For those of you who have owned a 335i...

[suspenceful]

I'm sick of reading comparison threads of the 135i vs the 335i from people who only have owned one of the two. Obviously that creates a bias. If you haven't had an experience with both, don't clutter this thread.

I'm driving 6 hours to hopefully pick up a 135i but I haven't driven either car. I come from a 250whp Miata so I like the idea of a smaller drivers car, but the 3 series looks well put together. I just sold my 1996 328is so I have a taste of an older 3 series BMW.

Who here has driven/owned both cars with a favorite and why?

[1GrayBulldog]

What generation 335i are we comparing the 135i to here? E90 or F30?

[mr_bean]

I have a 128 and have driven on multiple occasions an E90 335. Okay, not the exact comparison you're looking for but I think I can offer some advice.
The 1 series and 3 series share a LOT of parts including the engines, transmissions, brakes and some suspension components. The relative driving experiences are fairly close. In general, the 3 series has a much better build quality with respect to the interior. The 1ers have rattles in the dash as a standard feature.
But, the 1ers are much more fun to drive IMHO. They're much more nimble.
You'll need to drive both to decide which is best for you.

[CAVU]

I drove multiple versions of the E92, F30, and E82 and decided the 135is was my new daily driver. The personal choice came down to driving character (I feel a real connection to the car), ergonomics (I appreciate the higher seating position and not climbing down into it), and the smaller package (personal preference and general opinion that it is the 'right size' for a car). The other cars were great (at least some versions were), and would happily own any of the them. Although the E82 shape has been compared to that of a pot-bellied pig (and apparently even BMW engineers refer to the lower sill as the "pig line"), the car's appearance has grown on me.

[TiM235i]

I had an E92 335i that I liked, but not loved. It had the HPFP problem, but that was replaced quickly and they gave me an M Roadster to drive while it was in the shop -- tough to complain! Unfortunately, it had the over boosted Active Steering option that took away some of the driving pleasure for me.

My 135i has MUCH better steering and is better handling overall. And that was before I replaced the run flats with Michelin PSS tires. I never replaced the run flats on the 335i, but the new tires on the 135i transformed it from great to, umm, greater still.

That said, I am looking at the new 335i right now and debating whether to wait for a M235i or not. I drove one and the steering, which still not as good as the 135i, is not as bad as my old 335i.

[Qunadry]

I owned a 2007 335i before buying a 2009 135i and my current 2012 135i. There was no comparison between the 2009 135i and the 335i, I always felt more connected to the 135i than the 335i. Also the 335i felt too large and more luxury oriented than driver oriented. For me, the 135i is by far the car I want to drive. The 2009 was just a bit better than the 2012, due to the N54 engine. Too bad I got caught up in the HPFP frenzy. Overall though I still long for my 2000 323Ci. By far the best car I have ever owned.

[dcaron9999]

I havent tried the E92 335i coupe, but allways been a great fan of its looks, which in my view are way sexier than the 135i. It isnt hard to guess that the 135i is a more nimble, and no-frills driver's car. (Disclosure I own an N55 based 135i ...)

[x97Melbourne]

I have owned both cars (2008 135i and 2011 335i).

I'm not sure what the comparison is and what your reasoning is for comparing them. They are two different cars and I didn't think many people cross shopped between them.

The 335i is most commonly a sedan with an automatic transmission and is a "sleeper." In other words, it's fast as hell and you'd never know it from looking at it. It's more for people who want a nice 4-door car and have a little devil inside! It's a super smooth ride and you can pick up your boss and he'll be impressed.

The 135i is a 2-door tiny coupe more suited for a MT. It's a pocket rocket. Feels more like a sports car (and I use that term loosely) and you feel like you are connected to the road. It's a driver's car. Awesome car!!! But, it's not for transporting more than 2 people and it's not great for anything other joy riding!! (which I love to do) I liked the 135i the most of any car I've ever owned.

I still am trying to understand the purpose of the post....seems a little unusual to me.

[e36addict]

Well if you're coming from a Miata (excellent car) and an E36, it sounds like you want a true drivers car. I, personally, don't think you will truly be satisfied to the core with either. The 1 is definitely more driver oriented than the E90, but they are both pretty soft compared to an E36, and especially compared with an NA or NB Miata.

I haven't driven my E36 in quite some time due to it being a project car, but every so often I get to drive my buddies 97 M3/4/5 and nothing compares. It's just so raw and awesome, the 1 could never touch it.

I love my 1 though, it's a perfect, sexy, reliable daily driver and I would definitely prefer it over an E90, though they are nice cars as well. Just my .02

[PopsnBurbles]

I know I haven't owned or driven both but I've driven both my current 135is and my previous E90 (stripper...no sunroof) 328i. I won't compare the power and torque the respective engines put out as we all know the answer about that. (I'll have to say I prefer N51's NA, linear delivery.) I'll describe everything on my 1er's perspective...

