Cars that compete with the 128

[gio]

I hope this is not too much off topic... I'm taking my little brother out to go car shopping this weekend and he is seriously considering a 128. He doesn't want a sports car but he wants a small car that is relatively fuel efficient with some amount of luxury. He doesn't care about power that much but he does want a car that is fun to drive. He wants a car with a good brand reputation rather than one that is a better deal for the price (provided he can afford it). He doesn't want to pay more than $35,000 or so.

I really can't think of any car that would be better than the 128 for him. The Audi A4 is more expensive and bigger and probably more equivalent to a 328. The Lexus IS is nice, but it's a Lexus -- my mom has own several of them and they aren't fun to drive. The wrx sti and evo are too race focused with not enough luxury. The Mini is too feminine. Volvos and Saabs are too boring and ugly. Mercedes C300 and Cadillac CTS are too expensive. We'll probably also look at the Infiniti G35 sedan. If he has a similar experience to me (I cross shopped the G37 coupe and the 135) he's not going to like the Infiniti. Are there any other cars out that are in the same class as the 128 or should I tell him not to even bother looking at anything else? What did you 128 owners cross shop before you bought your 1?

[liquord]

be a good brother and tell him to get a 135

[gio]

Originally Posted by liquord

be a good brother and tell him to get a 135

lol, I'm not surprised to be hearing that. He can't get a 135 because I already have one and that wouldn't be fair . Seriously, though, he doesn't want to spend that much and the extra power doesn't mean that much to him. He also prefers fuel efficiency over power since he has a long commute. He currently drives a base model Subaru Impreza (173hp) and thinks it's plenty powerful for him, lol. Honestly, if the 135 didn't exist, I think people would see the 128 as a pretty great car. It's just that it is so overshadowed by the 135.

When I see him this weekend it will be the first time he's sees a 135 so I'll see what he thinks.

[VFX]

I have a 128.

I wish I bought a 135.

Other cars I looked at?

JCW MCS - great handling, poor space. Great driver feedback & pepper performance. Looks could be an issue for some.

350z - good performance, lacks space & practicality. Fun car.

G37 - great performance, great sounding engine, isolated driving experience.

VW GTI - good speed, good space, looks not so good,

WRX - pretty fast, great handling & awd traction, poor build compared to german rivals, looks dull, likes to drink a lot of gas.

A3 - great build, ok performance, boring to drive, boring to look at. expensive for what you get.

For me, the 1 series had the best balance between value, style, comfort, economy, driver enjoyment & performance.

Compared with a 128, a 135 would push the driver enjoyment & performance up quite a bit!

In the end I settled for a 128 as it'll be used as a daily hack rather than a plaything.

.

[Heinzftw]

Originally Posted by gio

I hope this is not too much off topic... I'm taking my little brother out to go car shopping this weekend and he is seriously considering a 128. He doesn't want a sports car but he wants a small car that is relatively fuel efficient with some amount of luxury. He doesn't care about power that much but he does want a car that is fun to drive. He wants a car with a good brand reputation rather than one that is a better deal for the price (provided he can afford it). He doesn't want to pay more than $35,000 or so.

I really can't think of any car that would be better than the 128 for him. The Audi A4 is more expensive and bigger and probably more equivalent to a 328. The Lexus IS is nice, but it's a Lexus -- my mom has own several of them and they aren't fun to drive. The wrx sti and evo are too race focused with not enough luxury. The Mini is too feminine. Volvos and Saabs are too boring and ugly. Mercedes C300 and Cadillac CTS are too expensive. We'll probably also look at the Infiniti G35 sedan. If he has a similar experience to me (I cross shopped the G37 coupe and the 135) he's not going to like the Infiniti. Are there any other cars out that are in the same class as the 128 or should I tell him not to even bother looking at anything else? What did you 128 owners cross shop before you bought your 1?

This is very easy to answer. K so these are the cars I have crossed shopped personally.

1. JCW Mini 230hp 31k
2. Subaru Impreza 2009 260hp 25k
3. Volvo C30 230hp <---2.0 Type-R version looks HOTT 25k
4. Accord V6 Coupe' (A front wheel drive with 270hp) 0-60 in 5.9
5. MazdaSpeed Miata 200hp

Out of all of them the car with the most refinement is the JCW Mini, closely followed by the C30 and Accord. If you have any other questions pm me. I have personally driven most of these cars. :biggrin:

[mtla4]

328 over 128 ..better financing

[MVF4Rrider]

Originally Posted by mtla4

328 over 128 ..better financing

I assume you mean the 328 coupe? I would suggest that anyway when luxury is added to the equation. More room inside and in the boot as well.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by Balls

I assume you mean the 328 coupe? I would suggest that anyway when luxury is added to the equation. More room inside and in the boot as well.

4 door. The guy wants some luxury features and good fuel economy. The 328 coupe is more expensive and I prefer the E90 sedan over the coupe.

[Perfect128]

I have a 128i and am glad I have it. I am very satisfied after almost 5k miles, even after coming off high performance V8s. I'm getting 24 mpg on my stop-and-go Bay area commute, and it has a great fun factor as well. The 128i has competitors, but for the low-mid thirties it has created its own class.

[mistermojorizin]

my friend was just offered a brand new g35 journey sedan for $28,000. It was either 0.9 financing or $3K off of invoice. The latter bringing the price down to $28,000. The car's a bit slow, 0-60 in 5.3, but its very luxurious, comes with a lot of standard features, can be had with an LSD and has, IMHO, better steering feel than the 135. weight for the 08 sedan is on the order of 3500 lbs.

ther's also the 350z and the s2000 to consider. and also there's the evo X.

