I still don't think that many people will be cross shopping this with the WRX or EVO. I bet the target segments are completely different. Whether you admit it or not, people buy BMWs partly for the brand. People buy WRX and EVOs IN SPITE of the brand...

People that keep saying "you can have just as much car" in the Subaru and Mitsubishi still aren't getting the point of why BMW would release this car in the US... It definitely isn't to dilute the brand by targetting the oh so attractive ricer segment...

 

Honestly...I'm shocked with this. This car is a joke, and IMO will do a huge injustice to the BMW brand. You are going to have a car that does not look unlike previous versions of the Hyundai Elantra and has the proportions of a Yaris, selling along side Alpina B7s, M6s, and X5's.

It looks terribly out of proportion- half hatchback, half coupe with many of the lines, the interior would again, be fitting in an Elantra, and to top it all off this abomination and disgrace of a car is going to start at 27k?

I don't care if you stuff the V10 from the M5 under the hood...you couldn't PAY me to drive it and I mean that seriously. This car is embarassing for BMW. Lexus goes upmarket, BMW chases Corollas and Sentras.

 

^ agree.

it looks misproportionately designed, even worse than the Z4.

what BMW should've done was model the 135 after the 2002, if not at least be inspired by it. give the driving purists what they want, not cater to the masses w/ the iDrive and other crap or what have you...

 

The 318ti didn't kill the brand, the 1 series won't either. We'll see how well it sells though.

 

Ill play devil's advocate here. I dont think it looks THAT bad. Doesnt look as good as other BMW, Lexus ect, but come one comparing it to a kia or hundyai (sp?) is just rediculous. And as far as the interior goes, i actually like the look of the interior better than the choppy look in the 335. Now materials are another issue. If it had that look with better materials i think it would be fine. Lastly, if you want a car truly for performance who really cares what the interior is like, aka corvette (which for the record i dont think is that bad).

Looks outside and in are subjective, we're all lexus owners we have high expectations. Performance is not and this WILL have some great performance.

 

im liking it......... 4 a second car. Gotta have a reliable car in the garage at all time aka. my Lexus

 

Go to a BMW dealer and compare fit and finish on 3 series with 5 series and with 7 series. It is really obvious they put more effort into the upper level cars. Even simple stuff like the quality of the door hinges is very clearly different. Imagine where this will be with the 1 series.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this approach, just saying I expect the 1 series to be the coarsest cut of all (and rightly so) and comparable to any other manufacturer's most baseline models. Even for the price they ask. Comparing to a Tiburon or a Sephia is not an unfair comparison either. For the price the BMW should look better than either of these cars, but my bet is the quality will be pretty comparable.

 

Doubt it. The 335i seems to stand well competitively. I'd be more worried about cars like the IS250 which can't really stand up to the 328i.

The "perceived" reliability problem of owning a BMW is meritless. BMW and Lexus are statistically indifferent in long-term durability. The folks at JD Power have been reporting this for a few years now.

 

Yup exactly I think they are trying to revive the 318 fans. But that car had no *****. This on the other hand is pretty close to the 3 series with lighter weight alot of HP.

 

In europe they have the 1 class, benz has the A class.

 

i think it looks better, in the rear (pic only), compare to the current 335 coupe. Is this going to be a lot cheaper?