There are some things you can’t say about recent BMWs that were an absolute must-have on older models. For example, you can’t say that they have that emotional sound we got used to anymore.
That’s because comfort and a change in demographic forced the engineers in Munich to change their approach. With cars like the X4, X6, Gran Coupes and other new bloods, people are buying the image of BMW rather than the feelings it gives you these days.
It’s not a bad idea though, only that true enthusiasts are often left out. You might say that for those people there is and will forever be the M division but even those cars are too quiet these days, unless you go for an aftermarket exhaust.
The M235i is not a proper M car but an M Performance Automobile which would translate into a ‘so-so’ Bimmer. It’s not too powerful and hardcore but not too soft either. It’s just in between, looking to fill a performance gap. And it does that perfectly, as we found in our own review.
Even so, there will always be people out there, nitpicking, claiming that there’s one or two things wrong with such a car. Sure, it’s not perfect, but no car actually is, as far as we know it.
Some even criticized its exhaust sound and claimed that it might be too quiet. That might be so but we found it quite enough for daily driving. Taking things even further, we though we should show you how an M235i Racing car sounds like.
The Racing model was developed especially for the track, for private teams that are looking for a cheap car to race on various events. It was done only for the track so road-legal requirements no longer have to be met.
That means, the exhaust was modified to provide the best airflow and sound possible, to offer the driver the right feedback without having to look at the rev-counter. That being said, this is how most enthusiasts would claim their cars should sound like.
You’ll be the judges of whether it’s too loud or not and whether it sounds good enough for the most hardcore BMW aficionado out there. Let us know what you think!
Google News