Drove the 135i, My Review

[stefan]

Alright.. I drove the car today, and here's my review. Keep in mind, I'm a hardcore BMW enthusiast, and had the absolute highest of expectations coming into this. I challenged myself to focus on faults, which was admittedly difficult.

The Car
135i, 6sp, Msport (Canadian)

Location
Calgary, AB, Canada, around 0*C (32*F)

Exterior
We've all been over this I think. It looks quite a bit better in person. This one was Sedona red. Not too bad. Muscular.

Interior
Pretty good, overall. This car had gray poplar and it looked incredible. Not remotely cheap or flashy. The M shifter had excellent feel. The wheel itself was maybe even a bit on the thick side, but had excellent grip. Gauges were highly legible, instrument cluster well laid out. Climate controls were well laid out, as well.

The sport seats were awesome, I really enjoyed them. My friend is on the bigger side, and felt that he was a little squished while sitting in the passenger seat. I didn't have any issues, however, and welcomed the snugness around the first turn I took.

Rear-view mirror was typical BMW, but I found the side view mirrors to be slightly restrictive in their viewing range. However, they look great, so it's something I'll get used to. That is probably being REALLY picky, since i'm used to older style BMW ones. In actuality, the side view mirrors on the 1 truly are fine.

I didn't like the placement of window and mirror controls. They were a little too close to the driver along the door, in my opinion, and could have been closer to the front of the door, similar to E36/E46 layouts.

The turn signals were annoying, but I can see them becoming convenient over prolonged use. Once I get used to them, it should be fine. But to change lanes, you tap it lightly and it gives you a signal for a short time. A stronger tap gives you the persistent signal that can be removed by turning or a flick in the opposite direction. Sounds fine on paper. In practice, sort of cumbersome at first, but should be fine over time.

Didn't try the stereo.. I was too busy listening to the TT I6.. what an amazing sound. Wind noise in the cabin is low, with just the right amount of engine noise leaking in. Some reviews have commented on it being too loud.. I have no idea what these people are smoking, and need to get back to their roots. The sound was truly fantastic.

Back seat: yeah it's small. But what do you want? I don't want anyone in the back anyway! That said, most people will have no problem sitting in them, it's not unreasonably small by any means. Perhaps if you are a group of ridiculously tall people, with a ridiculously tall person driving the car forcing the front seat back, and a ridiculously tall person sitting in the back. I don't know.. it's small, but really not that bad for a car that short. Not sure what else to say about it.

Clutch/Shifter/Steering
The clutch had great feel, slightly softer than what I'm used to in the E36, but truly a perfect amount of resistance that wouldn't be too difficult in traffic but still offered a good amount of feedback. Friction point is easy to find.. beginners will find this car very easy to drive. Anyone who has driven a BMW before will have no problem with this clutch.

Shifter throws were short, precise, and not as notchy as I had expected based on previous reviews. Shifts required some heft, which was welcomed and increased the overall feel of the shifter. Throws are much shorter than E36 but not as short as a short-shift kit would be.. however I wouldn't see the point in doing this mod from using it today.

Steering is incredibly direct; telepathic, as many others have mentioned. It takes little to no thought, just simply put it where you want. Again, anyone who has driven a BMW will appreciate this as defining characteristic. It's got some heft, which is great.. I'd advise against the active steering unless you have muscular complications and require effortless steering. The stock steering keeps you involved with excellent feedback.

Engine
I didn't find the acceleration to be as overwhelming as I expected. It doesn't throw you back in your seat like, say, a GTI (obviously not as fast, but it's a different experience). It does however, provide an amazingly linear power curve at seemingly any RPM. I can't fully describe this to you, and nothing can prepare you for it. You simply have to drive it to understand. Power is at your command in almost any gear, any speed. It's staggering.
However, this power is fairly linear, and delivered in a very mannered way. It's not raw or visceral, but rather more tame and refined. My passenger appreciated this aspect, and it's a better way to go in the long run as it makes for very smooth driving conditions even at heavy acceleration.

