135i Auto OR Manual

[1Morepower]

I am about to buy a 135i in the few days, I LOOVE the manual but the interior and colour combination of the Auto one I have seen looks sooo nice.

Can anyone give me any positives about the auto? ?

All comments will greatly be appriciated.

All the best,

Dan

[neil@JuicedUpTuning]

The best 1/4 miles have been done using auto

The auto's get power to the floor much better than manual. Unless your good with feathering the throttle on a manual

If you tune the car then you will appreciate the auto for better use of the power

[1Morepower]

Do you not feel you have more control over the car in manual rather than auto?

Also are you able to launch an 135 auto like the smg's?

[neil@JuicedUpTuning]

If you want straight line speed then the auto is FTW

If you want more engaged driving then IMO it has to be manual although you still have the paddle shifters. If not you could retro fit them

There's no specific launch control but using the brake boost method seems to be the choice for fast acceleration from the dig.

[vividracing]

Manual all the way, The real driving enthusiast will always use stick.

[pavelitto]

I prefer my manual but i haven't driven 135 with auto (I experienced same auto but in 325xi and 650). I think is much more engaging and especially that the auto that is in 135i's is a regular one meaning that it won't downshift when you want (to high rpms)(I like when sometimes I downshift and the back of the car slightly steps out of line- I didn't learn how to break/accelerate + clutch when hard downshifting. also, it will upshift if you hit the top of the revs (although won't happen to often with that much power)
On the other hand, it is convenient and if you decide to go for quaife atb as i did its cheaper because you have bolted final drive.
Nevertheless i prefer my manual much more. (i have it with performance short shifter since new though)

[BrokenVert]

God damn another one of these threads?

Both transmissions are great matched for the 135. Brake boosting works really well withthe auto and the shifts are only .2-.3 seconds...that's almost as fast as dct.

But remember to openthe car up. The auto adapts to your drivig stlye and if you drive it slowly it makes the shifts laggier.

[Anneka @ Sytner]

I personally prefer driving the Auto, and I agree that the interior is significantly enhanced.
As above, the BMW Performance Short Shift is a great upgrade for a manual box, but if I have the choice to go Auto, I'd never chose anything different, it really is a fantastically smooth box.

[mjh93sa]

Try both if you can.

For me the auto suits the car better. Okay it's not as completely involving, but it gives you the option of pootling around town with nice smooth shifts (no CDV), or switching to sport / paddles and getting some serious performance.

[1Morepower]

I am now a proud owner of a 2009 135i AUTO in saphire black with lemon boston leather....

And loving it

[Lopster]

Originally Posted by 1Morepower

I am now a proud owner of a 2009 135i AUTO in saphire black with lemon boston leather....

And loving it

You wont regret it. As others have said, manual is the out and out choice for involvement but not all the flippin time! This way you have a choice. I have two auto beemers with no regrets, and one Ive owned for 14 years.

[Sapphire135]

I've got the sapphire black / Boston lemon 135i auto.. Good choice!

[N55 Power]

Auto's are lame.

only women, geezers and lazy/injured men drive auto

[Bdh821]

Manual without a doubt...

[MrBlonde]

Manual transmission is a more involved and fun drive.

The bleeders will get better drag strip numbers but that's far more important in USA than in UK. And real drag racers shift their own gears anyway ;-)

[123Alp]

The modern BMW auto is so much improved over the old slush boxes. IMO beats the VW DSG.

You'll end up with an inferior car, the auto is fantastic.

[Joer]

Originally Posted by 123Alp

The modern BMW auto is so much improved over the old slush boxes. IMO beats the VW DSG.

You'll end up with an inferior car, the auto is fantastic.

What about DCT though?

I've just test driven a 135i with DCT (with some lovely BMW Performance parts too) and found it very good (comparing it to DSG in a Golf R32, which I found pretty good too).
Downshifts were amazing! However maybe a bit too smooth for my liking...

So not sure whether to go for DCT over manual?

[the_steff]

Manual for a better driving experience

[b9boy]

Nice colour and leather choice

Sapphire and Lemon rocks!!!

Got the 6MT myself and far prefer the control over the la-z-boy option but horses for course.