Any one has the latestcopy of Bimmer? they talk about 1

[why13]

Any one has the latestcopy of Bimmer? they talk about 1

The current edition talks about m3, 335 vs M3 and also then talks about 1

I cannot find the mad in loca stores?

Can someone write on what they said about the 1?

Thanks

[TP 135i]

They said:

"Whether you think this is a bargain or a rip-off depends on how much you can accept the 1's frumpy styling and cut-rate interior."

"In reality, however, [the 135] is far from the tightly wound street racer some might expect."

"Acceleration may be in the same league as the M3, but the character of the car is nothing at all like an M series product."

[zbladejr]

Boy, this thing is sure becoming a 'love-hate' machine. What they do hang out at the Truth About Cars guys garage last week? lol.

Perhaps they could have said something like 'Of course, you could get a his and hers 135i for the price of an M3' but that would be giving away too much fact in this 'comparison'. I love that they even go there though.

[topvega]

Some just seem to love to bash the 1 I guess... I don't find it "frumpy" at all..
and cut rate interior???? WTF

[Terp1]

Apparently they just need to rationalize spending all that money for a minimal performance improvement.

[warmtoes]

I don't get that comment about cut rate interior either. First off I like the layout better than the 3 series and the materials are basically the same.

[imported_Katera]

It's written by guys that do not have 1's, are jealous of the 1 and need to find a way to justify their more expensive cars. I guess 4.7 0-60 does not qualify as fast on the street. /shrug

[TP 135i]

Originally Posted by Katera

It's written by guys that do not have 1's, are jealous of the 1 and need to find a way to justify their more expensive cars. I guess 4.7 0-60 does not qualify as fast on the street. /shrug

They are actually only recognizing 5.1 for the 135i 0-60 time which is "less than half a second slower" than the M3.

[europlane]

I find the 1 coupe a very beautiful car. I saw it in Europe in January on display in an aeroport. I loved the looks right away. When I look at the 3, even the coupe, which is for me the better looking of the 3 family, I found them too low and wide, which to me looks old fashioned and "american".

And the interior of the 1? I love it also. And I don't like the dash of the 3. It seems too flat, too horizontal and empty. Tell you more, I never bought the 3 before because I never liked it. I bought 2 audis A4 instead because I never liked the looks of the 3. Too big and the look from the back of the rear door to the trunk is really heavy and buries the wheels and tires in a mass of akward metal.

I also like the 1 because it reminds me of the look of the old alpha Julietta (or Julia?). Who knows what I'm talking about?

[redwood]

I've driven the 335i, new M3, and 135i. I actually prefer the 135i, though I wouldn't turn down a new M3 if it didn't cost so much. The 135i is just tossable fun and has better brake feel than even the M3. The M3 and 335 feel their size and the 135i feels lighter than its 3,373lbs. My fiance, who loves the E46 M3, also drove the new M3 and 135i. She said "I hate myself for saying this, but I think I prefer the 135i to the M3."

[Spook]

Hmm.. it has the same materials in the interior as a 3 series. I'm not expecting M performance at the 135's price point though it's arguable that I would get it with a simple suspension upgrade anyway. This sort of thing does not speak well for the magazines credibility.

[nachob]

Gentlemen, all I can do is speak for myself. I like the 135i but also am a recovering 1addict. Obviously some people love the look because someone designed the car and someone else approved it for production. However, the car IS not attractive to me, especially the big headlights that swoop around. The back is very nice looking, the side is pretty good except for the pot belly effect but the headlights just don't work on the car. The point is that if you did some giant research project and showed outlines of an M3 and 135i to people all over the world, I am positive that many more people would find the M3 more attractive than the 1 series. Yes there are some that think it is a beautiful machine but I think most people love it for the whole package it brings, I don't think many think it is a work of aesthetic art. Anyway, I still am considering one if they made a more aggressive version....not just really fast but one that looks and feels more aggressive and a bit lighter. I know some of you fixate on numbers and say just because the 135i is faster 0-60 then that makes it a better sportscar. Perhaps but I don't think so. I get this type of argument from young guys all the time. They tell me that paddle shifters are better because it make a car quicker 0-60 than my traditional manual gearbox. It's technically true but I don't care. My old-school clutch manual FEELS much better and is more enjoyable to me than an automatic. So don't take it personally, the 135 is a great car for sure but give people that critique it some benefit of the doubt as they/we are only trying to make it better for all of us.

