By Mike Solowiow
April 21, 2008 - 22,900 Views
After testing BMW 135i and 335i coupes back-to-back, I can reveal that there are only two good reasons to purchase the smaller, cheaper car. Either you need a track day machine or you're an idiot. Otherwise, spend the extra bucks and buy the 335i coupe. The 335i coupe is more attractive, more enjoyable to drive, holds its value better and offers far more real road usability than the 135i. If BMW had made the 135i as a lightweight, no-frills, Bahn-burning turbo rocket ship, they would have created a truly unique, desirable automobile. But they didn't.
Walking up to my 135i tester, it greeted me with the usual Bimmer face that I love. Staring straight into its double-kidney shaped aggression, I thought that maybe the photos really didn't do the car justice. Reaching the side of the vehicle, I nearly dropped my Starbucks latte in disgust.
Just three days prior, I was in Germany on an Air Force operation. I saw all manner of 1-Series hatches on the autobahn, in their natural element, looking graceful at over 240km/h. What I saw upon my return was a transmogrified beast. Not quite a coupe, not quite a hatch; a car that took all the worst styling cues from both. I hated it. The baristas hated it. TSgt Gasaway hated it. Ashleigh and Shannon at my apartment tower hated it. It really is an ugly car.
While sharing the same face, the 335i looks like Catharine Zeta Jones by comparison. I'm no fan of Bangle designs, but the 335i coupe is Bimmer's best melding of power and grace to date.
The 135i's dash harkened back to the driver-focused BMW's of yore. Nestling into the exquisite brown leather sports seats, contemplating the simple, elegant design, I nearly forgot about the 135i's hideous outside. Nearly. My only [Jay Shoemaker-esque] gripe: cheap sun visors that would make Hyundai blush. Oh, and the nominal rear seats.
The 335i's cabin can't match the 135i for clarity of purpose. To wit: iDrive. The huge hump protruding from the 335i's dash not only ruins the lines, but it provides bombardiers and other gadget freaks with an irresistible distraction– to the point where I nearly tested my insurance agent's religious tolerance (i.e. "accident forgiveness"). Of course, the 335i also gets props for adult-compatible rear accommodations.
Munich's twin-turbo, 3.0-liter straight six powers both vehicles. This powerplant should be revered as temples of VANOS. Both 300hp engines scream, Siren-like, beckoning pistonheads to pilot them on a wild journey of legendary proportions. The 135i outruns the 335i, but only just. Side-by-side, the 135i pulled away initially, to about a car length, but lost a bit of ground when both cars shifted into second gear (5.2secs v 5.6secs 0 - 60).
Both testers were auto-box equipped. Quick, smooth, and always at the perfect ratio, the cog-swappers nearly made me surrender my manual mantra. As previously reported, the 135i's auto feels cheaper and slower-witted than the sublime ZF-equipped 335i.
Step on the powerful, easily modulated brakes, toss the cars into a turn and you soon realize only one makes the driver look like they know what they're doing. The 335i never loses its composure. Even broken pavement fails to upset the chassis; the harder you push it, the more it rewards. At the limit, the 335i begs for you to push harder. When you do lose it, just dial in some opposite lock and steer with the throttle. The 335i does everything with poise and grace.
The 135i tells a very different story. On the track, the 135i has no rival. The 135i laughs at the STI and Evo's AWD systems, hangs out its rear end around the corners, and then snaps back in line. The fun ends there. On the real road, the 135i continually fights the driver with heavy steering and an extremely twitchy nature. Where the 335i has suspension control over all surfaces, the 135i bucks and snaps like a cheap Kia. The 135i never flatters the driver; it darts around like a fat, over-caffeinated cheerleader. Alternatively, I felt like a hormone-crazed 16-year-old with a freshly-minted license who'd just "borrowed" someone else's 70's car.
At $43k ($36k base), the 135i is not your average enthusiast's idea of "entry level." For about $4k more (options on both the 1 and 3-series are the same price), or 10 percent of the 135i's purchase price, well-heeled coupe buyers can acquire the more spacious and better-styled 335i. They'd give up a bit of speed for a car that makes you look (and feel) like Sabine Schmitt cruising the Nurburgring.