The 1 is better (for me) at...
- steering feel (weighting and feedback)
- nimbleness but this may attributed to its more compact size
- Handling in not-very-hardcore canyons and twisties (probably because of Msport suspension vs 328's non sport suspension). I know that if I truly push the car, the 1er will encounter some problems but both cars are way more than enough car relative to my skills.
- DCT performs better than I ever will be able to with a 6MT and it sure as heck beats the crap out of the 6AT.
- Heaps more fun to drive than the 3
- Did I mention the tiny size?
- The 1 is more rare and more unique

The 1 is worse (for me) at...
- High speed stability
- Rattles and random snapping sounds from the dash and pillars
- Looks (I love E90 body A LOT)
- Road Noise...E90 is a lot quieter for me
- DCT can get jarring to drive in traffic
- Utility but not by much for my purposes

[Bama335]

OP: you didn't say which 335 you were comparing, I'm guessing the E90, as there aren't going to be many comparisons of the F30 to the E82, they are worlds apart.

x97Melbourne covered the two pretty well in his post above. I've also had both: 2 x 335 E90 and 2 x 135, and an F30 335 MT6 in there as well.

The E90 were a 2007 (6AT) and a 2009 (6MT) E90
The 1ers are a 2012 E88 (DCT) and 2013 E82 (6MT)

The 335 is a bit more civilized, has a more space and a more usable rear seat (barely). It's indeed a sleeper and was even respectable on the track with no mods other than a square tire setup. The E90 looks are also less polarizing than the 135, which tend to draw either "I love it" or "I hate it" responses.

If my 2009 didn't have active steering, I might have kept it - it was an all around great car. I replaced it with an F30 M-sport which I found to be a great looking but less than sporting vehicle even with M-Sport option.

As I went to the garage and looked at the choice of the driving the E88 or the F30, I found myself wanting to drive the E88 instead of the F30 for driving fun. The F30 was later replaced by the E82.

The 135 is much smaller, weighs less (sadly, not nearly enough less) and it feels more precise when you're out carving roads. There are trade-offs in ride comfort and it can be more jittery over rough pavement and less forgiving of ham fisted driving, especially if you add more power (PPK or JB4), run square tires or turn the stability controls off. BMW engineers dialed in a bunch of factory understeer to prevent it from swapping ends if you hot-shoe it into a corner (also on the E90) and that understeer is tiresome - but it can be removed with simple suspension mods and different tires.

The 135 is really a 2 person car with a rear seat - that seat is great for some shopping bags and such, but not really for adult passengers. I think you'll find many of the 1er owners here on the board got the 1er because they wanted that smaller, tighter driving feel rather than because the 1 was the lowest priced BMW offering.

The 135 will more closely mimic your E36 in size and driving feel (except for the big bump in power) even though it's heavier.

My $0.02, good luck with the purchase

[Cozy]

It seems most people have covered this off pretty well already and I'd agree that the E9X is more for cruising than sporty driving.

I came from a 335i to a 135i because, as an enthusiast, I wanted a sportier feeling new (then) BMW and the 335i needed money spending on it just to get it to where the 135i came in stock form. So, no brainer really, buy the better platform to modify in the first place and start streets ahead.

I had a COBB tune on the 335i which made it incredibly quick but when I applied that tune to the 135i it felt noticably faster and was able to put the power down (eLSD) much easier. Funnily enough now though (FBO) I feel that the achilles heel of the 135i is the tyre department, or rather lack of available space for it, and that a 335i with more accomodating arches and wider tyres would be more ideal.

I wanted to address quality here, because people seem to judge without comparison both of these cars and say that the E8X was worse. I'm going to rubbish that and say that I don't agree, personally and my thoughts on the E8X is that the interior feels much younger, more modern and fresh. It has some cleaner lines and all in all it feels like a more involving place to be. The interior plastics are of equal quality everything feels well put together. The Boston leather is again of good quality and and although not as supple as Dakota it still feels and smells beautiful, more so with some age and good care.
The one thing that I can say that I miss or thought was a nice touch in the 335i is the mood lighting, that ran along the door cards.

There's a place for E8X & E9X in the family and for me would be 135i for fun and a 328i 'vert for cruising. In my opinion if I needed a 4-dr for carting people around I'd go for the 5er E6x and the E92, although a great looking coupe, needs work to match the E82's driveability. Sadly the 335i E92 'vert is a bit of an odd one, with a thumping engine but no real dynamics (the WEIGHT!) in comparison to the others; best off with the butter smooth N52 328i

[suspenceful]

Well, after driving the 1, I was sold. Just picked her up!

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...php?p=15618940

[TheSt|G]

Weight vs practicality/fit&finish quality would be the easiest way to look at it. Not that much different other thant that.

[brocklanders]

I have owned two e90's, an 06 325 and an11 335, I just traded it for a 13 135. Although I haven't had the 135 long in my opinion there isn't very many differences, price, size and looks. The main difference is the size of the interior I feel much more cramped in the 135. As far as handling that for me is the same, you may feel like the 135 handles better because its smaller, but I'd be willing to bet the e90 can do everything the e82 can do. The suspension is the weak part of both cars, the first thing you should do is get a 15mm rear sway and m3 rear subframe bushings.

[brocklanders]

As far as fit and finish, they use the same materials its the layout that's different. in the e90 there is more room to store things.

[brocklanders]

I forgot about the brakes, there is no need to upgrade the 135's brakes.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by brocklanders

I forgot about the brakes, there is no need to upgrade the 135's brakes.

Unless you actually want to use them.

[brocklanders]

Yes you are right, I didn't think of pads and lines when I posted. But pads are necessary upgrades to any car. I was thinking of $3k big brake kits.