Drove the 135i today
Drove the 135i today
So I went in to a local bmw dealership and was checking out the m3s and m5s and finally decided to ask if they had the 1 series in. They did, but it was out on the road for some reason. I wait a little while and boom I get a test drive. Guess I said all the right things
Looks-The car is better looking in person and I actually liked all the lines. Its not as short, to me at least, as pictures would portray. The tester was black with a red interior. I liked the looks fro the beginning and I think it will grow on people quickly.
Interior-Never payed much attention to bmw's interior in the past and have never really been in one. This interior was leaps and bounds ahead of what I have been in, so for me, I liked it alot. Very comfortable, with a more cockpit like feel than I'm used to. I wasn't confused with all the buttons either haha so thats a plus
Handling- Went through a few back-roads to see if the tail would come out a little bit, but I guess I didn't push it hard enough. The steering wasn't as responsive as the evos, it was a big change and definitely something to get used to. Felt like I was driving a truck..maybe not that extreme but you get the idea.
Brakes-very touchy. The car was bouncing all over the place at first because I wasn't really ready for that. They have good bite and surprised me actually. Totally different from my setup on the evo.
Ride-Nice and quiet with the windows up. I was having numerous conversations with the salesman and never had any problems hearing him. Going over bumps or imperfections in the road was obviously more forgiving than the evo. Road noise wasn't even acknowledged.
Power- Definitely has pep, especially from 2000rpms. Anything above that and the turbo seems to be at full song. In any gear, floor the throttle and you move forward with authority. I didn't go above 5000rpms because I was being nice but it pulled cleanly anywhere before that with very minimal turbo lag. I had the paddle shifters working constantly to get a good feel and it shifts very quickly. Throttle blips with the downshift are a plus too. The paddles seem to be mounted awkwardly for me, but maybe I positioned my hands in an odd way. Nevertheless, it was still interesting and fun to use.
Overall-Nice looking car with good stock power,decent handling,and good exhaust note. Priced at 34,900 puts it in the price range of the evo. I think I will like this more than the evo mr when it released. I will go and drive that as well so I can compare experiences. This thing modded will be wicked, can't wait to see it a few weeks from now.
Not too in depth but ask away and I'll do what I can haha
Looks-The car is better looking in person and I actually liked all the lines. Its not as short, to me at least, as pictures would portray. The tester was black with a red interior. I liked the looks fro the beginning and I think it will grow on people quickly.
Interior-Never payed much attention to bmw's interior in the past and have never really been in one. This interior was leaps and bounds ahead of what I have been in, so for me, I liked it alot. Very comfortable, with a more cockpit like feel than I'm used to. I wasn't confused with all the buttons either haha so thats a plus
Handling- Went through a few back-roads to see if the tail would come out a little bit, but I guess I didn't push it hard enough. The steering wasn't as responsive as the evos, it was a big change and definitely something to get used to. Felt like I was driving a truck..maybe not that extreme but you get the idea.
Brakes-very touchy. The car was bouncing all over the place at first because I wasn't really ready for that. They have good bite and surprised me actually. Totally different from my setup on the evo.
Ride-Nice and quiet with the windows up. I was having numerous conversations with the salesman and never had any problems hearing him. Going over bumps or imperfections in the road was obviously more forgiving than the evo. Road noise wasn't even acknowledged.
Power- Definitely has pep, especially from 2000rpms. Anything above that and the turbo seems to be at full song. In any gear, floor the throttle and you move forward with authority. I didn't go above 5000rpms because I was being nice but it pulled cleanly anywhere before that with very minimal turbo lag. I had the paddle shifters working constantly to get a good feel and it shifts very quickly. Throttle blips with the downshift are a plus too. The paddles seem to be mounted awkwardly for me, but maybe I positioned my hands in an odd way. Nevertheless, it was still interesting and fun to use.
Overall-Nice looking car with good stock power,decent handling,and good exhaust note. Priced at 34,900 puts it in the price range of the evo. I think I will like this more than the evo mr when it released. I will go and drive that as well so I can compare experiences. This thing modded will be wicked, can't wait to see it a few weeks from now.
Not too in depth but ask away and I'll do what I can haha
Trending Topics
Honestly, I'm not exactly sure. All I know is that I went around turns that required two hands on the steering wheel where I felt just a flick of the wrist would have been enough in my own car. It felt different enough to post on here. I wish I would have looked deeper. I wonder how much of a difference it would have made?
The BMW dealer right down the street from me just got 2 of them. The one I looked at is black on red, sport package. What a nice looking car. I would have considered buying it if it was a 6-speed. I think I need one now. Its gonna have to wait another year though.
Yeah, Otto's has the exact same car on their lot and I'm one the "one year" plan as well.
Last edited by Willie Dynamite; Mar 18, 2008 at 03:47 PM.
yeah i work at a BMW dealership in crystal lake illinois. We just got in 2 135is and 2 128i convertibles. Not too hot on the verts but that 135i is pretty cool. Ours has a fair amount of options but no active steering, but i know what you guys are talking about. Fast little cars. And for your future bmw purchasing needs BMW uses between 6% and 7% mark up in all their cars. If anyone wants a deal on one in illinois let me know.
Honestly, I'm not exactly sure. All I know is that I went around turns that required two hands on the steering wheel where I felt just a flick of the wrist would have been enough in my own car. It felt different enough to post on here. I wish I would have looked deeper. I wonder how much of a difference it would have made?
To put it another way, 'steering response' is a function of time.
I also drove a 135i today.
