switch once more to Sport Plus mode and that actually adds BMWs dynamic traction control to all the different sports settings and what that does is that just lets the rear wheels spin a little harder when you come off the line when you come through a corner it lets up back in swing out a little bit further and that's come on classic BMW handling that's really what makes this car just loads of fun I mean you really want to get this out into a twisty windy road and just feel it run I've been pretty impressed even in the city streets just a fast corner and I feel that didn't come out and it makes me want to take this car and anywhere I can find let's price out our 2015 BMW m235i base price forty three thousand one hundred dollars now we add the technology package as $2,150 BMW also wants five hundred dollars for what they call enhanced Bluetooth and USB I think that makes the phone work better with the car all in with destination we're looking at forty six thousand seven hundred dollars that's a lot of money for a small car like this but it is a lot of fun and it has a lot of BMWs great performance technology with it you