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Well, I just got back from a test drive at the dealer. The car is nice. The seats are comfortable and, for the most part, the interior is good. The car is indeed quick for what it is and the torque response from the turbo's really do throw you back into the seat. 100 MPH came up before I could get off the on-ramp for the highway...BUT, no matter how fast we were going it all felt like the same speed. That can be good or bad.
My IS300 has character and since I'm so familiar with how it drives, I can feel the road through the steering, the engine through the gas pedal, the tranny through the shifter, and the brakes through the brake pedal. The clutch in my car has a nice range where I can feel it began to engage/disengage.
Contrast that with the 135i: The steering is a bit numb, there is absolutely zero pedal feel, and the clutch is either in or out. There is no middle ground.
This could be due to the fact that it's a brand new car that I've never driven and I'm so used to my IS. However, when I first sat in my IS for its test drive, I immediately felt connected to the road and to the car. This was not the case with the 135i.
All in all, I like the car and it has some great potential. It's at the top of my list right now for a new car in the comming months.
There are some issues I need to find out more info. on...like the ability for the car to know when you've modified the ECU or "chipped" it and any warranty issues that may arise from modifications...which there shouldn't be unless any mods directly cause damage.
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