[atr_hugo]

nachob - well said. It's good we have choices, more people can be happy that way.

[Alext]

On paper I thought the 3-series coupe looked great. In real life I loved the aggressive front and the sleek rear & lights. BUT I personally dislike the mass of metal that creates the 3-series coupe rear quarter. It is far too excessive and plain. It makes the rear quarter section, side-view of the car look hugely out of proportion, especially in relation to the wheels. Whoever designed that must have lost their concentration somewhere along the lines.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Alext

On paper I thought the 3-series coupe looked great. In real life I loved the aggressive front and the sleek rear & lights. BUT I personally dislike the mass of metal that creates the 3-series coupe rear quarter. It is far too excessive and plain. It makes the rear quarter section, side-view of the car look hugely out of proportion, especially in relation to the wheels. Whoever designed that must have lost their concentration somewhere along the lines.

Sorry, I was referring to the E46 M3 not the new stuff. Since the 135 is faster now than the M3, that is what I was comparing it to. The previous M3 is beautiful...almost universally beautiful. I also don't think the new M3/E9X cars are that attractive either. I actually think the 135 is the best looking of the new BMWs but I still prefer the lines of the last 3 previous generations...E30, E36, E46. Now even though I don't like the new M3 as much, I must admit, the bulges on work well. I wouldn't turn one down if someone gave me one. Yes, I will admit I am not a Bangle-design fan. I must admit I don't get angry any more seeing the cars like I did in the beginning, I just don't think they are as attractive as previous BMWs or the competition...especially Audi. I think the A3, A4, A5, A6, A8, S3, S4, S5, RS6, RS4 are all beautiful cars. I wish Audi would build the bodies and BMW built the drivetrain..now that would be a force to be reckoned with.

IB

[Guibo]

Here's the rest of the article. All of the pics were of the Cashmere Silver car(s) from the Monterey area US press launch. In addition to what's been mentioned already, here are some other points in the article:
-128i and 135i seem to have better ride quality characteristics over bad pavement than their 3-Series counterparts, despite the shorter wheelbase
-128i's rear end moves around a bit more at the limit than the 328i's (depending on what kind of driver you are, that might be a good thing)
-GM auto transmission in the 128i is effective and fun to use manually
-128i has better steering feel and weighting than the 135i (not surprising to me)
-135 is surprisingly compliant, and it's a good tradeoff for outright sportiness where real-world (less than smooth) roads are concerned
-135i should be decontented (no standard sunroof, more manual controls) to come in at around $30K





As for the E46 M3, it's a nice design but I would not say it was "almost universally beautiful."

This is from Motor Trend's senior editor Angus Mackenzie:
Bangle's iconoclastic design strategy -- approved by the BMW board, don't forget -- was a deliberate attempt to move BMW on from a styling vocabulary that many observers believed had grown stale by the launch of the E46 3 Series. (I was at the launch of that car in Spain and well remember my media colleagues -- many of whom later eulogized the E46 as the last of the great-looking BMWs -- complaining it was "ho-hum, just another BMW".)
http://blogs.motortrend.com/6217665/...ers/index.html

[roadburn]

To my eye, the 135i looks BETTER than the new M3.

While the M3 comes across as nicely snarly from the front, and has those killer quad pipes at the rear, it also features this Mickey Mouse chrome fillip behind the front wheel wells.

I don't care if the duct is possibly functional; the chrome M doohickey looks like a styling touch lifted directly from a 1967 Oldsmobile. Or maybe a spare Frigidaire door handle.

The 135i is athletic and all-business. It doesn't have any ill-advised bling grafted on in the name of styling.

[roadburn]

I should not have compared the wheel-well design of the new M3 to a 1967 Oldsmobile. That's just wrong.

I was thinking of a 1967 Buick....

[e49er81]

why cant these magazines just give us a performance review? i really dont care what these guys think of how it looks i wanna know how much better than the 3 it is performance wise and how close it is to the new M :wink: