Driven: BMW M135i - Telegraph At £29,995, BMW's new M135i is the second-fastest expression of the 1-series in the newly released three-door bodyshell - smaller engines are available in this body style. The fastest three-door is of course the mighty M Power 1-series M Coupé, which was launched last year costing a full 10 grand more. The M135i plays junior to that, trading a turbocharger, 21bhp, 0.2sec in the 0-62mph sprint and about 5mpg. In the M catalogue, this an M Performance model, which sits between the full M cars such as the 1M Coupé and the much-ado-about-nothing M Sport versions. We're not complaining here, particularly as this three-door has a full four seats, which will accommodate four adults, plus useable luggage space of 360 litres with the rear seats up and 1,200 litres with them folded. The back gets pretty stuffy, however, due to the fixed rear windows. And if the 1-series isn't the most attractive car on the planet, this new version penned by Nicolas Huet, is a deal prettier than its predecessor. It's also pretty much invisible, trading the 1M Coupe's testosterone-laden bodywork for a few body additions and new air intakes in the front valance to feed the voracious cooling appetite of the 3.0-litre, straight-six engine with a single twin-scroll turbocharger. The numbers make compelling reading: 316bhp and 332lb ft of torque deliver a top speed limited to 155mph, 0-62mph in 5.1sec (4.9sec with the optional eight-speed automatic), 35.3mpg in the Combined cycle (37.7mph auto) and 188g/km (175g/km auto). Start her up and the engine's sibilant growl echoes through the frame. Rev it and the "six" spins up the dial with a menacing boom. We drove the eight-speed auto, which provides easy access to the performance through the trim steering-wheel paddles. At 70mph in top the rev counter shows about 2,000rpm and while the engine feels "busy," as Hamlet said; "the readiness is all." Stand on it and by gum this car can move. The beguiling note wails up to 7,200rpm and the car was still straining at the leash at 160mph on a German autobahn. But it's the massive mid-range performance that proves so addictive, as it contemptuously catapults you out of corners. Like most models that have felt the touch of BMW M GmbH, the ride is pretty firm. Even on the softer "Comfort" mode, the wheels thump over motorway expansion joints, crash through potholes and, on regular undulations, the rear will even try to bunny hop. With speed-dependent weighting and ratio, the steering is beautifully weighted, but can feel twitchy at speed, especially over road undulations, where the wheels pull the car into the hole. Mechanical grip is prodigious and with 50/50 front-to-rear weight balance, the chassis is poised and well balanced. This is, however, a very powerful car with a short wheelbase and you need to temper your enthusiasm on less than perfect surfaces and in the rain. Four-pot caliper front disc brakes give the lie to car makers who tell us that single-piston swinging callipers are a good substitute. These are peerless anchors, powerful with a sensitivity that allows you to exploit them fully before the ABS chimes in. The grey-on-black interior is pretty much as every M car ever built since the badge's inception in 1972. The seats are beautifully moulded, managing to support your torso without bending your shoulders uncomfortably forward as if you were a snake-hipped, 18-year-old Formula Ford driver. They're comfortable, too, though we're not entirely convinced by the fishing net weave on top. In the end, this is perhaps the best compromised M car we've driven. Expensive, yes, but reasonably economical to run, exhilarating to drive when you want it and compliant when you don't. This is one of the great Q cars and it's that combination of docility and ferocity that makes it irresistible. M135i three door Price: £29,995