Those with a keen eye will note immediately that the 2008 BMW 135i pictured here is not our long term 135. The car pictured is my friend, Jon's, car and represents everything good about the 135 that ours isn't. It's black. It's got a black interior with aluminum trim. It's got an iPod hookup. And most importantly it has the awesome and aggressively bolstered manual seats.
It's also $39,000.
Last weekend we saw temperatures in the mid-eighties here in SoCal and, as we're both East-Coast transplants, we did what every car guy on that side of the world wishes they could: We hit the canyons around Malibu. Windows down.
This was never intended to be a fair fight. The GSR's got more power, AWD and a better (and better looking) driver. That's not to say that the 135 wasn't keeping up. It was, pretty well in fact, and thanks to suspension tuning that's designed for understeer (remember, BMW thinks that this car will be the owner's first RWD car) there was very little chance it was going to go all sideways off a cliff.
It wasn't a fair fight until the road got twisty. Very twisty. The BMW snaked, nimble and sharp through the tight loops as the GSR's yaw control got all confused by the rapid direction changes and resorted to understeer followed by a mild four-wheel-drift when the S-AWC caught up. Evo Xs have never liked the slalom and that particular stretch road mimicked that test pretty well. Even then, the GSR continued to pull away.
We kept that up until the sun set. (I've been given reports that the full-moon was so bright others kept driving into the warm windy night.) We posed for a picture and then went our separate ways. He to dinner, I to the gas station and a hot shower. Which brings me to the main theme that emerged during this drive: The GSR is just too much.
Jon went off to eat sea creatures and I, quite hungry, slinked off to somewhere quiet to nurse my bleeding ears, sore back, bruised knee and tired hands. The 135 was a hair slower, but at the end of the day he didn't need a long nap. He didn't average 8 mpg. And he didn't have to buy earplugs for the following day's drive.ÂÂ
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 15,479 miles
jederino says:
02:10 PM, 01/16/09
Well, now, that's a good point about the performance/comfort tradeoff. Seriously, how fast do you need to be? I'm not detective Bullit, so I'd be willing to take it down a notch for some refinement.
carfreak8394 says:
02:18 PM, 01/16/09
That Bimmer looks soooooooo much better in black. At least in the pictures..
huyracing says:
02:23 PM, 01/16/09
damn right its better looking in black, its even less noticeable! lol.
ddoouugg says:
02:26 PM, 01/16/09
Where was this exactly?
felonious says:
03:09 PM, 01/16/09
Are you sure he didn't average 8 mpg?
bimmer13 says:
03:13 PM, 01/16/09
That is the same way that my 135 is optioned: Sport package, iPod control and nothing else. As a result, I never understand all the Edmunds compliants.
tmanz says:
03:14 PM, 01/16/09
"Where was this exactly?"
On a closed course with professional drivers, I'm sure.
eclip5e says:
03:16 PM, 01/16/09
This is what happens when you get old, your body gets sore and you start to slow down.
false_cause says:
06:19 PM, 01/16/09
Doesn't the GSR have 291hp and 300 ft/lb torque and the 135i 300 of each?
bkochuk says:
06:46 PM, 01/16/09
that IS a great picture of the Bimmer. black cars always look best at sunset/dusk. they usually look horrible at high noon.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
06:56 PM, 01/16/09
Can somebody please explain the infatuation S. California folks have for black interiors and exteriors on cars?
Is it because they want to be invisible at night?
Hopefully these black cars come with more powerful AC given S.Calif's a desert climate with record breaking heat (as of last few years).
pookgai says:
07:16 PM, 01/16/09
To "false_cause"
The Blue GSR has a bunch of aftermarket performance parts that upped the HP and torque considerably.
3ricchu says:
07:17 PM, 01/16/09
Hey there Mike, could have sworn you were with Josh who had the M3?
(asian with the Mustang GT)
subytrojan says:
07:34 PM, 01/16/09
That is correct, 3ricchu. (Josh) Sadlier told me about their little adventure. :)
tmanz says:
07:42 PM, 01/16/09
the 135 looks like it is angry at the Lancer, like a moment after the picture was taken it headbutted the lancer.
3ricchu says:
07:43 PM, 01/16/09
Haha, I was traveling on Latigo Canyon and saw them stopped by the side of the road talking to an STI owner. I was absolutely shocked that I'd run into them. Recognized the two cars immediately, but I did forget to ask about the M3's tire situation. =(
CaptainChaos says:
10:21 PM, 01/16/09
Actually, betsy's carputer registered 16.5 mpg between the two drives. That number is not entirely accurate as it hadn't been reset since the previous weekend's refueling, but it is relatively accurate considering this car gets driven nearly this hard every weekend.
The GSR is definitely more powerful than the 135 given all of its aftermarket parts, however betsy had little trouble giving the blue bumble bee a run for its money in nearly every situation.
As for location of the shot: http://tinyurl.com/97t999. Props to Mike for the good shot.
ahightower says:
12:09 PM, 01/17/09
I'll be darned, it actually looks good in black. As I see more in person, I like them less, but I have seen lighter colors. Hmmm.
blueguydotcom says:
05:23 PM, 01/17/09
Wonder what would happen if the 135 had the dinan chip? It certainly wouldn't be down on power.
hondacura4 says:
07:27 AM, 01/18/09
Id have to go with the 135i even though they are priced similarly and there is the cost of modifications to the Evo.
The BMW is better built, has a much better warranty and it uses its natural balance to produce its performance numbers not computers. Slightly modify the Bimmer and get back to me.
MS3lvr92 says:
12:45 PM, 01/18/09
Great post. The Bimmer does look almost sleek and beautiful in black. I like the 135i styling in any color but the black color in the last picture really brings out the cars lines.
roadburner says:
05:11 PM, 01/18/09
"Wonder what would happen if the 135 had the dinan chip? It certainly wouldn't be down on power."
Turner also sells a good re-flash.
sgude says:
03:06 AM, 01/19/09
Black is the best color for showing of the complex curves of the 135i body. Especially in that kind of light. It isn't beautiful nor is it ugly; but there is always something to see on it.
coletrickle says:
05:37 AM, 01/19/09
"Wonder what would happen if the 135 had the dinan chip? It certainly wouldn't be down on power."
I wonder what would happen if people stopped giving a crap about 1/4 mile times down to the 100th of a second and focused more on the overall drive at a certain price point?
I suspect STI's and EVO's would go the way of the dinosaur and Mitsubishi 3000GT.
dougtheeng says:
06:56 AM, 01/19/09
Looks great in black - I rarely see the orangey/red color on the road.
The moonlight shot highlights the worst design feature on the 1-series. Slap some normal doors on that car its it'd be a looker.
dougtheeng says:
06:57 AM, 01/19/09
* and it'd be a looker.
gah, EDIT!
wahsingku says:
09:57 AM, 01/19/09
I wonder what would happen if the 135 had xdrive??
boxermike says:
06:06 PM, 01/19/09
"I wonder what would happen if the 135 had xdrive??"
It probably would've been slower. It never really gets away from the driver and full power is available very early. It would be quicker, I think, with a more advanced alignment.
"Hey there Mike, could have sworn you were with Josh who had the M3?
(asian with the Mustang GT)"
Good to see you out of the G8 forum! Glad you stopped by when you did. The drive you caught us on was on Sunday. This drive happened on Saturday.
-mike