I test drove a Mustang today.

[stampchez]

I was a bit interested in the Boss because it seems like the best bang for the buck car you can get for 135 money. First of all, they wanted $5k market adjustment (lol at that) and they wouldn't let me drive it.

So I test drove a GT instead. The sticker was somewhere around $38k. That engine really is phenomenal. It sounded absolutely terrific. The problem is that everything else just felt and looked cheap. I felt like I was driving a rental car every second I wasn't on the gas. It just did not feel like a car that is almost 40 grand.

It's really too bad because it does drive very well. I will probably end up ordering a 2012 135i. It sucks that the pickings are so slim for RWD cars.

[cooler2442]

Yup the Mustang engines are amazing.

I sat in the new 2013 650hp 600tq GT500 at the LA Autoshow and for a 55k car the interior felt worse than my 135i.

Made me appreciate how good the BMW interiors are. But that engine it tempts me....

[stampchez]

It's not like the 1 interior is something to write home about either. It is a nice place to be but nothing special.

[germ]

Originally Posted by stampchez

It's not like the 1 interior is something to write home about either. It is a nice place to be but nothing special.

Agreed. In fact, the main reason for buying the 135i is the engine.

Otherwise, we could have bought an Audi or VW.

[OneReaction]

Personally, when you are looking at a boss 302, interior should be the least of your concerns, the rear seats are gone for chasis support lol. That is like buying a hummer and complaining that it's loud.

The purpose of the 5.0/302 is performance, not interior quality. Personally I'm not a fan of my 135 interior, the 5.0 probably is not any better however a 5.0 will blow the 135 away in any performance test.

[Clovef]

One thing that I have seen a few places but have no first hand knowledge of is manaul transmission failures. There seem to be a lot of them and if you go over to their forums you will see plenty of stickied threads about it. Seems like the mustangs hpfp issue but much worse. It was enough to keep me from seriously considering the car and I just got a 135 today. Maybe it is due to abuse and I can see how that fantastic engine could eat syncros for lunch if you feed them to the car with hard launches and no lift shifts but there are a lot of very pissed off mustang owners out there on their second tranny within the first year of ownership. To make matters worse in some mustang owners minds, chinese parts are the ones that are failing I guess. Someone correct me if I am wrong but this does seem to be a big issue in the gt with the 5.0

[Mark16q]

Originally Posted by Clovef

One thing that I have seen a few places but have no first hand knowledge of is manaul transmission failures. There seem to be a lot of them and if you go over to their forums you will see plenty of stickied threads about it. Seems like the mustangs hpfp issue but much worse. It was enough to keep me from seriously considering the car and I just got a 135 today. Maybe it is due to abuse and I can see how that fantastic engine could eat syncros for lunch if you feed them to the car with hard launches and no lift shifts but there are a lot of very pissed off mustang owners out there on their second tranny within the first year of ownership. To make matters worse in some mustang owners minds, chinese parts are the ones that are failing I guess. Someone correct me if I am wrong but this does seem to be a big issue in the gt with the 5.0

This is one of the main reasons I ruled the GT out in my current search for a new car. Seems like each rwd car I'm looking at his its' Achilles heel but thus far Ford hasn't really stepped up to fix this. At least BMW has the extended warranty on the HPFP. And the Camaro 'vert has top problems as well as trunk smaller than I believed possible for such a huge car.

[135IS]

i think the new camaro is going to be sweet never really liked the looked of the never mustangs. LS9 is going to be serious in that car

[thez99]

This is one of the reasons why ive ruled out ANY american car period..they all feel like "rentals" on the inside. And while the interior isnt everything, if I dont feel comfortable and "right" inside the car, it doesnt work. Sure the engines in the stangs are sweet, but the fact that they cant create a performance car with a balance of sexy engine and sexy interior just makes them crap. Why I love the N54, sexy as hell engine (specially with what ive done with it) and comfy and pleasing interior (i.e. doesnt feel like a plastic palace). Same shit goes with cars like the camaro or the new chargers, etc. They all have fairly decent engines, but they drive like balls, and they feel like ass on the inside, and that = a no go for me. The germans may have fucked us over quite a bit during certain wars, but they make WAY better cars without a doubt.

OP, why the hell are u considering a 2012 135 when u have an N54??? Im sorry, but twin turbo N54 beats the hell outta single turbo N55.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by stampchez

I was a bit interested in the Boss because it seems like the best bang for the buck car you can get for 135 money. First of all, they wanted $5k market adjustment (lol at that) and they wouldn't let me drive it...

