The BMW M135i and M140i may appear the same, but underneath the shared appearance are two wildly different platforms. BMW changed the car’s underpinnings, moving from a rear-wheel-drive layout to one that primarily powers the front, though all-wheel-drive is available. There was also a change in the number of cylinders – the new 1 Series downsizing from a six-cylinder inline-si mill to a turbocharged four-cylinder. But how do the changes translate to track? A new YouTube video from the Leaseloco YouTube channel pits the two against one another to see which is the performance king.
The 2020 M135i xDrive boasts a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 306 horsepower (228 kilowatts) and 332 pound-feet (450 Newton-meters) of torque. Compare that to the 2019 M140i and its 3.0-liter straight-six engine that produces 335 hp (250 kW) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque. The M135i has one advantage – all-wheel drive. This gives the newer…