The Mustang is cheap but unsophisticated. The 128i is about 38, the 135i is about 42, and the 328i is about 48. Big differences between all three price wise. As of now I’ll take the 135i with a soft top, saves a lot of trunk space and weight compared to the 328i. Additionally, the back seat in the 1 series and 3 series convertibles were not much different size wise. All the cars on the lot were loaded to the gills and quite expensive, you’ve got to order it to do it right.

If I was not looking specifically for a convertible it might be a different story, but try to find a sporting 4 seat convertible with a manual and you’ll find your options limited and very expensive.

An acquaintance brought his new 135i coupe to my place of work today, eager to show me, since apparently in the past I had teased him a bit too much about liking really fast cars and never buying one.

Well, the Honda guy walking down the street during his lunch break certainly stopped and had a look, while the builder guys repairing next door were in no doubt about the little Sedona red devil. It’s all business to look at, for sure.

They’re relatively cheap in Canada, $46K for the model TrueDelata says is $43,525 in the US. Great leather adjustable manual seats, M gearshift knob and a couple of M plaques here and there. Auto windshield wipers, dimming mirrors etc.

Frankly at $46K in Canada, it toasts the G35 whatsits for the same money, Accord coupes, IS 350 etc. and especially Audi A4s, which cost more for only a Quattro advantage, and many disadvantages. A Mercedes C 350 sedan is $48K with no options, and I found it smallish inside. Hell, My Legacy GT lists at $42K, and it does not take a genius to see which car has the higher finish quality, because they were sitting side by side. The interior of the 135i is very nicely made indeed.

Anyway, went for a ride. Very tightly put together for our potholed roads. Kein rattles at all, but a pitchy ride on the rough stuff, nothing to worry about.

He let me drive it on a back road. Haha, well, she’s ludicrously quick. Surprised me at the traction, even starting out from a stop. I haven’t experienced wheelspin for years driving Subies, so even a bit was a surprise. But not much. Brakes are lovely Brembos front and rear. I really liked the gearshift and clutch except for starting out. But after a day I wouldn’t expect any problems adjusting to that. On the move gearshifts were just fine. The steering also was fine. It’s less isolated than I’m used to and therefore more “alive”, but second nature and better than the LGT, as is the directional stability.

Clambered in the back. Not bad for me at 5-9, not bad at all. Narrow is all but fine for 2.

I really liked it a lot, I must say. Makes my LegacyGT seem like an old bus by comparison. The only Subie salvation is incredible traction in winter, and (probably) better long term reliability.

Now my doctor pal in audio diy crime has just got his 335i, so we’ll see if I like that more. Trouble is, he lives a couple hours away so it’ll be a few weeks before I get to see it.

Meanwhile, in Canada, this car is priced to go. I loved it. And the spectators thought it looked badass.

The old 320i from the ’80s is an utter dog by comparison, and 2002’s always felt way too tippy, so older Bimmers don’t do it for me. This 135i eats those for a snack, I’d say. Hell I’m just a 60 year old hoon at heart.

So far as this review goes, fine. I’d have to say to anyone contemplating this car, forget the road tests. Drive one, and you decide. It sure as hell ain’t a bad car!

Meanwhile, all you other car companies still ripping off we Canucks for 40 or 50% more than the US pricing, take heed! This car is properly priced and is going to sell a lot here.

To the people calling this the “poor man’s BMW”, you call BMW drivers snobby? Must I remind you that it costs more than a 328?

If you don’t need rear seats like in the 335, I don’t see what’s so bad about the car. You save a couple grand, you get a slightly better performing car. You need the rear seats? Spend a couple more grand, get the bigger rear seats. I don’t see why you have to pay a few thousand more dollars for rear seats you don’t need and a different exterior.

People blast the car for being 35k, but over 40k with options, which is around the price of a 335. Well, that’s a barebones 335. Just like the barebones 135, without leather, without power seats, etc. To option up the 335 would cost just as much. The $5k savings is still there.

Sorry if people don’t think I’m “rich enough” for a 3-series for choosing this car. Guess the BMW driver (me) isn’t as snobby and elitist as the 1-series critics out there.

By the way, the 3-series used to be this size. With each redesign it got bigger and fatter. That’s good for the people who want a family car, but rather than thinking of this car as a 2002 reincarnation, it makes more sense as an early 3-series reincarnation. That’s what European car companies tend to do.. Make each model bigger with each passing redesign, then introduce a smaller car to fill in the gap..

Why settle for more?

Brilliant!

I put a deposit down on a 135 on Tuesday. I’m doing a September European delivery to save an additional $2400. The downside is I won’t finally get the car until about Holloween.

The A3 3.2 is a great car because it blends tremendous practicality (5 doors and quattro) with quality and performance. I found the A3 2.0T to be much jerkier in it’s throttle response due to the turbo and transmission. The 3.2 has DSG and it’s terrific. For all the praise about the Audi interiors, though, it’s pretty spartan. I think the exterior is very well proportioned and I might have plunked down the money if a dealer had had a blue one with the titanium package (very sharp looking).

