These two cars are, on paper at least, amazingly close to each other. Both of them have around 300 HP and 450 Nm of torque coming from their turbocharged engines. The differences, however, become evident once the rubber hits the road.
First of all, the M135i is the better town car. It is more spacious, more comfortable and has less cabin noise. The guys over at AutoExpress had to admit it was a pleasure to drive it to the track.The Subaru has a noisier engine and tougher suspension. Subaru's interior seems dated and has a rural feel.
Second, the BMW is faster on a track. Even though the Subaru has it's world famous 4WD system on board, it just cannot keep up with the BMW. Also the STi is lighter by 50 kgs than the F20.
Finally, the difference was made by the automatic transmission that the 1er has. All the other numbers tipped in favor of the Subaru, but when it came down to a head to head confrontation, the Bimmer won.
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