I had your same experience minus the actual GT test drive. I too went to look at the Boss after reading up on it. But they wouldn't let me drive it unless I made an offer. Ok, I see their point about weeding out joy riders, but no way I'm going to seriously negotiate on a car without driving it. So I looked at a GT, but after sitting in it and turning on the "stereo" I wasn't even interested in driving it. If the car feels like a piece of crap on the inside and the stereo (the upgraded one no less) reminds me of a flat sounding 70's G.E. boom box I'm done. Went right from the Ford dealer to the BMW dealer and ordered a 135i without looking back. What's even worse though is the interior on the Corvette, especially the seats.

[audimotion]

I feel the same way about these "new" american muscle. They look great on the outside, have fantastic engines, but the interiors absolutely blow.
The other reason I have never considered one of these cars is the fact they are so big. When I see one sitting on the lot next to a taurus or other large 4 door sedan and the stang/camero/charger looks almost as big. The size of the 1 was one of the main reasons I was drawn to it.
Smaller car with big HP = fun times. Big car with big HP = boring in my book.

[stampchez]

Originally Posted by thez99

This is one of the reasons why ive ruled out ANY american car period..they all feel like "rentals" on the inside. And while the interior isnt everything, if I dont feel comfortable and "right" inside the car, it doesnt work. Sure the engines in the stangs are sweet, but the fact that they cant create a performance car with a balance of sexy engine and sexy interior just makes them crap. Why I love the N54, sexy as hell engine (specially with what ive done with it) and comfy and pleasing interior (i.e. doesnt feel like a plastic palace). Same shit goes with cars like the camaro or the new chargers, etc. They all have fairly decent engines, but they drive like balls, and they feel like ass on the inside, and that = a no go for me. The germans may have fucked us over quite a bit during certain wars, but they make WAY better cars without a doubt.

OP, why the hell are u considering a 2012 135 when u have an N54??? Im sorry, but twin turbo N54 beats the hell outta single turbo N55.

Well I'm trying to decide what I want to do. My 2008 is almost out of warranty so if I keep it, I will need to decide if I want to buy an extended warranty or just roll with it. I will also need new tires and brakes within the next year. Do I want to deal with all of that or start with another 4 years worry free?

While I do prefer the N54 to the N55, the gap is not as large as it once was. The last software update I received introduced some lag that I did not have before. From the butt dyno, the difference between the N54 and N55 is now pretty negligible.

I'm not really sure about buying the same car that I already have. I love the car but a change would be fun too. There just isn't anything else out that in the price range that I'm in love with. If I do go 2012 135, I will probably add some toys like Nav that I didn't have before and get a different color so it at least feels different. PCD seems pretty cool too.

[stampchez]

Originally Posted by audimotion

I feel the same way about these "new" american muscle. They look great on the outside, have fantastic engines, but the interiors absolutely blow.
The other reason I have never considered one of these cars is the fact they are so big. When I see one sitting on the lot next to a taurus or other large 4 door sedan and the stang/camero/charger looks almost as big. The size of the 1 was one of the main reasons I was drawn to it.
Smaller car with big HP = fun times. Big car with big HP = boring in my book.

agreed x1000 about the size thing.

The 1 feels zippy, is easy to park, and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. Mustangs, Camaros, and Chargers attract a lot of attention, oftentimes the unwanted kind of attention.

[audimotion]

Oh, one more thing...if we bmw owners think our 1ers are sitting too high on factory suspension, take a look at a stang/camero/charger. They look like a 4x4...and need serious drop to look good. There is so much room between the tire and fender arch its crazy.

[stampchez]

I drove a GT with the Brembo package last night and I thought they might have left the shipping blocks in the suspension when I first saw it.

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by audimotion

I feel the same way about these "new" american muscle. They look great on the outside, have fantastic engines, but the interiors absolutely blow.
The other reason I have never considered one of these cars is the fact they are so big. When I see one sitting on the lot next to a taurus or other large 4 door sedan and the stang/camero/charger looks almost as big. The size of the 1 was one of the main reasons I was drawn to it.
Smaller car with big HP = fun times. Big car with big HP = boring in my book.

That's the philosophy behind the current america muscle cars. Put in a giant engine.. make it look cool. The end. Decent suspensions, sure, but the cars are too huge to enjoy properly except in a straight line, in my opinion as well.

