135 vs A4/S4 - Looks

[TMR013]

Stopped by one of my favorite spots to pick up a pizza and have a couple cold ones yesterday afternoon. Got lucky and found a parking spot where I could sit at the bar and stare at my 135 admiringly. After a while a red A4 parked next to me, so I could compare them side by side. After careful consideration, I determined that the A4 styling was downright bland compared to my 1er. No curves in the body work, it really reminded me of an old Ford Taurus with it's straight sheet metal. No interesting way the reflections curve down from the shoulder. No personality in the front end.
I have read a lot about how the A4, and particularly the S4 is a close competitor for the 1. And it sounds like performance wise it might be. But I think if you had the chance to stare at them side by side for a while, there is no way you could call the A4 beautiful. Even if you are not a fan of the 1's looks like I am.

[Phased]

How is it supposed to be compared to the 1 series? It's a 4 door sedan and is compared to the 3 series sedan (and wins in looks, IMO).

[Taymaishu]

A4/S4 nicer front end.

But the 1er Coupe takes all with its butt.

[zamboni]

Good one eh.

[emtrey]

A4---nice driving car but boring to look at IMHO

[MarkR171]

Audis look good, but the more you look at them, the more boring they are. They're bland, and the led eyelashes they have get annoying after awhile. They are just way too bright that they stand out more than the rest of the car.

I considered the A5 briefly before ordering my 135. They are just so good looking at first that they are hard to resist. After awhile you realize it's good looking because it's simple. It has no character. Once you get used to seeing it, it's just another car, blah.

Other than the S4, they don't really make a good driving car either. The 2.0 and 3.2 motors are worthless (in a car that size, in the GTi, it's fine.)

[FJUNO78]

Originally Posted by Phased

How is it supposed to be compared to the 1 series? It's a 4 door sedan and is compared to the 3 series sedan (and wins in looks, IMO).

exactly. i would assume he was talking about a5/s5.

[egainer]

nothing boring here.

I also considered an a5 vs 135i.

reasons for going to bmw
- bmw worked better with me on lease price
- medium level a5 was same price as more optioned 135
- 135 is faster

audi blows away the 1 series in looks, both the a4/s4 and a5/s5. And the S models perform better than the comparable 3 series, which are their direct competitors. There is not really a competitor for the 1 series in the audi lineup, even the a3 (avail in hatch only) is not because of engine size.

the 2.0t with a flash is 240hp and 292lbs ft, not slow. but not quick either, and with a heavy car, feels fast to my passengers, but to me is slow.

the flat sides on the audi are signature of german cars. the 1 has been criticized for it's cow belly side skirts.

I didn't really want a 1 series, I wanted a 3 series (coming from an a4). but a 3 series how I want it is in the 50s price, and I wanted to stay in the low 40s.

[NewYearsBoy]

Audi is WAY more boring................. My friend has owned a lot of Super Cars and he said the R8 was even not that exciting. (This was back when it had the v8 not sure now about the v10)........

The 1s front end bothers me a little but the SIDE and BACK it looks AMAZING!!
PS- a lot of people only see it from behind anyway... Haha...

[warmtoes]

The A4/S4 is a bit boring the more you look at it but their interiors are superior to our interiors without a doubt.

Now the A5/S5's are a good looking vehicle. I'm not sure how anyone could say they just look like everything else after awhile. I notice A5/S5's everytime they go by because they are so distinctive.

[Itanius]

The A5 is a beautiful car, in my opinion. Not as attractive as the E82 or E92, though.

[TreDirtyFive]

What do you expect in a BMW forum with 1 owners (and a much younger demographic) who have lived with their cars for years...Bias. Extremely un-objective and supremely subjective opinions. I, for one, love the A5 design. And, no, the A4 and A5 do not compare or compete with the 1er in any way shape or form (magazine or performance..all class oriented). Not even in size or demographic. The 1 is a compact sports coupe. The a4, s4, a5, and s5 are mid-size luxury sporty cars. Why even try to compare? Not to mention the A5's outstanding .296 drag coefficient, for a larger car, compared to the 1er's horrible and supposedly sporty .33 Cd. That's any better than a Honda Accord. Outside of Audi's horrible leases the audi's are great quality inside and out.

