Before the 135i, what did you compare???

[Richard135i]

Hi all, my car has finally landed in Melbourne...not that my dealership has told me anything yet.

As my car is now so close and always on my mind I was thinking back to the early stages of the car
purchase and to what other cars I considered and also how long I would have had some of them by now.

In no particular order, there is no E46 M3 or Z4 M as I only wanted a new car.

Audi S3 Sportback (too many options for the price)
Nissan 370Z (extremely bad customer service plus maybe a lil too boy racer)
Subaru Impreza STi (no sedan and cheap interior)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR (fun but very cheap feeling)
Volkswagen Golf GTi Pirelli (was a major let down plus FWD)
Volkswagen Golf R32 (nice sound but fell out of love with its looks)
Volkswagen Passat R36 (not sporty enough)
BMW 330d (price and not sure if diesel is a wise choice for me)
Lotus Exige (couldn't get any interest from the dealer and price)
Mini Cooper JCW (price as 135i was only an extra $15k)

[BMW86]

I looked at getting a 2nd hand Z4. I test drove the 135i and never looked back. Since then I've test driven a 370z which I think would be my 2nd preference.

[~sarah~]

I was going to go for an Evo 10 just because of its performance. Then i discovered the 1er! and the rest is history

[Alext]

I didnt even test drive the 135i before I bought it. I only had previous BMW experience with a 130i, 325i coupe and a 535.

As a daily drive it was not critical what it performed like. The 135i is not a sports/all out performance car like a couple in your list. Stock, it lacks the precise handling to be a proper drivers car.

It is a good 'fun', comfortable, compact cruiser.

[Drew1]

Dodge Challenger SRT8 but the dealer marked up the price to $60K so i literally went across the street and picked up my 1er

[Gumball]

S3

[d3syd]

This is my first BMW. Was looking for something sporty and luxurious. Wasn't looking for a daily driver. Attracted to the 335i coupe (because I heard so much about the fab engine) then the 135i came along. Soooo much cheaper, same engine, better performance - it was a no brainer.

Never test drove or set eyes on a 1er coupe before taking delivery as mine was one of the first shipments to Oz.

Absolutely no regrets.

[Zuzu]

Originally Posted by d3syd

Attracted to the 335i coupe (because I heard so much about the fab engine) then the 135i came along. Soooo much cheaper, same engine, better performance - it was a no brainer.

Never test drove or set eyes on a 1er coupe before taking delivery as mine was one of the first shipments to Oz.

Absolutely no regrets.

Same here, only I was looking at the 335i convertible..

Only test drove the 335i vert and coupe beforehand as like d3syd, mine was in the first shipment back in may 08..

[d3syd]

Originally Posted by Zuzu

Same here, only I was looking at the 335i convertible..

Ahh Joe, always the vert man...

[barcode]

370z - nice car to drive but not to own as an everyday car due to the VVTi engine. Had a friend who owned the 350z and he constantly conplained about revving the engine hard to get any decent performance out of it.

[barcode]

Richard, my car docked in Melbourne last night. same with you?

[qship]

I dtove the Sti, R32 and 135i all on the same day.

The R32 was slow, too low at the front and the salesman had BO. The Sti was quick. gripped superbly, but wirh an interior insulting to a Kia Rio. Besides, i had owned 5 others and it was time to "act my age". The Datsun is not my cup of tea (no boot etc) and the Evo is nice for the track, but still a Mister Bishi.

The only thing I miss is the traction of 4wd.

Oh for a 135ix................

[BrokenVert]

I was looking at a Roush Stage 3 Mustang, a used Audi RS4 (it only had 10K Km on it), and Audi A3 3.2 Sline, and a Z4 M Coupe (Couldnt find a nice one).

The Mustang just felt cheap, although the Roush mods made it an awesome powerhouse, I ultimatly didnt have enough for the RS4, the A3 was too sedate and I felt a little young to be driving one (im 19), and I figured that I needed rear seats (and I actually did).