You will be grinning from ear to ear.. I'll say that. I will be getting many speeding tickets.. This car begs you to drive. The 1 almost seems.. unsettled to not be accelerating. Even cruising in the very tame sixth gear at 120km/h, this car isn't happy. It wants to go. Actually, with that said, highway driving in sixth is really a nice experience.. quiet, reserved. However, the 1 is not appeased. It demands more. So you give it more.. but it's still not happy.. it gobbles up the road, and sooner or later you're doing 200km/h and no idea how it just happened. Awe inspiring experience..

The car is angry.. I don't know what else to say. That is how I would describe it. It's so angry, that when you finally give it what it wants (more fuel), it delivers it's response smoothly, as if to say in relief; "FINALLY!"


Handling/Suspension
Suspension was fine and I'm confused as to why people are complaining about it. Currently, I have FK Silverline + sport coilovers on my E36, which are really hard and provide very little body roll. I found the suspension on the 1 to be softer, but much more livable. Here in Calgary, our roads are complete garbage, so the more lenient suspension is certainly welcomed. It handled the bumps and potholes nicely but still provides an admirable amount of stiffness for use in tight turns. I think this is a perfect tradeoff for mainly city driving. It will, in the long run, reduce damage to your suspension by allowing a bit of give--still providing a performance-level of stiffness.

I found body roll to be minimal, and would assume that a strut brace would be a fine modification to tighten this up. That said, I would swap the suspension for track use to something stiffer. But that's me, and I like ridiculously stiff suspension.

Those who say it's hard to get the tail end to flick out.... what on earth are you people doing wrong? I don't know if it was the combination of slightly colder conditions with slightly uneven road surfaces.. but with DSC and DTC disabled, I found that kicking out the read end was NO problem. Just break friction with the road surface by kicking the gas and turning hard, and boom.. it's out... as far as you want it to go. VERY easy to bring back in with throttle management. I suppose that is the e-diff at work.. I found it incredibly effective, with drift recovery being a very direct and intuitive experience.


So that's it. Simply reaffirms my buying decision, and literally destroyed all competition. I drove the WRX, GTI, A3, A4, and E46 330Ci. The 135i took them all, in my opinion. Now I just have to wait until May 31.

If anyone has any questions.. I'll be happy to answer them. I am probably the pickiest person to drive it so far.. so let me know!

[Road Runner]

Nice review Stefan! did you take out the one @ Calgary BMW? If your friend found the seat to be a bit tight, it may because my girlfriend was sitting in that seat yesterday. She's 5'0 and 100 lbs, and I told her to meddle around with the side bolsters

Anyway, great review and I think I agree 100% with everything you said.

[stefan]

Yeah, it was the one at Calgary BMW.

And yes good call on the seat... I told him it was probably adjustable but to be honest I had no time to mess around with the passenger seat.. I was a man on a mission!

[TP 135i]

Excellent Write-Up............Thanks

[joelk]

Originally Posted by stefan

This car begs you to drive. The 1 almost seems.. unsettled to not be accelerating. Even cruising in the very tame sixth gear at 120km/h, this car isn't happy. It wants to go. Actually, with that said, highway driving in sixth is really a nice experience.. quiet, reserved. However, the 1 is not appeased. It demands more. So you give it more.. but it's still not happy.. it gobbles up the road, and sooner or later you're doing 200km/h and no idea how it just happened. Awe inspiring experience..

The car is angry.. I don't know what else to say.

that's exactly how I feel every time I drive. i just wasn't creative enough to describe it so perfectly. nice review.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by joelk

that's exactly how I feel every time I drive. i just wasn't creative enough to describe it so perfectly. nice review.

+1google

[UR2SLOW1]

Great Great review thanks so much for a more "realistic" impression of the 135i. I love to drive my cars fast but some people that have reviewed the 135i only judge it as a track car. I live in Ohio and we definately have SHIT roads so I can appreciate a car that handles great on the road without beating the crap outta you.

[DaveG]

Like the write-up, and pretty much the same experience as me. I particularly liked this line:

It's not raw or visceral, but rather more tame and refined. My passenger appreciated this aspect

I drove the automatic, and fully agree with the tame and refined... except my passenger found it boring! Hopefully the manual takes some of the tame away

[edge350]

Originally Posted by stefan

The car is angry.. I don't know what else to say. That is how I would describe it.

Thanks! Some great lines; the one above is my favorite.