BUY THIS, NOT THAT: BMW Z3 M Coupe vs BMW M135i Sports Hatch
The BMW 1-series could never be described as pretty. The swage lines on the MkI version made it look like an old sofa after the heaviest member of the family has fallen asleep in it for hours after Christmas lunch.
The newer-shape models are better-looking, but it’s not exactly the prettiest of all the hatchbacks.
However, to judge the M135i by its looks is missing the point – put the aesthetics aside and you’ve got one of the most critically lauded hot hatchbacks ever made; well, among the critics who spend most of their video reviews sliding sideways. We wonder if they pay for the tyres sacrificed in the name of powersliding.
Nevertheless the M135i is a spectacular car to drive, but once you’ve tinkered with the options you’re looking at nearly £40,000 for one once you’ve tinkered with the options a bit. If only there was another way to get an similarly odd-looking BMW with red-hot performance…
The BMW Z3 M Coupe isn’t a hatchback if you’re a strict obsessive with car names, but it looks like one, and offers similar levels of practicality. It also looks really like no other car we can think of. A Scimitar GTE after some automotive foot-binding? A cross between the Ferrari 250 Breadvan and an M3?
Performance
It certainly doesn't behave like a bread van. European cars have between 317bhp and 325bhp from the BMW's M3-sourced six-cylinders – the two generations used E32 and E46 power units, respectively. This compares rather favourably with the M135i's 320bhp.
Handling
The Z3 M's rear suspension was sourced from the aged E30 M3 set-up, but the latter car is lauded as one of the finest-handling cars ever made. So those concerns over age-related oily bits should be dismissed as 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. However, some owners have upgraded the suspension. Either way, driving one is an absolute treat. It's wonderfully old school in its approach; manual box and rear-wheel drive. It's almost as good for doing lurid slides in as the M135i. On the road it's all the car you would want to exploit, if a little more. It's no wonder they've got a devoted following.
Looks
Neither the Z3 M or the M135i are conventionally pretty, but there's a wonderfully extravagant nature to the Z3 M that makes the M135i look boring. It looks like a car built for one thing – performance over aesthetics.
Practicality & interior
The Z3's interior may not be as refined as the newer car, but that gives it a wonderfully raw feeling – all the better for hearing the rasp from than inline six. Some owners still use their Z3 Ms every day, which just shows how well built these cars were. And despite being called a coupe, the Z3 M is just as practical as the M135i hatchback; the newer car can be specified with five doors, however.
Summing up
However, the best bit about the Z3 M Coupe is the price – less than half the cost of a new M135i, just as fast and arguably better-looking. They're also rare – less than 1000 right-hand drive Z3 Ms were made over the two versions. Once the world wakes up to the underrated oddballs, the values will surely rise.