I test drove a Mustang today.

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by 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.

Well... you ARE on a BMW forum hahah

I think you just got a crappy car. Scott135i's car had plenty of rattles and squeaks, that's why he sold it. He sat in mine and checked out all of his "problem areas" and there were no problems to be found. The interior of the 1 series isn't the greatest, but it certainly doesn't have as much hard plastic, is more ergonomic for the driver, and also doesn't have that sense of "I still play with transformers and match box cars" coolness. That's just my opinion though.

Other than the lack of LSD, the 135i tracks fine. Just ask any of the members on here who track with near stock 135i's and 128i's. If you go to the track with street tires, you're bound to be disappointed with any car you go with. Oil temps stay fine. Car has a bit of understeer, unless you put on square tires. It runs fine. Even the stock brakes hold up well for most people..

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215283
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=421655
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389675

Plenty more threads out there too confirming that the 135i is a decent track car. I'm not sure where you're getting the whole "push the car hard and it flounders" thing. Yes, from a standstill if you're drag racing it isn't the most well-planted car. But if all you care about is drag racing, (from 0 in a straight line)... well... that's why muscle cars are built

Among the new muscle cars, the Mustang is clearly the winner in my eyes. The least bloated, best visibility, nicest size, best engines, least "look at me" in a bad way and most "look at me" in a good way.. but I still prefer my 1er over it. That's why I got this car, and not a different one. I'm sure many people prefer the Mustang over the 1er, and good for them. Different strokes for different folks

[thez99]

Sorry but theres no WAY the GT stang ways as much as even the 335. The 1 series for instance is around 2350 lb., GT must be atleast 3k lb

[RnmEvo9]

Originally Posted by thez99

Sorry but theres no WAY the GT stang ways as much as even the 335. The 1 series for instance is around 2350 lb., GT must be atleast 3k lb

Ummm LMAO...

135s weigh around 3300lbs. It is in fact quite a porker. The 3 series weigh an additional 200lbs just like the new Mustangs.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Ummm LMAO...

135s weigh around 3300lbs. It is in fact quite a porker. The 3 series weigh an additional 200lbs just like the new Mustangs.

Yea i meant to say 3250, just woke up..

And honestly, compared to just about every other car out there, 3250lb's with this kinda of engine and performance is pretty damn light.

[1speedbike]

^Also, it's not always about how much it weighs.. but how big it feels. The 135i just feels like a much smaller and more nimble car than the 3 in some ways.

[cooler2442]

Speaking of weight.

Had a friend with a Sparco seats and no rear seat E46 M3 do a spirited canyon run in my car last week. He said it feels really heavy and bloated lol.

Maybe I should strip my interior!

[thez99]

Originally Posted by cooler2442

Speaking of weight.

Had a friend with a Sparco seats and no rear seat E46 M3 do a spirited canyon run in my car last week. He said it feels really heavy and bloated lol.

Maybe I should strip my interior!

Maybe u shouldnt listen to a guy with sport seats and no rear interior?

The 1er is no where NEAR a boat like most cars I see on the roads, not to mention the obvious ones like SUV's..

[ronssito]

I test drove 17 vehicles recently, including the Mustang GT before my 128i purchase as my new daily driver.

The rear end styling of the current Mustang is fugly! ... absolutely hideous.


..... I don't care how fast it is!

[doublevanosrc]

The transmission sucks cause it's made in China!!! After i read this I was so saddened that Ford put a Chinese transmission in an American Classic!!. My co-worker has a 5.0 and he complains that some morning he can't shift into gear. He has to play with it for a while til it finally lets him shift, other than that he loves the car.

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

[audimotion]

^^Speaking of the back end...whats up with the turn siginals? The way the go 1,2,3 in sequence is pretty cheesy. IMO.