[gio]

Originally Posted by mistermojorizin

my friend was just offered a brand new g35 journey sedan for $28,000. It was either 0.9 financing or $3K off of invoice. The latter bringing the price down to $28,000. The car's a bit slow, 0-60 in 5.3, but its very luxurious, comes with a lot of standard features, can be had with an LSD and has, IMHO, better steering feel than the 135. weight for the 08 sedan is on the order of 3500 lbs.

ther's also the 350z and the s2000 to consider. and also there's the evo X.

We are definitely going to check out the G35 sedan. That's a really good price too. What kind of financing is BMW offering these days? Are there still good financing deals on the 3 series? Did your friend end up buying the G35?

The 350Z is too much of a sports car for him and he doesn't want to be associated with the type of person who drives one. There is a reason why it has one of the highest fatality rates of any car. The s2000 isn't practical at all as he wants a 4 seat car. The evo X has the same problems as the 350z but even less luxury. He wants luxury and brand reputation over price and performance.

[Road Runner]

VW GTI? I'm suprised not many people have mentioned this but my girlfriend cross-shopped a GTI and a 128 and ended up getting the GTI (a lot of reasons, also German, much better financing, comparable performance, more usable space, some would say a better interior). That being said I sold my 2007 GLI for my 135. But I do think the 128 and GTI are comparable. Not to mention for under $1000 you can have the GTI chipped and putting out 246hp/282lb-ft.

[gio]

Originally Posted by Road Runner

VW GTI? I'm suprised not many people have mentioned this but my girlfriend cross-shopped a GTI and a 128 and ended up getting the GTI (a lot of reasons, also German, much better financing, comparable performance, more usable space, some would say a better interior). That being said I sold my 2007 GLI for my 135. But I do think the 128 and GTI are comparable. Not to mention for under $1000 you can have the GTI chipped and putting out 246hp/282lb-ft.

I used to drive an 2000 Audi TT and I'd choose a straight 6 over a turbo 4 any day. He would never chip a car since that can void the warranty and so the performance is a little less than the 128. It's also RWD for the 128 vs FWD for the VW. He doesn't want a hatch so that elimates the GTI (but not the GLI). Finally, even though the VW's interiors are quite nice, BMW has a better reputation. I think my family will convince him to at least look at the VWs though. My sister (Golf) and my mother (Passat wagon) both drive one and my Dad (Audi A4 VR6 vert) drives an Audi.

[VFX]

Originally Posted by Heinzftw

Out of all of them the car with the most refinement is the JCW Mini, closely followed by the C30 and Accord. :biggrin:

I take it you've owned a JCW MCS?

.

[spudw]

Originally Posted by gio

The Mini is too feminine.

Not sure I agree with you on that. It can look like a bulldog if well configured.

128i is most likely the best bet. Resale will be good. strong brand recognition. Fun to drive. 4 seats and a trunk.

I would cross-shop against:

Audi A3
Mini Cooper S
VW GTI / Jetta GLI
Honda Civic Si
Volvo C30

Given the criteria you've described, the Mercedes B200 would be a really good option. But I'm not sure if it's available in the US.

[Mehta916]

You can't go wrong with a s2000 and Honda's reputation. Just wondering but are you guys only looking at new cars? He could by a certified preowned and let someone else get hit with the depreciation value.

[mistermojorizin]

Originally Posted by gio

We are definitely going to check out the G35 sedan. That's a really good price too. What kind of financing is BMW offering these days? Are there still good financing deals on the 3 series? Did your friend end up buying the G35?

The 350Z is too much of a sports car for him and he doesn't want to be associated with the type of person who drives one. There is a reason why it has one of the highest fatality rates of any car. The s2000 isn't practical at all as he wants a 4 seat car. The evo X has the same problems as the 350z but even less luxury. He wants luxury and brand reputation over price and performance.

i'm not sure about the bmw financing, but my friend ended up going with an 07 lexus es350 for $25K with comfort access, bluetooth, etc. he is more of a luxury over performance type of guy too.

[ptack]

I would say one of the closest comparisons in terms of the refinement and luxury aspects is the Audi A3. The 3.2 has similar power and weight and handles very much like the 128i though it has 4-wheel drive. The other advantages for the A3 are that it has 5 doors. Like the 1 series, the A3 is pretty uncommon so it's got the uniqueness to it. I really like the styling and would have got one instead of a 128i - until I test drove the 135i and then the Audi was just a nice, practical consideration on my way to yeehaaa heaven. Audi vs BMW would be a nice sibbling rivalry.

[imported_mega]

for what you listed as priorities I cant think of anything that beats the 128 except a 128 droptop


I would say audi but they have a long way to go to clean up reliability and service performance

[imported_mega]

Originally Posted by mtla4

328 over 128 ..better financing

EEERRRRR you fail

every 1 series has .9 % financing now

[Heinzftw]

Originally Posted by VFX

I take it you've owned a JCW MCS?

.

Refinement as in handling, and very uniqueness of the interior. Why are you trying to bash me? I have not owned one. But, plan to purchase one at some point in my life.

[VFX]

Originally Posted by Heinzftw

Refinement as in handling, and very uniqueness of the interior. Why are you trying to bash me? I have not owned one. But, plan to purchase one at some point in my life.

Apologies mate! no bashing intended... I just found it amusing that someone considered the JCW MCS 'refined'

It was one of the least refined cars I've recently owned.

Noisy on the highway - in fact noisy everywhere.

Notchy gear shift.

Harsh ride.

Cheap interior materials.

Iffy build quality.

Not qualities I'd associate with a 'refined' vehicle.

But yes I agree, handling is amazing & interior is indeed unique.

However, refined, it most certainly is not!

.