Quote:
Originally Posted by frumplejoon
I test drove a 128i and all this still applies. It's definitely a luxury car first, with capable performance but much less engaging to drive than the BRZ. The 128i tries to detach you completely from the road with an incredibly smooth ride, and although the steering was nicely weighted, it's pretty numb. It has more grip than the BRZ for sure, but when I broke it into a slide it was on 4 wheels with more understeer (didn't mess with SC) and some very crude feedback mostly through the seat. Not as nice as a gently sliding BRZ... Oh and then there's that oddly high seating position in the 128i.
1 series = luxury car that can go fast;
BRZ = sports car that focuses on driving spiritedly
From a cost of ownership perspective, a used 135i is still a step above the BRZ and a used 128i is just about on par (as long as you're willing to service/maintain the car yourself). New 1 series are in another bracket altogether...
But then again if you'd consider a used BMW, I don't really see the point to the 1 series when you throw in an early year E46 M3. Tons more grip, more power (compared to 128i), more practical, only ~150 lbs heavier (certainly didn't feel that much heavier when cornering), not as comfortable ride but more than good enough IMO (definitely better than BRZ), while still having the same ownership costs as 128i/BRZ. Now early E46 M3 vs. BRZ, that's a real tough one  They're two completely different beasts and a toss-up depending on what you want. |
Stock for stock, I wouldn't really consider either 1-series as being a BRZ competitor in terms of driving enjoyment / rewarding dynamics. I'd say BRZ wins hands down. The thing is though that for the price of a limited (especially on the west coast where people are paying top dollar) you could afford to buy a used 1-series and replace basically the whole suspension and add an LSD. Do that and the 1-series becomes a completely different animal-- you still feel the weight of the car (that's unavoidable), but ours has really neutral handling: drive like an idiot and you
can make it understeer, but it doesn't
want to and you can rotate the car on the throttle very nicely. I imagine a 128 would be pretty similar, but you'd want to go for smaller / less-grippy tires all around to better match the decreased power output of the engine. If you could balance the grip level appropriately, the 128 might even be more fun than the 135, since it should have better throttle response.
As far as the E46 M3 goes, I can't comment since I've never driven one. By all accounts it sounds like a really nice car though. I've heard that the rear subframe mounting points tend to disintegrate though, which could add to your cost of ownership :\
But yeah, you're right. The BRZ starts as a focused sports car, where as the 1-series has to be made into one (and will always feel heavy compared to a true sportscar, even if it the additional power helps to offset it).