[TX78666]

Originally Posted by thez99

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.

http://www.bimmerfile.com/2010/05/16...35i/#more-6793

http://n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7775

http://www.***********.com/showthrea...-whp-94-octane

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...est/index.html

[juliansorl]

The brakes on the Mustang also aren't up to snuff. Even with the Brembo Pkg (front only) they still seem like they could be better. I tested a RTR edition of the GT and was impressed. The two negatives were the interior and the brakes :the Interior looks too 1980s for me but the car was a fun ride but the brakes left me with wanting better.

[2012_135i]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

Well... you ARE on a BMW forum hahah

...Among the new muscle cars, the Mustang is clearly the winner in my eyes. The least bloated, best visibility, nicest size, best engines, least "look at me" in a bad way and most "look at me" in a good way.. but I still prefer my 1er over it. That's why I got this car, and not a different one. I'm sure many people prefer the Mustang over the 1er, and good for them. Different strokes for different folks

Totally agree. If I were to buy any of the new muscle cars just on the basis of getting its retro look modernized right in would be the Mustang. Last would be the Camaro. And the Boss's engine and sound is absolutely magnificent. Incredible really. Maybe that's why they cheaped out on the stereo. The music is the engine. It would have to be because the stereo is pretty much unlistenable.

[RnmEvo9]

Originally Posted by thez99

Maybe u shouldnt listen to a guy with sport seats and no rear interior?

The 1er is no where NEAR a boat like most cars I see on the roads, not to mention the obvious ones like SUV's..

1er needs to lose another 200-300lbs. Hmm, I may just remove my rear interior seeing as it is useless to begin with.

[richb811]

If you are worried about the interior quality of the mustang, then you are looking at the wrong car.

For a fact I can tell you how much the interior has improved from the previous generation. The material quality is much better (soft touch materials, less use of hard plastics, good fitment).

If you get a Mustang with the Premium package + the Nav, it looks very classy inside, but once again it will not compare to a BMW interior.

[doublevanosrc]

After its all said and done the Mustang is probably the best performance car under $35k out right now. Hell probably $30k my co-worker got his GT with the brembo pkg for around $31k

[Yes2m3cs]

I had both and loved both of em :-)

I still own the mustang, great daily driver.

Different cars but both a blast to drive.

-Brian

[ksparks]

I think the new mustang interiors are fine. You can't compare the interior of american muscle to that of a sporty/luxury inspired cars we drive.

That new boss is crazy. The entry level boss did laguna seca in 3 or 4 seconds faster than an M3.

[TMR013]

American cars are getting better. But I have to say that the interiors seem to be the last bastion of the design by accountant at the big 3. I still think it's funny that leather is an option on the new Vettes.
But I still would not consider buying one, at least not as an enthusiests car. Sorry, there is just something indescribable about driving a BMW that the Mustang can't match. But it appears to be a pretty good car. In the dwindling rear wheel drive coupe segment, it's probably comes in closely behind our 1's.

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by TMR013

American cars are getting better. But I have to say that the interiors seem to be the last bastion of the design by accountant at the big 3. I still think it's funny that leather is an option on the new Vettes.
But I still would not consider buying one, at least not as an enthusiests car. Sorry, there is just something indescribable about driving a BMW that the Mustang can't match. But it appears to be a pretty good car. In the dwindling rear wheel drive coupe segment, it's probably comes in closely behind our 1's.

Leather is an option on all BMW's I think thats a joke.

[ksparks]

Originally Posted by amancuso

Leather is an option on all BMW's I think thats a joke.

Why? Some people may prefer to keep cost down or may want something a bit easier to care for than leather.

I personally go for leather, especially given the special colors like red, saddle, lemon etc.... if I was going black or taupe, I would probably just get the leatherette.

What pisses me off is the fact that they do not offer bluetooth or an ipod dock as standard equipment. It's 2012. Everyone has a bluetooth phone and I would say 75% of all people have an mp3 player.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by amancuso

Leather is an option on all BMW's I think thats a joke.

+1

Of course I took advantage of the value pkg when they offered it.