The poorly-packaged BMW 135i proved too difficult (read: unrewarding) to drive in daily situations. If the 335i didn't exist, you could make a pretty good case for the magnificently-engined 135i. But it does so you can't.
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More Reviews61 Responses to “ 2008 BMW 135i vs. 335i Review ”
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POWERED
April 21st, 2008 at 9:19 am
Excellent comparison. Makes me wish I’d driven the 135i back-to-back with the 335i–and with less on my mind. (My primary computer had refused to boot that morning.)
This comparison reminds me just how excellent the 335i is. When I first drove the E90, I was amazed by how intuitive it was to drive, and how well it covered for sloppiness at the wheel. There are perhaps no better cars for driving quickly on an unfamiliar road.
I must say, though, that the 135i’s heavy steering is somewhat nice to see after sampling so many cars–including some older BMWs–with overly light steering. An overcorrection?
TrueDelta’s been providing reliability information on the 3 for some time now. Hoping to do the same for the 1. Though reviews like this one aren’t going to help the owner pool available for participation.
http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php
April 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am
The 135i never flatters the driver; it darts around like a fat, over-caffeinated cheerleader. Alternatively, I felt like a hormone-crazed 16-year-old with a freshly-minted license who’d just “borrowed” someone else’s 70’s car.
That actually sounds possibly fun (if the car cost under $35K.)
Is that just in comparison to the 335i and other German cars? Or, is it comparable to Mustang GT500 in levels of dartiness?
April 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am
The 135i laughs at the STI and Evo’s AWD systems
No it doesn’t, unless Germans payed you to write this.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:24 am
@drifter:
I can’t speak for Mike, but I’ll tell you that my experience is just that they’re different. The Evo and STI are incomparable to the 135i in the way they drive. So I think the 135i laughs because it provides loads of grip but would be willing to power slide - especially on a track - in comparison to the Evo and STI control freaks.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
Stuttgart’s twin-turbo
Isn’t BMW based in Munich? I thought Stuttgart’s auto manufacturer was the one with the star logo.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
I’ve never been a fan of the 3-Series coupe’s styling. Although it’s been spared from the worst parts of Bangelization, I’ve always found it boring-looking at best, and “this could be a Tiburon” at worst. This might be nitpicking, but the way the cutline at the lower-rear edge of the door doesn’t line up with the rocker-panel cutline from the door to the front of the rear weel arch has always really bothered me
But seeing the 335i next to the disgustingly-proportioned 135i makes the 335i look like a Ferrari in comparison
April 21st, 2008 at 9:26 am
“The 135i laughs at the STI and Evo’s AWD systems.”
I found this comment surprising as well. I have a buddy with a 335i and I have an older STi (05, vs his 07 335i) and while I respect his car it’s so much less practical. He couldn’t find winter tires for it at tire rack while I had multiple choices. 0-60’s are roughly the same (the article had low to mid 5’s where I’ve read both high 4’s for 335 & STi). The quarter the 335i finished up a bit in speed (maybe 3-5mph faster than the STi) and IMHO it comes down to the awd/price vs torquey fun/elegance of the 335i.
I went for price, he went for torque. We both enjoy our wheels.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
@beetlebug:
Yep, you caught a typo. It’s corrected now.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:37 am
Great review. This was pretty much the conclusion I came to when these cars came about. The 135i isn’t as practical, isn’t that much cheaper and as you stated, probably won’t hold its value as well as the 3 series (which should prove to be a bonus for buyers looking for 2nd hand 1 series coupes as dedicated track machines). I’d rather fork over the extra cash for the 335i than have eternal regret for buying the 135i.
Matter of fact, now that I think about it, I could get a 335i now and wait a few years for a bargain-priced used 135i to use on the track.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:51 am
I felt much the same about the i series after seeing them in europe. the hatch is a respectable machine, and decontented, its a great sort of reasonable runabout. i supose we will never see that one here, they imported the ugly one.