A Few Questions for those who have "1".....

[aklein11]

Believe me, I have read every post on this forum. But I was hoping some of you could post some quick responses to my thoughts / questions:

1) Is anyone with NAV annoyed with the cup holder situation? The clip on seems cheap to me, and looks like it will get in the way of a passenger's leg. The thought of raising and lowering the arm rest every time I want to pick up my drink seems ridiculous to me. Please help me out with this. I shouldn't care so much about something so insignificant, but as I sat in the dealership today, I became obsessed with it.

2) With NAV, when listening to music from your iPod, can you see the split screen? The song list "and" the map appears as a split screen in the 3's, but my SA said that he doesn't think this feature is in the 1. He thinks you may have to go back and forth from one screen to the other.

3) Can you get the sport package / sport seats, but NOT get the shadowline trim? I like the sport seats, but I also like the chrome trim.

4) And finally, this question is NOT intended to offend anyone. Someone on here posted that it felt like an entry level BMW. For $40K, there is nothing entry level about it - However, today at the dealer, we parked "1" next to a "3", and I kept getting in and out of both so that I could compare.

The "1" is obviously smaller, but not so small that I wouldn't want it. There definitely seems to be a classy feeling in the 3 that the 1 doesn't have. But I can't put my finger on what it is, specifically? The 1 really felt like a car for a younger person. I am 38 - certainly not OLD, and I know there are guys my age and older buying the 1. After obsessing over the 1 for so long, I was sitting in the 3 kind of second guessing myself and wondering if the 3 was better suited for me?

I know that you guys can't make any decisions for me, but any input and thoughts or advice would be extremely helpful. It is a huge decision - and a lot of money at stake. I don't want to have any regrets. I want to love my new car as much as you all love yours.

Thanks again!

[sethchan]

Originally Posted by aklein11

Believe me, I have read every post on this forum. But I was hoping some of you could post some quick responses to my thoughts / questions:

1) Is anyone with NAV annoyed with the cup holder situation? The clip on seems cheap to me, and looks like it will get in the way of a passenger's leg. The thought of raising and lowering the arm rest every time I want to pick up my drink seems ridiculous to me. Please help me out with this. I shouldn't care so much about something so insignificant, but as I sat in the dealership today, I became obsessed with it.

2) With NAV, when listening to music from your iPod, can you see the split screen? The song list "and" the map appears as a split screen in the 3's, but my SA said that he doesn't think this feature is in the 1. He thinks you may have to go back and forth from one screen to the other.

3) Can you get the sport package / sport seats, but NOT get the shadowline trim? I like the sport seats, but I also like the chrome trim.

4) And finally, this question is NOT intended to offend anyone. Someone on here posted that it felt like an entry level BMW. For $40K, there is nothing entry level about it - However, today at the dealer, we parked "1" next to a "3", and I kept getting in and out of both so that I could compare.

The "1" is obviously smaller, but not so small that I wouldn't want it. There definitely seems to be a classy feeling in the 3 that the 1 doesn't have. But I can't put my finger on what it is, specifically? The 1 really felt like a car for a younger person. I am 38 - certainly not OLD, and I know there are guys my age and older buying the 1. After obsessing over the 1 for so long, I was sitting in the 3 kind of second guessing myself and wondering if the 3 was better suited for me?

I know that you guys can't make any decisions for me, but any input and thoughts or advice would be extremely helpful. It is a huge decision - and a lot of money at stake. I don't want to have any regrets. I want to love my new car as much as you all love yours.

Thanks again!

1) The cup holder situation is indeed annoying. I flip the armrest up the whole time when I have a drink then flip it down when I'm finished. You might want to consider various aftermarket solutions to hook on when you have a drink and put away when you don't. Not ideal, I know.

2) I don't think you can have a split screen with the song list. If i find a way to do that, I'll let you know.

3) Strangely, mine came with chrome trim even though I have the sport package. It's either a mistake at the factory or a decision by someone that chrome looks better with black. It does and I'm delighted. The shadowline looks great with white though and very good with blue. I've seen the combinations at my dealer's.

4) No offense taken. I'm turning 49 this year and I don't think the car is excessively youthful. It's not like an old man buying a Porsche. In fact, it looks less flashy and more discreet to me than a 3. At the same time, I think it looks more distinctive, like the styling is fresher than the tired old Mercedes-Lexus-BMW profile that's become almost generic. And one person said that the high roofline makes it look a little retro. It's also much easier to park in a small space than a 3 would be.

The smaller size makes it just right for me. mostly, I'll be driving alone or with my wife and 3-year-old daughter. So the size of a 3 just feels excessive to me. Put it this way, I could have gotten either one and had to wait four months for my 1. And I think it was worth it.

SBM+coral, by the way, is breathtaking. Looks even better than I thought it would. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

[Oregon]

You could put the cup holder on eBay, some sport-bidder might go gloriously gah-gah.

[mrgoochio]

Note that the previous poster with the sport pkg + chrome trim is from Sweden.. that may have played a role in the process.

