135i Road and Track First Drive

fastonekiller submitted on 12/30/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 4:23 PM
from: www.roadandtrack.com

[33] user comments | category: Spy News

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135i Road and Track First Drive

"At sub-limit handling, the 135i is like a crisper 335i, with sharp response and a nimble character. The 135i will be a great platform for a race car."

"The car is not a 3 Series, but it might as well be a variation of it. There is nothing overt that would make the 1 Series any less expensive than a 3 Series, other than its size."

"The 300-horsepower direct-injected twin-turbo inline-6 feels just as it does in the 335i — divine. The 135i comes standard with M Sports Suspension, an upgrade option for the 128i."

"Of note are the brakes: massive 6-piston front calipers sit inside the 18-in. wheels; even the rears have 2-piston calipers. This is unusual, as BMW has long used floating calipers; even the new M3 retains what many consider inferior brake components."
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pacotacolol - 12/31/2007 9:10:08 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

the only problem with the BMW is its weight. 3371 lbs.?that hefty for a small car like that.

they should make a M1.

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Bmw8ter - 12/31/2007 1:09:27 PM

-1 Boost

BMW did produce an M1, back in the 70s. There's no way in hell they'll ever call this an M1 considering the caliber of the old M1.

2ndbimmer - 12/31/2007 10:21:00 AM

-2 Boost

cant wait to drive it! This is going to be a true drivers car. Just fun. If I wanted practical, I would get a wagon...

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GermanNut - 12/31/2007 10:28:47 AM

-11 Boost

I will attest to the 135is road-holding abilities. It drives like a proper BMW sports sedan, but with a decided tendency to understeer. Even with all stability control disabled, it was overly difficult to induce oversteer. This was likely due to litigation fears of possible over-rotation caused by the shortened wheelbase and excessive power from the turbo-6.

At sub-limit handling, the 135i is like a crisper 335i, with sharp response and a nimble character. The 135i will be a great platform for a race car. Wider rear tires surely help to keep the rear planted, as does the lack of a limited-slip differential. Instead of a true LSD, the car is equipped with a system that controls wheelspin through the brakes — essentially a speed-sensitive differential, but clearly one that focuses on safety rather than performance.

C'mon the car is a joke. No proper BMW EVER has the tendency to understeer.

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JRobUSC - 12/31/2007 11:06:17 AM

-1 Boost

What? You couldn't be more wrong. Every BMW, even M's, will understeer at the limit. Almost all cars understeer at the limit (notable exceptions include Porsches, Vipers, etc.). The difference between the BMW and other similar cars isn't that the BMW won't understeer, it's that the limit is higher BEFORE it understeers.

Need4Speed - 12/31/2007 4:51:19 PM

-2 Boost

As someone who owns a BMW and has been to a few autocross meets...this car was designed with understeer in mind. It's one reason why the car comes from the factory with staggered wheels. Front 225/40-18...rear 255/35-18.5.

MunichRob - 12/31/2007 5:02:04 PMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

"GermanNut" keep telling yourself the 135i is a joke, just like you kept trying to convince everyone the RS4 still reigned supreme over the M3...We don't live in your delusional world "Nut", You won't drag anyone in with you either.

GermanNut - 12/31/2007 11:34:35 AM

-8 Boost

The lack of an LSD brings the focus to safety before performance on the 135i. In the 335i the focus is on performance first and then safety once your driving at the limit.

A HUGE difference.

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LexSucks - 12/31/2007 1:11:21 PM

0 Boost

Like the 135 the 335 also doesn't have an LSD. What is your point?

1970toyotamarc - 12/31/2007 12:07:07 PM

+5 Boost

one word....leatherette.

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bmwfan1513 - 12/31/2007 12:42:15 PM

-5 Boost

The 135i is the Ultimate Driving Machine.

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Jag_xfr - 12/31/2007 12:50:20 PM

0 Boost

How can this be the ulltimate driving machine, marketing rubbish! Still looks ugly to me, especially the front...

