135i vs 335i thoughts

Originally Posted by H2Orower

I know what you're saying about the E46 interior. There were lots of little things that I think were nice in my 2004 330i. e.g. The all around look and shape of the dash, the wood trim inserts, seats, trim/buttons around map lights, compartments below radio and a/c panel. I think a big problem I had with the E90 interior was too much "dead space". The interior was obviously wider than an E46, but instead of redesigning a nice sculpted curving dash like the E46, they just made this straight across unexciting dash. Other's, of course, may have differing opinions. That's just mine.

The interior in my 135i reminds me more of the E46. BMW certainly didn't use more expensive interior components in the 135i vs. the E90, I think the design just flows better because of the physical dimensions of the 135i cockpit.

Thanks.. what about the actual quality/solidity? For example, here are some things I've noticed on the newer cars (both e90 and 1 series)
-headlight switch feels cheaper and less substantial
-Overhead panel with light and sunroof switches looks and feels cheaper; and easily bends when pressing it
-glovebox door and handle feel less substantial
-Dash plastic looks and feels less rich more just like textured hard plastic
-Steering wheel buttons aren't curved to fit fingers and don't feel as nice to press
-headiner material looks/feels cheaper
-steering wheel height adjuster isn't as smooth or substantial.
-And one thing they share w/ the e46 is the flimsy feeling and creaking rear package shelf and celing mounted brake light cover (atleast on e90 sedan)

Lots of small things but they add up to give an impression of lower quality. I agree that the 1 interior is more e46 like in design, but something about the shape of that decorative strip that runs above the radio and glovebox just looks wrong..and the way it stops short of the passenger air vent bugs me too. I do think the door panel designs are nicer though!

I want to get over all of this because I"m getting quite bored of my old 325i and the only cars that excite me are the 135/335 (Audi the "king of interiors" bore me). So does any of this bug you in reality, and/or am I missing many of the positive aspects of the new 1/3 interiors? I know someone will say "just drive the car and don't worry about the interior"-- I agree to a certian point but when you're spending this much you want the overall experience to feel high quality.

Originally Posted by bmw325

Being an e46er myself, I do have misgivings about the interior quality of both the current 1 and 3 series...the design and quality just doesn't seem as nice as it once was. Having owned all 3, do you think the inteiror quality is actually worse than the e46?

I know what you're saying as I thought the same as you. I still own a 2002 330i and now that I've got the 128i the interior of the e46 feels old, not in a bad way, but in a comfortable way. the 128's interior has a nice feel to it as well as a good fit n finish, especially when optioned with the grey poplar wood.

Originally Posted by bmw325

Thanks.. what about the actual quality/solidity? For example, here are some things I've noticed on the newer cars (both e90 and 1 series)
-headlight switch feels cheaper and less substantial
-Overhead panel with light and sunroof switches looks and feels cheaper; and easily bends when pressing it
-glovebox door and handle feel less substantial
-Dash plastic looks and feels less rich more just like textured hard plastic
-Steering wheel buttons aren't curved to fit fingers and don't feel as nice to press
-headiner material looks/feels cheaper
-steering wheel height adjuster isn't as smooth or substantial.
-And one thing they share w/ the e46 is the flimsy feeling and creaking rear package shelf and celing mounted brake light cover (atleast on e90 sedan)

Lots of small things but they add up to give an impression of lower quality. I agree that the 1 interior is more e46 like in design, but something about the shape of that decorative strip that runs above the radio and glovebox just looks wrong..and the way it stops short of the passenger air vent bugs me too. I do think the door panel designs are nicer though!

I want to get over all of this because I"m getting quite bored of my old 325i and the only cars that excite me are the 135/335 (Audi the "king of interiors" bore me). So does any of this bug you in reality, and/or am I missing many of the positive aspects of the new 1/3 interiors? I know someone will say "just drive the car and don't worry about the interior"-- I agree to a certian point but when you're spending this much you want the overall experience to feel high quality.

I'm very pleased with the look/fit/finish of my 135i interior (below are some pics). Out of the four BMWs I've owned, I like this one the best. Sure, I can point to areas for improvement, but that will probably always be the case. For example, it would have been nice to make use of the blank panel in the lower center dash area just in front of the DCT selector. Depending on your model and year, some cars have buttons there for heated seats, PDC, and/or convertible top up/down. But, since none of those apply to my car, I would have liked some sort of storage compartment there similar to what the E46 has. Oh well. Can't have everything I guess. To answer your specific items the best I can:

Headlight switch: don't recall what the E46 switch felt like, but I never touch this one. It hasn't left the auto position since I first took delivery. Auto works perfectly for me.