I test drove a 128i Coupe and a 135i Vert on the same day. I loved both of em, but I went with a vert just because I like being topless, and my dealer gave me close to 7K USD off the vert.

I figure that my next car will be a 135i or 125i MSport Coupe when I get of uni. I only say coupe because the vert is aweful for my health.


Wish the rents would have let me buy an STi, but my dad is against Japanese cars, hes baby boomer, so its understandible.

[x5mad]

Mine was a bit of an impulse buy. I wanted to get a runabout asap to take advantage of the Rudd handout. Initially it was for the missus so a 120i convertible was on the shopping list. However, after being seduced by the TT engine it had to be the 135i vert. At the time I did not know that I had until December to buy the car and so I kinda rushed into it. My initial plans were to wait until the arrival of the X5 M , guess now with the 135 as well I will wait a bit longer.

[RadiuM]

nothing, saw the Tii concept at the tokyo motor show in 2007 and loved it.

But I already had a GTR which is damn quick, so i wanted something with similar-ish performance but is actually drivable as an everyday car. So the 135i it was.

[Guran]

I was coming from a 2002 MINI Cooper S. My wants list was for a premium small coupe with four usable seats, rear drive and plenty of go. And I didn't want to spend any more than Aus$80k. Desktop research whittled the list down quickly. About the only serious competition was the Mazda RX-8 GT - very nice packaging, beautiful chassis balance, but lacking in herbs, likes a drink, and it's getting on a bit now. Didn't seriously consider a used E46 M3 - I wanted new. So I had to chose between the 125i and 135i. Never got the chance to test drive a 125i, but took two different 135i's for a drive before signing on.

My only regret with the 135i is that it's a couple hundred kilos too heavy and that shows up in the way it tackles twisty back roads. I'm hoping to resolve some of that with stiffer swaybars in the future.

[BBK]

When the 135i came out I wanted one. I wasn't in the market for a car at the time as I had only recently bought an R56 Mini Cooper S. So I drove the 135i and loved it.

But just to make sure I was making the right decision, I checked out the 350z, SLK and the TT. The TT was good, but not great... Price was WAAAYYY too much for what you got, but not as much as a rip off as the SLK. The Audi salesmen wasn't very nice either so it just made me want the 135i even more!

[sparoz]

I was replacing my 318i and I was looking at either the 335i or the 135i. Was also toying with the idea of a 07 M3, and I did found a 07 Cayman S very appealing. Ended up deciding between the 335i or the 135i as it doesn't I keep worrying about what my customers think so ended up driving the 135i and 335i back to back. 135i comes up the winnner!!

[Jeef Beef]

Looked at a VW Passat CC R36 since the pricing on that thing was extremely attractive. Drove fast, AWD and not a bad looker either. However, the lack of manual was a bit of a pit off, even though DSG was standard.

Next choice was 335i, but the price difference was just too massive to ignore. After test driving the 135i, just found that it suited my needs perfectly. Discreet daily cruiser that can transform into a weekend blaster.

[MikeVictor]

S3, TT, R32, 350Z were all contenders and failed against the magnificence of my 135i.

[Totti]

Mum actually wanted to me to test drive 1 series, as she was not too fond of my MY06 WRX. Truth is I wasn't too fond of the 135i prior to test driving it, as my rexy was flawless and way fast enough for my needs.

After the test drove...Well, we all know how that ended up.

[BMWRX]

My brief to myself for my new car had to be a car about to cruise around in, easy to drive (ie. get in, turn the key, and go - my WRX is a fantastic car but you have to work to drive it), and comfortable.

I initially was all over a C200 or C220, but after driving them I was left bored after about five minutes (I'd always wanted a MB, so was quite disappointed to make the decision to not go with one). I test drove a 320i and was underwhelmed, although there were plenty of options boxes I could tick. Then I took a mate's 335i for a spin, and that set the wheels in motion. I ordered a 125i, only for it to take forever to arrive. So on a whim stopped by Westside BMW and found the 135i demo that is now parked in my driveway.