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enthusiastx11 - 12/31/2007 10:37:10 PM

-2 Boost

again, you're talking from a weak position. s-type? x-type? old xk? front of current xk? all hideous beyond belief.

AE86 - 1/1/2008 11:10:42 PM

+4 Boost

What does styling have to do with how it drives? Ever driven an EVO?

1995e34 - 1/3/2008 3:47:21 AM

+1 Boost

it could be lexus' best car. toyota has a pretty good reputation with small cars.

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lucast - 1/17/2008 6:11:55 AM

+2 Boost

lexus are garbage. anyone who even considers them in the same market segment is obviously a moron.

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GermanNut - 12/31/2007 7:31:51 PM

-6 Boost

The 135i has the same twin-turboed 6 as the 335i producing the same 300 hp and 300 lb/ft. of torque.

It is a smaller car and weighs less that is also why the official acceleration from BMW is faster for the 135i than the 335i to 60 mph.

I expect the 135i to be able to run to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds or maybe even 4.6 seconds. That would be .2 seconds faster than the 335i which has 4.8 seconds as its fastest time from 0-60 mph.

The experience is not the same though. The 335i offers a more complete package. That is why the 135i lost to an Audi TT.

The 335i would never EVER lose to the old B7 A4.

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GermanNut - 12/31/2007 7:46:57 PM

-4 Boost

Actually, I checked my facts again at bmwusa.com and the 135i has 0-60 manual tranny in 5.1 seconds and auto in 5.2 seconds.

The 335i has 0-60 mph in 5.3 for manual and 5.5 for automatic.

The 135i beats the 335i in 0-60 mph by .2 seconds for manual transmission and .3 seconds for automatic.

Considering the 4.8 seconds was achieved for the 335i with automatic transmission I fully expect the 135i automatic to run to 60 in a startling 4.5 seconds.

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yrralis1 - 1/1/2008 3:56:05 AM

-1 Boost

I like the car and agree with the points Fast made.

Here's my only beef -
1)The car needs a limited slip differential --it's inexcusable that LSD is not standard on this particular car.
2)BMW is notorious for frequent revisions . Change is great BUT not when it's done so rapidly that it invalidates the purchase. When the E90 330i was launched the twin turbo engine ought to have been placed in those cars .Instead 18 months later it is placed in the 335i coupe .The revisions demonstrate innovation but it also amounts to depreciation on those who buy the car only to see it upgraded before they even change the oil.

There's already room to improve the 135 as well . Why can't they build it to last 3 years right from the start?

3) The limited production --IMO this will create a price bubble so that when the upgrades come they can introduce more cars and get higher prices for them , In fact if they bump up the 135 , they can also bump up the 335 . An E46 3 series often sold for under 40K not too long ago and now it's quite common to see an E90 selling in the upper 40's and that's a huge leap in comparison to other cars .

This is going to be a great car and may even capture sales of some who passed up on some of the other recent BMW's but I wish that BMW would cater towards a longer time frame before a revision with this car .

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AE86 - 1/1/2008 5:24:08 PM

+4 Boost

Buyers should demand an LSD in cars the caliber of the 128i through the 335i. Yet BMW and Porsche insult us with LSD-less machines (Boxsters and Caymens do not have LSD's)

pacotacolol - 1/1/2008 10:11:04 AMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

Happy New Year!

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huntr - 1/2/2008 7:56:39 PM

0 Boost

One reason for the very low weight difference between the five and the three is that the five uses aluminum from the A-pillar forward in the structure of the car, this helps with the weight. The three series uses High Tensile Steel throughout the construction of the car (chassis and body) this makes the car very strong but not light like the five. The difference between the High Tensile Steel and the sheetmetal used in the e-46(previous three series)is amazing. I have steel samples for demonstration of the two cars and there is quite a difference in strength.

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supermoto - 1/3/2008 4:36:52 PM

+1 Boost

A 200lb-lighter 335i for less money. Should be a stunner and I can't wait for the M-version.

Regarding understeer, the vast majority of cars understeer for fear of litigation due to throttle-induced oversteer crashes to the inside of corners. I find it frustrating but it is nothing that can't be dialed out.

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