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      02-10-2011, 11:41 AM   #43
Nikki
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Drives: Sepang Z4MC
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: LA

iTrader: (9)

BTW I must add that the convertible 135i with automatic is INCREDIBLE as a daily driver for my commute. I'd say it made my commute about 65% more bearable and having the top down with the sun and open sky was a huge + in the happiness department.

I love my coupe though, for its rigidness, looks and performance aspects. It would be nice to have a more practical daily but I think I just need to fix my commute. Right now it's about an hour and consists ENTIRELY of stop and go.

My only complaints about the 135i were these:
1. Still not sold on styling, especially the rear and especially in convertible form with the top up.
2. USB plug really difficult to get open and once I did I broke it so the little flap wouldn't go back down. All that just to realize...
3. USB plug isn't compatible with an iPhone!
4. iDrive is a pain in the a$$ and not entirely useful for me at least. It took me half an hour to figure out I wasn't actually saving my radio presets correctly by pushing and holding the number buttons. The traffic info it popped up weren't relevant to me at all because they were all on completely different freeways far away and the route I was on doesn't show green, red, etc. like Google Maps or SigAlert.
5. I was expecting the gas mileage to greatly surpass my M Coupe but sadly, I averaged between 12-18mpg, whereas with my M Coupe, I average ~15-19mpg. I guess this could be blamed on my jamming on the gas to get the automatic to downshift and the fact that it was brand new (had less than 400 miles on it when I picked it up.)
6. Body roll and lack of rigidity, especially on the freeway...but I think this may just have been really noticeable due to my lack of experience driving in a convertible and also being used to my M Coupe's firmness. I noticed that if I was changing lanes around 55mph+ especially it would want to keep going into the lane next to it and I actually got beeped at a couple times because apparently it looked as though I intended to change two lanes at once rather than one.

Things I love:
1. TOP DOWN IN LA KICKS A$$
2. Comfort access...god this is SO useful for a girl always fishing in her purse. I really miss this feature that I had on my e90.
3. Really smooth, useful power delivery for a daily driver, although the automatic took a while to get used to. I hate having to jam on the gas to get it to go anywhere because it's in 6th gear while I'm going 35mph.
4. Fast...actually...really fast. I mean it's no where near as fun to drive or as raw as the M but its low-end torque delivers really usable power that definitely exceeds the need of the average commuter.
5. It turns heads, especially with the top down...most notably when I was on the 101 and a motorcyclist passed me, and then proceeded to stick his leg out to the left and do practically a full body turn to stare at me while going about 70mph. He looked like some kind of owl the way he managed to turn around. On a separate occasion, I also got a wave from another black 135 convertible driver. And when I got an incredible spot parked up front at a packed grocery store right by the sliding doors, a good number of people walking by were staring at the car.
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