[elciddragon]

If anyone has the patience to make it through to the end of this long-post, I would very much appreciate some thoughts on your day to day driving of 128s and 135s alike! Also, please agree or disagree with some of what I have pointed out from my limited experience with both cars and being new to the BMW brand.

I finally had the ability to test drive the 128i/manual/non-sport and the 135i/step/default-sport over the past few days in two different locations. My current point of reference is the 1997 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro that I currently own. I am set on getting a manual with whatever car I take, but it has been difficult locating a 135i manual to test drive. I went in with the preconceived bias that I was going to love the power of the 135i, that I had to have it, and that it was necessary to tick the sport box on the 128i to get the better suspension...but after driving the cars I am trying to take in a few minutes of driving and extrapolate out to what it will be like to live with the car in the Boston area which is proving to be quite difficult for me.

A summary of some of my thoughts from the test drives:

1. Coming from the Audi, the BMW clutch catches way lower and much quicker which took some getting used to. As strange as it seems I can get smoother shifts the quicker I shift rather than the way it is in my Audi where more gentle inputs yield more refined motion. After I got the "trick" this constitutes a definite improvement with less time spent off the power.

2a. The 128i is already significantly quicker than my current car and more than enough power for everyday purposes. The 135i definitely gives an extra little boost in performance, but with the amount of rain that we get, quality of the roads, and the fact that I would typically drive with the traction control fully on for safety on 99% of occassions makes the 128i power more useable than the 135i.

2b. In the 135i, any attempt to exercise the engine on both test drives while turning out of a bend (and in the rain in a straight line) brought signifcant cuts in engine power and flashing symbols on the dash from the DTC. WIth the 128i, no matter how much I leaned into the pedal, it just gripped and took off. Of course I may sacrifice a few tenths, but rather than focusing on not breaking traction, I feel like it is easier to appreciate the rest of the car beyond the engine without worrying about the aids cutting power constantly.

3. Like I said, i was set on getting the sport package to get the better suspension, but I am worried about what I felt while driving the 135i's. My first test drive involved some driving on the two-lane stretch of 128 north of route 1 and any lane change brought about signifcant sensations of the car tramlining. Furthermore, the exit ramps on this stretch of road are not the greatest and the 135i seemed to be very unsettled over the bumps. I stress seemed, because I know that at the limit I can take it faster than a 128i, and numerically the car corners better, but the unsettled feeling is not the greatest. Even on a better quality road like route 9 out west, the 135i seems to want to follow every rut in the road, whereas the 128i seemed more compliant.

4. The 135i's brakes were significantly better in the wet than the 128i, with reduced difference seen in the dry test.

The reason that even though the 128i feels better right now I am not completely sold on "settling" for it is two-fold: Knowing something better exists for not that much more makes it hard to say no to that option. The second thing is that I am used to a very very compliant, soft, and body-roll filled ride with my Audi (sport suspension and all). It appears as if newer cars nowadays in general have sportier suspensions stock than what cars used to have as sport. I am thinking that maybe after getting used to the increased feedback the unsettled feeling may be replaced by simply a better recognition of what is going on in the road and I will sense important feedback and naturally tune out the tramlining, bumpyness etc.

How does this compare with what everyone else feels about their cars in this area after getting used to them?