A couple months ago I "played" on some twisty roads with a Challenger SRT8 and he just couldn't seem to keep up, despite me being on the stock suspension at the time and not really even pushing that suspension to the limit. I'm sure if the driver had a little more confidence, he could have kept up fine, but that's the thing.. They're fast in a straight line but don't seem to "feel" confident in the turns, which to me seems like a refinement issue as well as a size issue (big car with big hp).

Interior refinement, refinement in driving feel, etc.. the 1er doesn't have the best German interior by a long shot, but is refined in many ways that American cars these days just aren't. The challenger just seemed to be screaming "look at me" more than "drive me", which is fine for people that like that... but I want a car that begs me to drive it.

My girlfriend's brother has a Mustang GT (2009 model), lightly modded. It is in a different class in terms of how you feel on the inside. His exhaust is quieter than mine on the outside, but sounds much louder from the inside, a refinement issue. A nice car is more than just shoving a big engine inside a cool looking chassis... but hey I guess these cars are selling because I always see so many. They look great, and have nice engines, and you can always brag to your friends "blah blah V8, four hundred something horses blah blah".. but I'd still take a small, sporty 1er that's fun to drive

[Hamster12011]

This thread makes me laugh. I have spent plenty of time behind the wheel of both an SRT Challenger and a Shelby GT500. Both had less rattles and felt much better put together then my 1 series. The so called better handling the 135 has is a joke. Push the car hard and it flounders. Combine that with shitty run flat tires and short suspension travel and you are left with a car the bottoms out over frost heaves or potholes and crashes and bangs when driven on rough roads. My 135 drove like shit and I found plenty of rental-car plastic inside the interior also. There is also one huge difference between the 135 and any of the Detroit cars. Take them to a track day and the BMW just can't take the punishment. I love BMW, but the simplicity of a Mustang, Camaro etc. has its benefits.

[Rikx1M]

My diehard mustang loving buddy of mine bought a 2010 V6 mustang the same month I bought my 2011 135. We posed together and then proceeded to drive our cars differently...me, well I took mine and drove hockenheim and nurburgring...he babied his stang...6 months ago he had to have his tranny replaced...my 135 is still cruising strong...although now replaced by his bigger brother, the 1M.

Now my friend comments...should have bought a BMW.

[IancoleTX]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

That's the philosophy behind the current america muscle cars. Put in a giant engine.. make it look cool. The end. Decent suspensions, sure, but the cars are too huge to enjoy properly except in a straight line, in my opinion as well.

A couple months ago I "played" on some twisty roads with a Challenger SRT8 and he just couldn't seem to keep up, despite me being on the stock suspension at the time and not really even pushing that suspension to the limit. I'm sure if the driver had a little more confidence, he could have kept up fine, but that's the thing.. They're fast in a straight line but don't seem to "feel" confident in the turns, which to me seems like a refinement issue as well as a size issue (big car with big hp).

Interior refinement, refinement in driving feel, etc.. the 1er doesn't have the best German interior by a long shot, but is refined in many ways that American cars these days just aren't. The challenger just seemed to be screaming "look at me" more than "drive me", which is fine for people that like that... but I want a car that begs me to drive it.

My girlfriend's brother has a Mustang GT (2009 model), lightly modded. It is in a different class in terms of how you feel on the inside. His exhaust is quieter than mine on the outside, but sounds much louder from the inside, a refinement issue. A nice car is more than just shoving a big engine inside a cool looking chassis... but hey I guess these cars are selling because I always see so many. They look great, and have nice engines, and you can always brag to your friends "blah blah V8, four hundred something horses blah blah".. but I'd still take a small, sporty 1er that's fun to drive

+1 .. test drove an '11 GT and of course the engine is fantastic, but you feel like you're driving a rental car.. and the driver's stance is like sitting in a bathtub. Just too damn big and ungainly, nothing fun about it except the v8.

[shockin330i]

Originally Posted by audimotion

I feel the same way about these "new" american muscle. They look great on the outside, have fantastic engines, but the interiors absolutely blow.
The other reason I have never considered one of these cars is the fact they are so big. When I see one sitting on the lot next to a taurus or other large 4 door sedan and the stang/camero/charger looks almost as big. The size of the 1 was one of the main reasons I was drawn to it.
Smaller car with big HP = fun times. Big car with big HP = boring in my book.

The mustang weighs just as much as a 335i.

[audimotion]

^Thats why I dint bother with a 335 either. Looks and feels too big, even though it is similar in size/weight to a 135. The 1er is just right.

[Fundahl]

If only they took the 5.4 supercharged it put it in something light, like a modern looking hardtop Shelby Cobra....