I just came back from my ED trip to get my 1er and drove from Munich to Italy and to Switzerland. Audi's are ALL the rage in Europe...all shapes and sizes and they seemingly outnumber BMW's by a large margin now. That was not the case when i was there only 5 years ago. The brand has captured what they couldn't over there for a very long time..and that is emotion and inspiration. This is a tribute to their branding and media saavy. Don't get me wrong, BMW will always be the beloved 1st tier brand that we all have always loved and, of course, will always be much better driving cars....hands down. But to say Audi's are boring and ugly, to me, are just emotional responses to something like hating the basketball team that is against yours. I'm just a car enthusiast so I love where this is all going!

FOOTNOTE: When I go do a group lunch with my co-workers driving his A5 S-Line and the other in a nice black M-Sport 135i...guess who gets the stares and questions on the street? Not the 1er when they are side by side. The A5 simply looks more prestigious and expensive compared, We all know which car will destroy which in a race...I guess it depends on how much you care about that kind of stuff.

[RPM90]

I surely didn't by my 135i for it's great looks.
The front is decent, reminds me more of my E46.
The side is ok, but the pot belly curve is pointless and out of place, as it relates to NOTHING else on the body.
The rear end is beautiful, very sporty, clean, stylish.

The interior is as bland as anything BMW has ever made, even more so than the new 3 series. My previous A4 interior was nicer, and at night it looked the part of a near lux Euro machine. Our 1's have a rather simple interior. Some call that "driver oriented" or "clean". Those are words that describe, "boring".
At night, without the NAV system, it's just bland.

I recently had a 3 series loaner, and I really liked the soft red lighting surrounded the odo and speedo. It would have been really cool if our 1's had something like that.
I really hope BMW lets the designers of the Z4 and GT, work on the 1 and 3. It'll be a big improvement.

To the question at hand, the A5 3.2/S5 V8 is a gorgeous automobile, better overall than the 3 coupe.
I didn't consider the A5/S5 a competitor to the 1 at all. The pricing is directly competitive to the 3 coupe with the V6 and V8 options.
The 2.0T A5 came later and it comes close to the 135i in price. But, we all know it can't compare to the 135i's performance level
The A4 2.0 sedan compares in price to the 135i, but the difference is a compact sedan vs a small sub-compact coupe. Both were considerations when I was shopping, but they serve a different need really.
Just for info, the A4 is listed as a "compact" size, the A5/S5 is listed as "sub compact" size, the 1 and 3 are also listed as "sub compact" as well.
I came from an E46 and an A4, so I was all set to go between the 3 sedan and A4 sedan. But, the 1 appealed to a different side of me, and it won me over.

We buy what we buy for our own reasons, and of course, our babies always look better than anyone elses.

[MOCKBA]

I considered A4 seriously and almost bought. I like A4 styles, awesome stereo, cool electronics and incredible interior. Needless to say it is 4wd, very stable car. Only one problem, it is too sensitive to steering wheel movement, not really good on high speeds. So I had to pickup A4 on Monday and just checked BMW dealer over weekends, wanted to check 335. I was very disappointed with 3 series, complete hype, A4 is much better, So when I almost left BMW, a sales person asked me to try 1 series, I tried and generally liked, so he offered price 20% lower than A4 and I agreed to take 1. So if price doesn't matter, then better take A4.

[radiantm3]

Everyone says Audi interior is nicer, but I don't really see it. I sat in the new S4 and it's busier for sure, but more buttons doesn't = nicer to me. I prefer the clean look of BMW interiors. I love the fact that most of the unimportant controls software-based. The driver can focus on driving and not fiddling with knobs and switches. The only thing I liked more in the S4 is some of the CF pieces that come stock as well as the slightly more inspiring leather stitching.