Overhead panel plastic: I do recall the E46 looking nicer up there, but I have no gripes with this one so far. The actual switches for the sunroof and map lights feel the same as I remember.

Glovebox: maybe a bit smaller, and no free flashlight, but build quality feels fine.

Dash plastic: contours were different in the E46, but the actual material look and feel doesn't bother me in the 135i. In fact, I'm quite fond of it.

Steering wheel buttons: sure, the dimpled buttons on the E46 was a nice touch, but the look and feel of this M-Sport wheel is so nice you'll forget all about the shape of the buttons. This wheel, along with the engine and DCT, is what makes this car so much fun.

Headliner: definitely disagree here. The M-Sport package comes with an anthracite headliner which is nicer than anything I ever had previously. It looks and feels great. I can't speak personally about the standard headliner.

Steering wheel adjuster: haven't noticed any problem. Adjusted it once and haven't touched it again since.

Thanks for the pics! The combo of the msport + idrive + DCT + 2 tone color scheme really makes the interior "pop". Good choices. Still not totally loving the dash design, but I'll learn to get over that i'm sure.

Originally Posted by H2Orower

Question: Is the dash top hard plastic or does it have some soft feel to it when you press your fingers on it? And what about the lower part of the dash, right below the reflective wood trim...? I am not expecting it to be soft but at least I expect the dash top to be somewhat soft, know what i mean? The door panels look awesome btw.

Originally Posted by mazdaspeed3KING

Question: Is the dash top hard plastic or does it have some soft feel to it when you press your fingers on it? And what about the lower part of the dash, right below the reflective wood trim...? I am not expecting it to be soft but at least I expect the dash top to be somewhat soft, know what i mean? The door panels look awesome btw.

Good question...I'm not exactly sure. I'm currently out of town away from the car so I can't simply go out and check for you, but I will when I get home next week. In the meantime, perhaps someone else will chime in with the answer. And, thanks, I'm real happy with the door trim myself.

Originally Posted by bmw325

Thanks for the pics! The combo of the msport + idrive + DCT + 2 tone color scheme really makes the interior "pop". Good choices. Still not totally loving the dash design, but I'll learn to get over that i'm sure.

Thanks, and good luck with your decision. I think you'll like it, but I also understand that it's tough to let go of the "tried and true" interior that you've grown accustomed to.

Originally Posted by mazdaspeed3KING

Question: Is the dash top hard plastic or does it have some soft feel to it when you press your fingers on it? And what about the lower part of the dash, right below the reflective wood trim...? I am not expecting it to be soft but at least I expect the dash top to be somewhat soft, know what i mean? The door panels look awesome btw.

Its soft. Unfortunately it also has airbag slots in the underside that end up showing.

Originally Posted by H2Orower

Good question...I'm not exactly sure. I'm currently out of town away from the car so I can't simply go out and check for you, but I will when I get home next week. In the meantime, perhaps someone else will chime in with the answer. And, thanks, I'm real happy with the door trim myself.

You're welcome! I'm really convinced.. and the design of the dash looks better than the 335i. I just can't seem to accept the 335i dash design.. or maybe I haven't grown to like it yet.

Originally Posted by adgrant

Its soft. Unfortunately it also has airbag slots in the underside that end up showing.

That's good. thanks.

Tschryver,

Did your 335i have the sports package or any suspension mods?

Kelly

No sport pack or suspension mods.

Actually, tried and true is currently a 98 Saab `vert. Very good car but I'm ready for something new (and I'm really tired of turbo lag). I love the handling of the 135i `vert, but the visibility (Being able to look out the right side) is poor. It always is with `verts (this will be #4 for me) but the hard top 335i looks like it would allow much better visibility. I'm going to have to find one with a sport suspension and take it for a drive .

Kelly

Originally Posted by kellstr

Actually, tried and true is currently a 98 Saab `vert. Very good car but I'm ready for something new (and I'm really tired of turbo lag). I love the handling of the 135i `vert, but the visibility (Being able to look out the right side) is poor. It always is with `verts (this will be #4 for me) but the hard top 335i looks like it would allow much better visibility. I'm going to have to find one with a sport suspension and take it for a drive .

Kelly

I know what you mean regarding visibility issues with convertibles, being a 4-time BMW vert person myself. However, the other side of the coin is that there's tremendous visibility when you put down the top.