Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkR171
I test drove a GTi, and I mean no offense by this, but I hated it. The suspension was stiff, it felt slow, it felt cheap, it was sort of boring, not much excitement.
The 128i is just a 135i with less power. It's often praised in it's own right for being the most "true" BMW because it's small, relatively light, RWD, and normally aspirated. The interior is nice, the ride is good, the styling is good, the engine is good, just don't get a 128 with a steptronic. The auto in the 128 is a GM unit and not the same as the previous 135 steptronics. The 6MT however, is good.
Depending on what options you want, the 128i may not be much cheaper than a 135. In my opinion, the only way to get a 128i is to get one without all the bells and whistles. 128i, sport package (not M sport), 6MT, that's it. Once you start adding, the gap between 128 and 135 becomes so small there isn't much reason NOT to get the 135.
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I don't agree on your assessment of the GTI, but it's certainly a valid opinion of it. So, I'm not arguing with you there, I just have a different view of the GTI.
I do agree with your comments on the 128i. With sport package it's a wonderful sporty car that makes the right moves, and has an excellent engine.
I wasn't a fan of the previous gen stepronic in either the 328i or 330i. It just felt too slow to respond. The last Step trans in the 135i/335i was very different and very responsive, and it was made not made by GM, but ZF I believe.
That said, today I'm on my 3rd 328i with Step. This is a 2011 328xi, and the Step in this one is actually quite good. The previous 3 328xi's were 2010 models with step, and they too were very nice. The one I got today seems especially nice. Could be that this a "best" example, but it's working very quickly, with smooth and fast shifts.
So, I'm not so sure that the GM unit in the 128/328i is a bad one. It's quite the opposite and very responsive. Did BMW switch to the ZF step for the 128i/328i due to DCT? I don't now that they did.
One very sweet aspect of the NA 3.0 in the 128/328i is it's very quick throttle response, along with the quick lock-up torque converter.
In manual mode, let's say, in 2nd gear at 4k rpm, you mash the throttle and it's INSTANT response from the engine and trans, no delay at all.
I took great notice of this as my 135i MT doesn't respond this way since the last software upgrade, around May 2010.
In the same scenario, my 135i has a slight hesitation until power comes on, and when it does it feels like it's "stepping" into the power band. IOW, I'm in low gear, steady throttle around 4k, punch it, laaaag, power comes strong then stronger. Very un-sweet throttle response.
Comparatively, the 328i has instant throttle. The power isn't as strong, but it's still very linear and very smooth, and the engine makes race car like high rpm sounds.
Compared to the GTI, I think the 128i is faster. As nice as the GTI 2.0T is, the 3.0 in the 128/328i is just nicer overall.
The GTI has some steering tug in rough corners, due to FWD doing the pulling and steering at the same time. But, it's still a fun to drive automobile with not much torque steer. Of course, the 128i has none of that, steering with one end, power with the other end, better balance.
I don't agree that the 128i is a more pure or truer expression of what a BMW is compared to the 135i. The 135i is everything the 128i sport is, with more power, and an engine with different characteristics due to it's turbo design. After all, the N54 is based off of an earlier/older NA 3.0 inline 6 BMW engine. Adding turbo-charging changes the engines character and sound. Turbo's tend to dampen some of the engines high rpm sound/tone. It's different to the NA 3.0, but it's not better or worse, cause both of them sound awesome at full song.