[aklein11]

Originally Posted by sethchan

1) The cup holder situation is indeed annoying. I flip the armrest up the whole time when I have a drink then flip it down when I'm finished. You might want to consider various aftermarket solutions to hook on when you have a drink and put away when you don't. Not ideal, I know.

2) I don't think you can have a split screen with the song list. If i find a way to do that, I'll let you know.

3) Strangely, mine came with chrome trim even though I have the sport package. It's either a mistake at the factory or a decision by someone that chrome looks better with black. It does and I'm delighted. The shadowline looks great with white though and very good with blue. I've seen the combinations at my dealer's.

4) No offense taken. I'm turning 49 this year and I don't think the car is excessively youthful. It's not like an old man buying a Porsche. In fact, it looks less flashy and more discreet to me than a 3. At the same time, I think it looks more distinctive, like the styling is fresher than the tired old Mercedes-Lexus-BMW profile that's become almost generic. And one person said that the high roofline makes it look a little retro. It's also much easier to park in a small space than a 3 would be.

The smaller size makes it just right for me. mostly, I'll be driving alone or with my wife and 3-year-old daughter. So the size of a 3 just feels excessive to me. Put it this way, I could have gotten either one and had to wait four months for my 1. And I think it was worth it.

SBM+coral, by the way, is breathtaking. Looks even better than I thought it would. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

Hi Seth,

Thank you for this post it was very helpful. I too have a 3 year old, and my car is used for the family less than 5% of the time. We have an SUV for our family time, and my car is for me to go to work. So, the limited back seat is a non-issue for me.

Please post your pics soon - congrats on your purchase. Mine is supposed to get here end of April. I have to decide if I want to follow through or jump ship to the 3. Your post was helpful, thanks again!

[ChrisK]

There is nothing entry level about this car, but the number 1. I have had many many BMW's and the quality is 100% BMW.

[white911]

I also, don't buy the idea of the car for the younger driver; although I am younger then my father and only a handful of the others here; also younger then Derek Bell. 'Not like an old guy buying a Porsche'... I considered selling the Trackster and getting a GT3, but this is a way better commuter car, and clearly better for commuting then the Boxster S it replaced. At this point, I'm pretty sure it is more fun to drive. Many of my friends could be one of the old guys you see driving a Porsche. I just hate stereotypes -- I also have a 91 Honda Civic SI which is down for an engine change, I changed the suspension on it back in 93. The car survived two teenage boys and is still running at 240K miles and many track days. The engine change is happening because of oil consumption.

[MTMnet]

I'm 46 and I was trying to figure out the same thing...335i, 135i or maybe the new M3...?

I've decided that the 135i is the car for me. Small, fun, fast and affordable.

However, my primary family/work car is an X5. The 135i will be the fun car that I occasionally take to track events. I plan to purchase next year when my warranty expires on the E46 M3.

[sethchan]

Originally Posted by white911

I also, don't buy the idea of the car for the younger driver; although I am younger then my father and only a handful of the others here; also younger then Derek Bell. 'Not like an old guy buying a Porsche'... I considered selling the Trackster and getting a GT3, but this is a way better commuter car, and clearly better for commuting then the Boxster S it replaced. At this point, I'm pretty sure it is more fun to drive. Many of my friends could be one of the old guys you see driving a Porsche. I just hate stereotypes -- I also have a 91 Honda Civic SI which is down for an engine change, I changed the suspension on it back in 93. The car survived two teenage boys and is still running at 240K miles and many track days. The engine change is happening because of oil consumption.

I should probably say an aging yuppie buying his first Porsche to substitute for something. Kind of like those guys getting their first Harleys when they turn 50 in an attempt to recapture a badass youth that they never actually lived because they were too busy getting their MBAs and making money.

A Porsche is a fantastic piece of engineering, though. I love them. And I have great respect for people who know how to drive them the way they are meant to be driven. Mostly, these are people who had Porsches before they had gray hair. But you have to admit that the customer segment I'm deriding does actually exist, too.

[ersatzS2]

Originally Posted by aklein11

1) Is anyone with NAV annoyed with the cup holder situation?

It's a wacky work-around, I agree. Obviously tossing a crumb to us US customers who have made cupholders a checklist item on JD Powers satisfaction reports. My view is: the people order iDrive; the people must pay...

Originally Posted by aklein11

2)
3) Can you get the sport package / sport seats, but NOT get the shadowline trim? I like the sport seats, but I also like the chrome trim.

Someone has already said yes, so good luck with that. My only comment is that one big downside of the shadowline trim is that it really shows fingerprints. So far this is an issue because of the large number of people ogling the car wherever it is parked.

Originally Posted by aklein11

4) And finally, this question is NOT intended to offend anyone. snip The 1 really felt like a car for a younger person.

I got it for my wife, who really had her eye on a Mini. Minis are driven, at least around here, by people of all ages. While she's never going to be an enthusiast, she prefers a manual, has done lots of track events, and loyally supports my auto addictions. So I thought this was very age-appropriate for her 46th BD.