[MarkR171]

You know, I hear "bland" being used way too often to describe the 1 series interior. It's simple, sure, but what else would you ever need? More buttons? Other than that, with a good choice of color and trim, the interior can look very classy. Black leather with black or even silver trim will be bland in any car, not just BMWs. Coral Red or Lemon two tone interiors with gray poplar looks very good, and I prefer mine (Lemon + Gray Wood) over the A5 interior.

The A5 seats look bigger and nicer, but my butt feels more comfortable in the BMW sport seats. Especially with the adjustable bolsters.

I just spent a couple hours washing and waxing my 135 (10 days old) and I really like the lines from all angles after really taking close looks for the first time. Including the "potbelly sides." It adds character to the car and the lines flow well.

The A5s design, while good, is so plain and simple that I can't imagine not being bored of the styling after a few months of ownership. Then there's the drive, the drive is nothing like a 135. Even if you went for a 60-70k+ S5.

Also, I hate the led light strip they have. It's way too bright and distracting.

[TreDirtyFive]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

You know, I hear "bland" being used way too often to describe the 1 series interior. It's simple, sure, but what else would you ever need? More buttons? Other than that, with a good choice of color and trim, the interior can look very classy. Black leather with black or even silver trim will be bland in any car, not just BMWs. Coral Red or Lemon two tone interiors with gray poplar looks very good, and I prefer mine (Lemon + Gray Wood) over the A5 interior.

The A5 seats look bigger and nicer, but my butt feels more comfortable in the BMW sport seats. Especially with the adjustable bolsters.

I just spent a couple hours washing and waxing my 135 (10 days old) and I really like the lines from all angles after really taking close looks for the first time. Including the "potbelly sides." It adds character to the car and the lines flow well.

The A5s design, while good, is so plain and simple that I can't imagine not being bored of the styling after a few months of ownership. Then there's the drive, the drive is nothing like a 135. Even if you went for a 60-70k+ S5.

Also, I hate the led light strip they have. It's way too bright and distracting.

I don't agree to most of these comments but to each his own.

[ianc]

Everyone says Audi interior is nicer, but I don't really see it. I sat in the new S4 and it's busier for sure, but more buttons doesn't = nicer to me

Yeh, less is more. I'm handicapped because I haven't sat in an Audi to compare but I'm quite happy with the 1's interior compared to my 87 Carrera's. The 135 is light years more complicated, but the interior is still spartan and usable with everything important readily accessible. The seats fit like a glove, the controls work with a snick and are ready-to-hand, and nothing distracts. What more could you want?

ianc

[BMW86]

I personally think the A4 looks nicer than the 135i, especially the front end. I have no problem driving my 135i though

[Phased]

I think the A4/A5 looks better than the 3 series for sure - I just wanted a small sports coupe so I go the 135 instead. Like someone else said they have different target demographics.

I also like the interior. Coming from an E30 it has absolutely everything I need and nothing I don't. I didn't get iDrive or navigation for a reason but if you like or want that stuff, then maybe you find it bland or boring. I haven't seen a recent A4 interior but I drove one when the 2.0T engine just came out and I thought it was simple and clean, almost like the 135i is and that current 3-series was busy and annoying. It was also more fun to drive even with the smaller engine than the boxy 3.

[Novator]

I love the look of my 135i everyday, I am always stealing a glance at her, The 135i's looks didn't take long for me to get hooked on. I remember way back in '07 when I was getting all excited for a 128i (which with the Performance body kit is the way I'd go).

[BrokenVert]

I've owned my 135i for the last 2 years. Every so often I catch the car from an angle that I hadn't noticed it from before and I just look at it.

I'm in the minority here, because I love all of bangle's cars. I want a car that's interesting to look at. Classy=boring IMO. I hate these new, post bangle, BMW designs...it's like they are trying to be as boring as Audi.

I wanted an A3 for the longest time. But after about a month of looking at reviews and test drives I started to realize that the only a3 that I found iteresting was the s3. And the interior in my 135 is lightyears ahead of the interior in the a3. I love the interior in my 135.