BMW M135i quattro killer not for Oz

Australia will miss out on BMW's hottest hatches. Combining a M Sport turbo six-cylinder and all-wheel drive, the new M135i xDrive (and 120d xDrive) have both been ruled out from joining the local 1 Series line-up.

BMW Australia officials delivered the bad news at this week's international launch drive of the M135i in Germany.

“[The] xDrive option for the 1 Series is still only for left-hand drive vehicles, so that remains one of the main reasons [we will not receive M135i xDrive and 120d xDrive models in Australia],” explained BMW Australia spokesperson, Scott Croaker.

“[The other reason is that] we [would] expect a very low take up for this option. We only need to look at our X1 sales or some of our competitors to see [that] in our market all-wheel drive isn’t high on the priority list in this market segment,” Mr Croaker continued.

“Australia doesn’t experience the same adverse winter conditions as Europe and [North] America, therefore the need for all-wheel drive on these platforms is very small,” concluded Mr Croaker.

Capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in less than five seconds seconds M135i xDrive would have both the acceleration and grip to place it as a tantalising option to the likes of Audi’s A1 quattro (5.7 seconds) and upcoming AMG A-Class variant. It would also provide an interesting counterpoint for BMW’s own 1 Series M Coupe (4.9 seconds).

The good news, however, is a rear-wheel drive version of the M135i is coming to Australia.

Powered by a 235kW TwinPower Turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder, the M135i is slated to arrive in Australian showrooms in five-door guise later this year. Pricing and final specification for local consumption will be announced closer to the car’s Australian launch.

Visit motoring.com.au again soon for our full launch review of the new BMW 135i three-door.

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