As for the 135i, if you haven’t test driven one, beware. I suspect it will eliminate all other choices for you. To me it’s the best mix of performance and luxury you can get for less than $45k (including taxes and everything) period. Cars like the Mustang, G8, Evo, Sti, etc. may have similar performce (in some respects), but none match the overall qualities of high performance and comfort that the 135i offers. The big question for you may be how long you intend to keep the car and how often will you be in it. I keep cars until they become too expensive to keep versus replace (10+ years) so the quality better be there. I also spend more than an hour a day in it so it better be comfortable.
Despite all my reasoning, however, what made all of the other test rides and comparisons (IS350, A5, etc) pointless was the can’t-stop-laughing fun of driving the 135. It was like walking a crazed bit bull through a room full of mailmen or as one reviewer said, “more fun than a caffinated circus monkey”. Basically, BMW has given us an affordable version of the previous M3 coupe (with free service and a warrantee) so what more could you ask for?

I have also been considering the Audi A3 models, but not very seriously because for some reason I want a RWD car. I have never had one before, so I dont know what I am missing, or what a burden they can be in Winter. I am also looking at the Mustang Bullitt. It may seem an odd choice, between a 135i and a Mustang, but there arent really many 300hp RWD coupes on the market. I was not initially attracted to the mustang because of all the tacked on plastic crap, but the Bullitt is a good simplified version, and has improved handling.

Again, to bring up the generation gap, I have not seen the movie that inspired the Mustang Bullitt. There is so much marketing and discussion about the movie, I just want a simple, good handling RWD coupe between 30-40 grand. (That I can fit in)

I would have already purchased a Miata hardtop, but I am too tall to fit in the thing… It was a very sad day when I learned that.

Most journalists describe the car as ugly, and I think it looks great. Younger folks may be more open to designs that take risks. The Toyota FJ-cruiser, the Scion xB and xA, MINI copper, Honda Element, and the VW new Beetle are a few examples of “odd” looking cars that are doing quite well in sales with younger buyers. A car does not to look aggressive. Instead, I am looking for something that looks fun, and this car does look fun.

I am also considering a Golf R32, the only downside being it is one of the ugliest cars I have ever laid eyes on. When VW redesigned the golf in 05 they totally ruined it, by trying to make it more aggressive in appearance. An aggressive look is not all that important. I think a car should look confident, maybe content, –not pissed off.

In addition, I would have never considered BMW were it not for this car. If you want to talk conspiracy, this car might be a ploy to get younger buyers into the 3 series. The 3 series is my bosses car, my fathers car –it is boring. However, I have reluctantly added it to my list of cars to test drive, because so many journalists have said they would pay the extra 6 grand for the 3 series. Is this BMW’s way of getting younger buyers to consider the 3 series?

The practicality difference is also vastly overstated, as is typical of this review. The number of times per year that the difference in size between these two cars would create a problem that the larger car would have solved for me can be counted on one hand. 4 people in the 3 series is nearly as uncomfortable as in the 1, unless they are short enough to not need the headroom which means under about 5′7″ or so.

As for the misguided hopes everyone applied to this vehicle as far as unrealistic weight goals, that was simply wishfull thinking. There has never been a 300 HP, solidly built, reasonably priced car in the modern era that was under 3,000 lbs, and unless something drastic changes in the market, there never will be. The 1 series kept all of the things people wanted from the 3 series, and lost only a bit of sheet metal. That’s why it’s nearly the same weight you idiots. To make it significantly lighter, they would have been forced to remove the equipment that people want, like sound deadening, air bags, sunroofs, thinning up the sheet metal, and weaken the chassis, and the end result would have basically been a BMW badged STi without AWD, which is only marginally lighter but infinitely more crude to the senses. Not a good idea for BMW.

In the final anylsis for this car, it comes down to how it feels, and how it will feel in five years. There is no other car at this price which I can comfortably say would hold up as well. BMW’s just are better built than most other cars, and getting one basically for the same money as an STi, Evo, or R32 is a no-brainer unless you need the AWD, which 90% of people really don’t. They just think they do, just like they think they need a 4 ton SUV to haul around their two kids. The BMW will hold it’s value better, and will still be a solid and quiet ride in five years or even ten, where the others were either never that way to begin with(Sti, Evo) or will have decayed into a massive rattle trap by then (R32)

The bottom line is this is a car aimed at single people, and single people don’t need ginormous trunks and big back seats. What they need is a car that pleases them, and that extra 5 Gs in their pocket to spend on a house, or whatever else they can think of.

Funny you should mention the A3 3.2. Both this A3 and the 135i have something in common. The 135i just isn’t cheap enough or good enough to be a viable alternative to the 335i for most people and the A3 3.2 just isn’t that much better than the A3 2.0T to justify the 3.2’s higher price. When the upgraded 2.0T arrives, the argument for the 3.2 will get even harder to justify

Wood = for old peoples’ cars. BMWs look better with the aluminum trim or the base models’ silver painted plastic trim. Piano black is also good looking.
Wood in a 1er? come on…

Of course, my leather was fake, and his wood was real. There are new vinyls that are as nice as the real thing. I would not get hung up on it.

I’m with Mirko Reinhardt in that I think a cloth interior looks better and has a better feel than vinyl.

I don’t disagree that there are some really good vinyls out there, but since BMW prides itself on being a sport/luxury car, I do feel that a good leather interior is part of the image.

And I’ve never been one for wood, real or fake, in a car.

I do believe the review and you would too if you stopped to think about it. The main criticism isn’t that this is a bad car. Rather it is that it isn’t much cheaper or much better performer than the significantly larger and more versatile 335i.

I owned a 328 with leatherette and the aluminum rather than wood trim. My boss, who had a maxxed out 5 was upset that my leather was nicer than his, and he also liked the aluminum over his “fake wood”.

Of course, my leather was fake, and his wood was real. There are new vinyls that are as nice as the real thing. I would not get hung up on it.