BMW M135i symposer

A bit of a disappointment after the brilliant BMW 1 Series M Coupe a lot of eyes had turned to the M135i for comfort.

The small hatchback ran the ‘Ring at a very fast time and then it defeated a track day special Subaru around a circuit.

Apart from these great examples, there are lots and lots of reviews that are basically raves. Something troubling did come up now however. This is where some bad or unfortunate news had to appear.

One of the 1 Series forum members, has identified a bit of foul play with the sound generated by the M135i. Much like the M5?s Active Sound system, the M135i uses a sound symposer device to provide a different, throatier noise to the interior of the car.

Two videos were posted by the happy owner of such a wonderful machine and he discovered the noise he enjoys so much isn’t real. Hopefully it will not cause him to turn against the car.

Once the device is disconnected, and the car’s audio system is disabled, which does somewhat convince you not to do it anyway.

The other convincing moment is when you hear the noises in the second video. A very muted straight six cylinder engine is what you get with a few turbo noises here and there.

So what’s the verdict? It’s a shame BMW couldn’t pull it off technically, but we’re sure glad they thought about it long enough to make it happen anyway.

The noise is fake, but the car is brilliant performer so should you care?