I test drove a 135 today...

[docbaily]

This morning I had some time to kill so I test drove a 135i. All I can say is wow. I'm pretty impressed with the car just from the short amount of time I had to drive it around. The only 135 they had in was auto but I didn't really care. The car felt solid as hell. If I had some extra cash I'd probably buy one. But I don't, so I can't. Anyway, here's some crappy cell phone pictures.




They also had a couple of new M3's there, too.




So has anyone else had a chance to drive one yet? If you have, what'd you think?

[threlevenguy]

Is that at Crown? I drove an auto 135i and still enjoyed it. But the M3 on the other hand..wow. Push the M button and start slidin!

[docbaily]

Is that at Crown? I drove an auto 135i and still enjoyed it. But the M3 on the other hand..wow. Push the M button and start slidin!

It was at Hendrick in Charlotte. I really wanted to drive the M3, but I didn't have enough time; I had to get to work.

[Mike325]

I drove the 135 and the m3 on the same day, back to back and both cars are awesome. I really can't wait to see the prices of some used 135i cars in about 5 years. Maybe be able to get one then for a good price.

[FredK]

heh those cell phone pics are pretty sharp!

[threlevenguy]

I drove the 135 and the m3 on the same day, back to back and both cars are awesome. I really can't wait to see the prices of some used 135i cars in about 5 years. Maybe be able to get one then for a good price.

i'm in the exact same boat. 5-7 years, find a good 6speed 135i with ~70,000 miles.

[Coco Savage]

seems everyone who test drove one ...it was a black with red int AT. heard they are pretty freaking fun, huge brakes, fast, etc etc


e36 coupe sized int?

[docbaily]

i'm in the exact same boat. 5-7 years, find a good 6speed 135i with ~70,000 miles.

Yeah I'm right there with you guys, too. That's pretty much what I did with my M Coupe.

seems everyone who test drove one ...it was a black with red int AT. heard they are pretty freaking fun, huge brakes, fast, etc etc


e36 coupe sized int?

Yeah it's close to that size. I mean to me it felt like a new e30 (but that's just my opinion). I think that's why I liked it so much, right off the bat.

[gearheadE30]

Havn't gotten a chance to drive one above 10 mph yet :( but they are nice. Too soft in my opinion, but I'm used to the e30. The interior is pretty nice for a lower-buck car (for bmw) and no iDrive!!

EDIT: The only 135i the dealer had was black, AT, red interior. Go figure. They had quite a few 128i and 'verts, but no sticks.

[ldsbeaker]

resurrected:

I drove one today. Black on black. Manual.
It was AWESOME!!
I'm 6'4" 230ish, and I was afraid that I wasn't going to fit. It fits like an E30, no shit.
We drove on surface streets for a few minutes then he directed me to the highway. He said, "on the ramp, this car will go as fast as you want it to."
I didn't believe him, so I only drove it 6/10ths, but still felt like my face was getting ripped off. It just wouldn't slip! I was disappointed in myself (but still grinning ear to ear) and said that I wanted to do it again. he said that we had two more ramps to go. hehehe. Needless to say, I did the best I could to push it on the ramps. Only for a split second on the second ramp did I feel the slightest bit of understeer.
The salesman was having a good time with me, I think. It's so crazy how they don't know anything about cars. I looked at the ///M3 sedan that they had up front, and noticed that it had drilled rotors, but what looked like regular 1 piston calipers, whereas the 1er has 2 pistons. (right?, I can never figure it out) I tried to ask the salesman about it and he quickly changed the subject. Oh well.

Short story? Everything you've read is wrong. The 1 Series is FOR REAL.
Now, would I pay $40k for one? Probably not, but I'm tempted.

[rThor432]

I thought that dealership looked familiar, then I saw that you are in Charlotte.

1's are nice. If BMW would bring the 4-door hatch to the States I'd buy it right away. Especially a 2.0l diesel with a 6-speed!

[blunttech]

i guess i have a different opinion. they are numb and understeering heavy pigs. im sure with 5k worth of suspension work you might be able to make them neutral but i felt isolated from the road and the steering was super heavy. fast as hell though and it would be a fun car for someone that just drove to work and back. too heavy for me though. i wish money were no object because buying one and completely stripping it would be fun

edit, probably not a fair comparison as i didnt have a salesman along and i literally tortured this car at octoberfest. driving it at 8/10's its probably not so bad. i was driving it at 12/10's and got air .

[TDE30]

If BMW would bring the 4-door hatch to the States I'd buy it right away. Especially a 2.0l diesel with a 6-speed!

Couldn't have said it better myself. A 123d hatch or a 4-door hatch with the N54 and a 6-speed would be so dope.

A friend's father just got one and said that bone stock, it is a very capable car, he claimed it was one of the quickest cars he has driven. I'd go for one if it wasn't for that ghastly rear.

[e34john]

1's are nice. If BMW would bring the 4-door hatch to the States I'd buy it right away. Especially a 2.0l diesel with a 6-speed!

There is an alpine 5 door at school. 4 cylinder petro but I still want it. Actually I think there are 3-4 of them. We are close to mexico so theres some cars we don't get on campus, the Smart roadster was a blast. And those Ram Chargers are pretty mean too.

[MikeK]

the 135 is a violently fast car. I got to rip one at Oktoberfest like Blunt did, and boy was it intense. Sheer violence. I, too, thought that i was a bit numb. Since it was the smallest of the new BMW line up I had hoped that it would have SOME sort of feedback, but the only feedback i had was my eyeballs being sucked into the back of my skull.