CD Article: 2008 BMW 1 Series coupe

[davidm]

I would love a 911 (not particularly a 996 fan), but have this moral/ethical question - is a 911 auto/tip okay or should it just not be owned?  

For the old and arthritic, the tiptronic is a great choice.  The last PCA cruise I attended, I met an older guy who moved out of his 964 and into a tip 996 (from the US).  Beautiful car, he's owned 6 prior 911's and this was his first tiptronic.  Loves it. 

996's are bargains.  Great handling car with a questionable front end. 

Not old, but an early arthritic so it gives a man some hope.  Great to hear, I actually read some posts from a track day driver who drives tip and was explaining how it can be done (and sometimes faster than the manual around the course).

That 996 nose and the new guages - I want my single, flat glass guages!!!

Maybe I go back to waiting on a 911, even if it is a slightly handicapped 911.

[safristi]

Kitsilano & Robson.....Tip Tronic thru tha' Tulips.....wooden raise a heartbeat depending on tha TRANNY!!!

[mdxtasy]

I would love a 911 (not particularly a 996 fan), but have this moral/ethical question - is a 911 auto/tip okay or should it just not be owned?  

For the old and arthritic, the tiptronic is a great choice.  The last PCA cruise I attended, I met an older guy who moved out of his 964 and into a tip 996 (from the US).  Beautiful car, he's owned 6 prior 911's and this was his first tiptronic.  Loves it. 

996's are bargains.  Great handling car with a questionable front end. 

Not old, but an early arthritic so it gives a man some hope.  Great to hear, I actually read some posts from a track day driver who drives tip and was explaining how it can be done (and sometimes faster than the manual around the course).

That 996 nose and the new guages - I want my single, flat glass guages!!!

Maybe I go back to waiting on a 911, even if it is a slightly handicapped 911.

You may need a 964 or a 993 if the overlapping gauges are an issue.  964 tiptronics are surprisingly good and cheap. 

[Mitlov]

You know you want it:

[ghost]

I would love a 911 (not particularly a 996 fan), but have this moral/ethical question - is a 911 auto/tip okay or should it just not be owned?   

For the old and arthritic, the tiptronic is a great choice.  The last PCA cruise I attended, I met an older guy who moved out of his 964 and into a tip 996 (from the US).  Beautiful car, he's owned 6 prior 911's and this was his first tiptronic.  Loves it. 

996's are bargains.  Great handling car with a questionable front end. 

Not old, but an early arthritic so it gives a man some hope.  Great to hear, I actually read some posts from a track day driver who drives tip and was explaining how it can be done (and sometimes faster than the manual around the course).

That 996 nose and the new guages - I want my single, flat glass guages!!!

Maybe I go back to waiting on a 911, even if it is a slightly handicapped 911.

You may need a 964 or a 993 if the overlapping gauges are an issue.  964 tiptronics are surprisingly good and cheap. 

that's because nobody buys them. Yucky. I'd wait for a Cayman S.

[mdxtasy]

that's because nobody buys them. Yucky. I'd wait for a Cayman S.

They are unloved, but they are good cars for dirt cheap prices.  From what I've read and heard, the tip on that isn't that bad either.

[Jameel]

You found a magazine that did a comparison shootout with a GTI against an S4?  Seriously?  What magazine?  The S4 is twice the price, has twice the cylinders and twice the horsepower, and puts power through twice as many wheels.  I can't imagine how you would compare them.

Mitlov are you sure you are not thinking of the RS4, which I agree would never be compared to a GTi.  But an Audi A4/S4 might be compared to a GTi or a MS3.  Pretty identical HP figures.

No.

An Audi S4 has a 4.2L V8 and makes 340 horsepower and puts it to the pavement through a sophisticated full-time all-wheel-drive system.  It starts at US$49,000.  The GTI makes 200 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0L inline-four and puts it to the pavement through the front wheels.  It starts at US$23,000.  These cars are not comparable.  Full stop.

An Audi A4 2.0T is a different matter, but that's not what you said.  You said S4.

For some reason I thought the S4 was simply an A4 with V6 instead of the Turbo.  Is there something I'm missing?

If that's the case then yes I was simply referring to the A4.  I apologize.

[Mitlov]

For some reason I thought the S4 was simply an A4 with V6 instead of the Turbo.  Is there something I'm missing?

If that's the case then yes I was simply referring to the A4.  I apologize.

There's the A4 2.0T (turbo-four), A4 3.2 (V6), S4 (V8), and RS4 (fire-breathing V8).  You were thinking of the A4 3.2, which makes 255 hp.  The A4 3.2 is in the same general horsepower ballpark as the MS3 and isn't that much more than a GTI, but due to the massive price gap and luxury gap and the Quattro-versus-FWD issue, I still think they're not comparable.  The GTI and MS3 are single-minded hot hatches; the A4 3.2 is a luxury sedan with some sport mixed in.

Maybe you read European reviews that talked about the Audi S3 (a hot hatch with a higher-powered version of the 2.0T and Haldex AWD)?  That's comparable to a loaded MS3 in my mind.  Though there's no S3 in the United States.

[ghost]

that's because nobody buys them. Yucky. I'd wait for a Cayman S.

They are unloved, but they are good cars for dirt cheap prices.  From what I've read and heard, the tip on that isn't that bad either.

Modern Tiptronic in a Porsche is good. Not the old ones. In fact for the Turbo, the Tip is 0.1s faster than manual.

[mdxtasy]

that's because nobody buys them. Yucky. I'd wait for a Cayman S.

