Perhaps BMW should have chiseled a few more of those pricey euros out of the cockpit-must we really have that sunroof?-to create greater window-sticker separation in the lineup.Ī small car shrink-wrapped around a larger car’s engine, the 135i has a tranny tunnel bulging into the footwells and crowding the gas pedal. There’s no slapdash, no whiff of cost cutting in the 135i, a fact we’d celebrate more if the car’s price were lower. The switches and the panel displays fell directly out of the Munich parts bin. The hue of the primer-gray upholstery and the deep-grain plastic textures in this test car are straight BMW design code. We’d vote only for larger side mirrors on the 135i the as-fitted teardrops, which fold into the body at a button push, never found a perfect position to cover the territory. In the 1-series, the dash curves more organically and the gauges snug together in a perky, tight-fitting pod-welcome changes from the cold, relatively rectilinear dash in the 3. Xenon headlamps and a sunroof are also standard. The “M Sport Tuned” suspension, the stiff one, is included, as well as 13.3-inch front disc brakes and six-piston calipers screaming “BMW” in large white letters and delivering 70-mph stops in a curt 157 feet. They’ll make 0.89 g on the skidpad with minimal understeer. With turbocharging you also get more standard go gear, including 18-inch wheels with Bridgestone RE050A run-flat summer tires, size 215/40 in front, 245/35 in back (the battery lives where the spare tire would like to). Selecting a 135i over a 128i adds visual amps, including a blockier front air dam and a pretend rear undertray armed with a black exhaust shotgun. It takes a second glance for untrained eyes to pick out this model from a Bimmer lineup, even with its bobbed tail, taller, less-liquid roofline, and goggle-eyed daytime running lamps-two perennially glowing Hula-Hoops with design inspiration by Harry Potter. The world may have tilted, but BMW dealers will need well-lubricated tongues to steer buyers into the 1-series. Some back-of-the-napkin calculations on a 36-month lease put the monthly payment difference at $90 to $100, assuming all terms are equal.
Hence, the 135i pictured here, at a breathtaking $42,895 and still not at full froth (the iDrive nav system runs another $2100), is just $5400 less than the comparably optioned 335i. So those price gaps stay about the same as stickers inflate with options. A few nuances in standard equipment add some complexity to the comparison that we’re glossing over, but the content and pricing of option packages are virtually identical. The price spread from a base $29,375 128i to a larger 328i is $6700, and the $35,675 turbo 135i is just a $5900 saving over a 335i coupe. No doubt this is why BMW doesn’t knock much off the 3-series’ price. A redrawn dash, a reconfigured rear suspension, and a few mechanical details round out the 1’s differences-at least those not buried in blueprint footnotes.
The two available engines, a 230-hp, 3.0-liter inline-six and a 300-hp twin-turbo inline-six, are direct hand-me-downs from the current 3-series, as are the six-ratio manual and automatic transmissions. At 3420 pounds, this 135i tester has a very modern heft. Those hoping for a reincarnation of the much loved 1982–91 E30 3-series should note that the 1’s wheelbase and width are longer but the body shorter and wider than an E30 coupe’s by a crash-cushioning four inches. To make the sawed-off, snub-tailed 1-series coupe, BMW cut four inches out of the 3-series coupe’s wheelbase, 8.4 inches from its length, and 1.4 inches from its beam.
Its Mini brand proved that subatomic could be cool, and now BMW is leaning to the little using its own hallowed spinner. Except where microchips are at work, we instinctively shrink in fear from shrinkage.īMW is betting the world has tilted. For eons, humankind has chased the process of growth-in population, in physical size, in knowledge, in economic output, and in possessions. Downsizing, rightsizing, delayering, whatever term you prefer, the act of getting smaller sends primordial chills through our bones.