[simianspeedster]

What's up, 1 folks?

I'm about 2 years through a 3 year lease on a 2011 335i M-Sport Coupe (manual) and we recently turned in my wife's 2009 328i Sports Wagon for a 2012 (F30) 328i Luxury Line Sedan.

It doesn't seem likely that the new 3 Coupe will be out before my lease is up and I strongly prefer coupes. Also, without going into great deal, let me just say I appreciate the F30 for what it is, but it just feels a bit too big, soft, remote and efficiency-focused compare to our E9X 3 Series. I will still test drive an F30 335i Sport Line when the time is right, but I'm starting to think I'd be happier with a 1 Series when my lease is up.

Let me say up front that I'd be going into this eyes open: I know that 2013 will be the last year of the E82 and I had a hard time choosing between a 135 and my 335 a couple years back (I drove a 135 twice before making my decision).

I'm generally happy with my current coupe, though I now find it slightly big and heavy for my tastes. And I know this might sound like heresy, but the N55 is so powerful that it's almost boring to drive on normal roads. If you really wind it out, you can get yourself into trouble too quickly. The old adage is true: a slow car driven fast is more fun than a fast car driven slow. My car before the 335 was a Z4 Coupe which was hard as nails (not tuned for run flats) but I loved LOVED L-O-V-E-D that 255HP N52 engine like nothing else. It was the perfect combination of smoothness and power with a great engine note (lots of windows down driving in that car). Also, as strange as it might sound, I think I might want to get one of the last NA inline 6s that BMW may ever offer before I don't have that choice.

Now I'm looking at an M-Sport 128i or maybe a 135i (definitely manual). I know I'll miss the additional power of the turbocharged engine, but I really miss that steady "climb the mountain" pull of the N52 and, again, I really love the N52 even in detuned form. I know the 230HP variant in the 128i is not as strong as the engine from my Z4, but I think it's plenty to motivate a 3,200-ish lb. car and I really want to focus on getting a lighter, nimbler car that splits the different between the Z4 Coupe and the 335 Coupe. I kind of have old-school car values (and I still miss my E30 M3 from way back in the day).

So, lots of preamble, I know, and here are my questions:

1) Has anyone else moved from a 335i Coupe to a 128 or 135i and, if so, can you offer your comparative impressions, both positive and negative?

2) In terms of ride quality, are all E82s with Sports Suspension the same? I ask because BMW revised the sports suspension on the MY2011 3 Series cars and it made a HUGE difference in ride quality (new Sachs dampers and some other changes that really reduced impact harshness even with low profile runflats). Does anyone know if a similar change was made to the recently updated E82s? if you've experienced both, how would you describe/rate ride quality of a Sport/M-Sport 1 Series with 17s or 18s compared to a Sport/M-Sport 3 Series?

3) Specs-wise, the HK Premium stereo upgrade on the 1 Series seems very similar to the HY stereo in the 3 Series, maybe down one speaker (center dash, I think) but it still has the under-seat subs. Can anyone confirm that they are basically the same stereo? I'm very pleased with the HK stereo in my 335 so I'm hoping I won't have to downgrade in that arena.

4) I know the 1 Series is a bit tighter, the rear seats aren't too usable (I only need to put a dog back there, so no worries) and some of the interior materials are a little cheaper than the 3, but none of those things concern me because I car more about how it drives. Anything else you think I should know about the potential switch from an E92 to an E82?

Thanks in advance for any info you can offer,
simianspeedster