They are unloved, but they are good cars for dirt cheap prices.  From what I've read and heard, the tip on that isn't that bad either.

Modern Tiptronic in a Porsche is good. Not the old ones. In fact for the Turbo, the Tip is 0.1s faster than manual.

For the timeframe in which it was developed, it's pretty good.  Compared to today's modern tiptronic offerings, it's not that great but they seem to work alright and they don't explode.

[Snowman]

Paddle shifts are like putting your dick in a milking machine - it's more efficient but just not as much fun. ~ Jay Leno

[Mitlov]

Paddle shifts are like putting your dick in a milking machine - it's more efficient but just not as much fun. ~ Jay Leno

I think that the option of paddle shifts are great.  I heard about an EVO forum where people were grousing about the optional DSG-esque transmission in the new EVO, until someone who was an amputee piped up and pointed out that now he could buy an EVO.  There are plenty of reasons why a driving enthusiast might not want a clutch pedal and a stick-shift.

Going to paddle-shift-ONLY, however, without an option for a manual transmission, is utterly lame.  R32, GT-R, IS350 and ISF, C63 AMG, etc.

[mmret]

Its only a matter of time before Lord Fantino will outlaw manual transmissions for everything except 18 wheelers and farm tractors. After all, if you drive manual you must be more dangerous and likely to speed, burglarize, and murder innocent children.

[Mitlov]

After all, if you drive manual you must be more dangerous and likely to speed, burglarize, and murder innocent children.

I am.  Except I only murder guilty children.

[initial_D]

Still like the old clutch and clunky gear lever better. 

[dave]

I'm with GD and davidm here.  I can't wait for the 135i coupe!

Having driven a couple BMWs with the new award-winning twin-turbo 6...I want it.  I don't care if it's fugly or heavy or what.  Fact is, it's fast as hell (as fast as 335i coupe and almost e46 M3), RWD, moderately luxy, and tight like a tiger.  What is "poseur" about that?  Call it a poseur car after it blows your doors off. 

If you shave the weight, you loose the comfort, something BMW wasn't going to sacrifice.

The 135i is on the top of my list for next spring. 

[dave]

From: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/bmw/0710_2009_bmw_135i/index.html

....Still, the first thing that hits you is just how blazingly quick the 135i is. The 3.0-liter six delivers its peak torque at 1300 rpm and hauls the little coupe to 62 mph in 5.3 seconds, according to BMW. (To put that figure in perspective, that's just half a second slower than the 414-hp M3.) The engine emits a glorious roar, one that threatens to rip your ears from the side of your head. It's angrier, coarser, and deeper than the noise that comes from the 335i, and it's capped with just the slightest hint of turbo whoosh.
Chassis balance is one of our few complaints, as the 135i is plagued by tire-howling understeer-more so than with the 335i - a situation that's not helped by an open rear differential, a minuscule rear antiroll bar, and front tires that are narrower than those used on the rear. That said, steering feel is fantastic - it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the 135i's hydraulically assisted rack (all other 1-series cars use electrically aided steering) offers better feedback than any other current BMW, and that's saying a lot.

This is all well and good, you think, but really, why do I need one? Why shouldn't I just buy a base 3-series for about the same money - it keeps winning awards, right? - and get more trunk space, a bigger back seat, and more Joneses-wowing street cred?
Simple: with the 1-series, the appeal is in the intangibles. Indeed, the 135i isn't spec-box perfect (witness its pudgy curb weight), it isn't dynamically faultless (BMW engineers have hinted that their primary goal was ride quality, not balance at the limit), it isn't cheap, and it isn't a track junkie's dream (that would be a lighter, high-strung, four-cylinder screamer).

What it is, though, is something of a renaissance. In essence, the 135i is BMW doing what BMW does best. In spite of all the superbly engineered autobahn missiles and the quirky-but-capable sports cars, the company's forte has always been small, fast, and relatively affordable sedans. Forty years ago, the Munich carmaker built a legacy with the 1600 and the 2002; twenty years ago, it cemented that legacy with the E30-chassis 325i. In spite of what BMW's marketing department would like you to believe, the 1-series isn't a reborn 2002 - it's far too portly and thirsty for that - but it is a return to the principles that have made BMW great. The 1-series is compact, endlessly involving, and absurdly fast. It is everything that the 3-series was before that car grew up. It is also more fun than a caffeinated circus monkey.

So, break out the confetti, kids, and start warming up those checkbooks. If you hadn't guessed already, your lives are about to change.


Yep, sounds like a real poseur dog to me....

[HeliDriver]

"Chassis balance is one of our few complaints, as the 135i is plagued by tire-howling understeer-more so than with the 335i - a situation that's not helped by an open rear differential, a minuscule rear antiroll bar, and front tires that are narrower than those used on the rear."

Wow. Didn't think I'd ever see the phrase tire-howling understeer in a BMW review. 

That may be one of their few complaints, but it sure seems like a big one to me. Oh, well. Probably easy to remedy with a bunch of money thrown at aftermarket parts.

[Snowman]

I think people used “poseur” to describe the 135i but refer to the 128i and other base model BMWs. You BMW people are so sensitive.

[dave]

I think people used “poseur” to describe the 135i but refer to the 128i and other base model BMWs. You BMW people are so sensitive.

Even a 128i with 230hp is no slouch.  I drove a 328i coupe and was very impressed by the power...shave a couple hundred pounds and you're laughing.

All BMWs get the poseur stigma...it's to be expected from the jealous type.   

Don't get me wrong, there are poseurs out there in BMWs (ie, the guys in 530i sports with ///M badges glued on).  But the 135i is no such car.