I had ordered one, but ended up getting the X instead and cancelled mine. There were a couple things that concerned me about the 1:
-Size (I have a 2 year old daughter)
-Price (I got my Evo at invoice from South Coast, which turned out being about $5000 less than the 135i)
-Availability. I needed a car sooner than later, and got my Evo in January. Waiting to mid/late March without a car would put me in a bind.
All that to say, I got the call from my friend/CA at the dealership that the car I had ordered was in and nobody had yet spoken for it if I still wanted to come see it. So of course I did.
The one I ordered was pimptacular. It was an Alpine White one with the sport package/shadowline, manual transmission, black interior, and the piano trim. It had no mileage and was still in the plastic, so I didn't want to mess it up with a test drive.
This dealer's tester was black, had red leather interior, and was a steptronic/auto transmission. This is the one I drove, as it had more mileage on it since they've had it for a bit longer.
This car is a pretty reasonable compromise between the 335i and Evo X. Price-wise as it falls in between them. As far as performance, I'd say its kind of in the middle as well. The brakes are a lot bigger than the 3, its lighter than both cars, and seems to have more racetrack potential than the 3 with some suspension work. Sadly, both this car and the 3 have open differentials, which is a crime in a car this pricepoint.
In fit and finish, interior materials, and just general niceness, the 3 has this car crushed on the inside. Its a bit cramped, and the materials, while still substantially higher quality than the Evo, are not on par with the 3.
The exterior looks a lot better in person than I originally thought. I think it looks muscular, bulky, aggressive, and substantial. I liked the exterior quite a bit.
The interior is where my biggest problem is. The seats, HVAC controls, and gauge cluster are the same great stuff in the 3, but the entire rest of the dash section is a step down. The radio is a step down from the 3's logic 7 system. And the aforementioned room is an issue. With the front seats at a comfortable spot, there is not hardly any room in the back at all. Even my daughter's Recaro seat would have clearance issues, and her legs would have to rest on the rear passenger seat all the time.
Power is where this car has the Evo X just killed. They are both rated at around 300HP, but the N54 BMW puts down about 30whp more than the Evo. What's more, its lighter and has infinitely more torque available sooner. The N54 hits peak torque at something ridiculous like 1400rpm and holds it to something ridiculous like 5000rpm. This car pulls like a freight train from super low RPM all the way to redline. On the street from a roll at any speed, it would handily crush my X.
The handling is just marginally tighter than the 3, but nowhere near the Evo X. That is another place I am happier with the my car, no open differentials in the X. The 135i understeers quite a lot for a RWD car, and the X doesn't show a hint of understeer thanks to the torque vectoring magic in the rear from SAYC.
In my opinion, the 3series coupe does everything this car does a little better, except the lighter weight, bigger brakes, aka the potential to be a track star. The X is a much better track star, so if you want something of a compromise and don't mind a small coupe, this could be the one... or the 1.
I could drive this car everyday and be happy as a lark.
I had ordered one, but ended up getting the X instead and cancelled mine. There were a couple things that concerned me about the 1:
-Size (I have a 2 year old daughter)
-Price (I got my Evo at invoice from South Coast, which turned out being about $5000 less than the 135i)
-Availability. I needed a car sooner than later, and got my Evo in January. Waiting to mid/late March without a car would put me in a bind.
All that to say, I got the call from my friend/CA at the dealership that the car I had ordered was in and nobody had yet spoken for it if I still wanted to come see it. So of course I did.
The one I ordered was pimptacular. It was an Alpine White one with the sport package/shadowline, manual transmission, black interior, and the piano trim. It had no mileage and was still in the plastic, so I didn't want to mess it up with a test drive.
This dealer's tester was black, had red leather interior, and was a steptronic/auto transmission. This is the one I drove, as it had more mileage on it since they've had it for a bit longer.
This car is a pretty reasonable compromise between the 335i and Evo X. Price-wise as it falls in between them. As far as performance, I'd say its kind of in the middle as well. The brakes are a lot bigger than the 3, its lighter than both cars, and seems to have more racetrack potential than the 3 with some suspension work. Sadly, both this car and the 3 have open differentials, which is a crime in a car this pricepoint.
In fit and finish, interior materials, and just general niceness, the 3 has this car crushed on the inside. Its a bit cramped, and the materials, while still substantially higher quality than the Evo, are not on par with the 3.
The exterior looks a lot better in person than I originally thought. I think it looks muscular, bulky, aggressive, and substantial. I liked the exterior quite a bit.
The interior is where my biggest problem is. The seats, HVAC controls, and gauge cluster are the same great stuff in the 3, but the entire rest of the dash section is a step down. The radio is a step down from the 3's logic 7 system. And the aforementioned room is an issue. With the front seats at a comfortable spot, there is not hardly any room in the back at all. Even my daughter's Recaro seat would have clearance issues, and her legs would have to rest on the rear passenger seat all the time.
Power is where this car has the Evo X just killed. They are both rated at around 300HP, but the N54 BMW puts down about 30whp more than the Evo. What's more, its lighter and has infinitely more torque available sooner. The N54 hits peak torque at something ridiculous like 1400rpm and holds it to something ridiculous like 5000rpm. This car pulls like a freight train from super low RPM all the way to redline. On the street from a roll at any speed, it would handily crush my X.
The handling is just marginally tighter than the 3, but nowhere near the Evo X. That is another place I am happier with the my car, no open differentials in the X. The 135i understeers quite a lot for a RWD car, and the X doesn't show a hint of understeer thanks to the torque vectoring magic in the rear from SAYC.
In my opinion, the 3series coupe does everything this car does a little better, except the lighter weight, bigger brakes, aka the potential to be a track star. The X is a much better track star, so if you want something of a compromise and don't mind a small coupe, this could be the one... or the 1.
I could drive this car everyday and be happy as a lark.
