I respect your opinion, but after owning two 3-series cars before my current 1-series, I have to say you're mistaken! The 3-series always left me wanting for just a bit more; little firmer suspension, little quicker steering, little less weight - and now I have exactly those things in my 128i with Sport Package. Most fun car I have ever driven!
what i ment was for example, the four wheel drive is often first tested on Audis, because its better, then its converted over to the VW's. its MOSTLY like that, and yes your right, they do have lambo and Bugatti which is their "super brands" if i am alloved to call them that :P
You can buy a GTI and make it faster than an R32 for less money, but the R32's AWD will put the power down better in the corners and most likely win at the track. Is that worth the extra cost? Also, no manual transmission in the R32, though it has the slick DSG. Up to you if that matters. Personally, I saved the money and got a manual GTI.
A recent car magazine put a modified GTI (suspension & engine management upgrade) against a R32 and the R32 was still faster around a track. Remember though, the GTI is a touring car, if you want to get the most bang for your buck for an inexpensive FWD Hatch then get a MazdaSpeed3.
Interesting footnote, laptimes; Golf: 1.56.36, 130i: 1.56.46 but the lowly and much ridiculed Ford SportKa (warm hatch at best) will complete the track in 1.57.00. I'd prefer the BMW or VW to the Ford for all but driver enjoyment and the more prestigious marks should be somewhat safer but still a disappointingly slow lap time from both vehicles even when you consider the tightness of the track.
I don't mean to say it's the same, I only drove the plane-jane 120d but it didn't feel like a whole-BMW. You sit almost on the rear axle but somehow the chassis doesn't feel right. The whole layout may be deliberately set for safe understeer (the dumb masses probably can't handle RWD) and not for oversteer as the Old BMW Glories. Dead front axle, numb steering... it didn't convince me. I saw MT says the 135i coupé understeers too... LET'S HOPE THEY FIX IT FOR THE M1!!!
it's personal....i have the bmw and i love it....but the R32 is inside bigger....but i dont like the VW inside...the Bmw is incredible and sport.......and i love it!!!!!
Well sure the BMW is a bit (not much) better car, but as to the conditions, shit man in England that's what you get so often so it is an apt comparison IMO. And I've owned 7 Dubs and 5 Bimmers and currently a Bimmer ('85 535i) so I'm not biased either way.
How often you going to take your car on track, if i had to choose i would choose r32 as its V6 so alot of potential of power and it looks better than bmw, although bmw is better value for money.
I have both. and tbh, my 130i having bought it in November 2007 and the R32 in December 2008. The R32 is slowly falling apart. The interior is in a sad shape, with plastics falling off and leather cracking even if I took care of it well. The 130i still looks almost new interior wise. As for paint, I had the R32 repainted as the paint was fading. The 130is paint is still good, never needed it to be repainted. As for repairs, i'm from south east asia. I'm not sure in Europe but the total i've spent on the R32 is atleast 3-4 times more than i've spent on the 130i. Although having said that, I love the R32 neverheless along with the GTI MK5. My neighbour had a MK7 and perhaps he was unlucky to have a problematic one. Performance? I beg to differ but over here it's not that damp and wet, the 130i destroys the R32. and after 8+ years, the 130i retained it's performance whereas I feel that i've lost a lot from the R32 =( The 130i is my everyday to drive car. Even when the M135i, M2 and E60 M5 is in the garage. If reliability is what you're asking for, the 130i in my experience over the R32. But for the MK5, i'd opt for the GTI as it's more reliable than the R32. As for our Beamers, the most costly of the lot I had to say was the E46 M3 and if you ever effed up any of the sensor on the E60 M5, you'd better be prepared to pay the bill.
Sydney Hustler can't say I've encountered any major problems. I know two other 130i owners, one of them got the instrument cluster and steering changed because some drinks were spilled at the bonnet short circuiting the battery. So I'd be careful with that as the battery is located beneath the storage compartment. I brought heavy stuffs so it's fine. Just don't fiddle with it too much. As for what to look for, mine is the face lift version. And tbh, it looks better. and thankfully It didn't come with the sunroof option. i heard probs with those. Engine wise, the N52 B30 is one of BMWs best engines to date. Despite mine being a late 2007 model, I never experienced any knocking sound from the engine. Mostly due to my frequent long distance drives once in awhile and some spirited driving. But the 2008-2011 130i have a fix for those so you don't have to worry. There was a time I left my car un driven for months and as soon as I used it for a day or so. The display showed issues with my abs, dtc and dsc. I at first thought it was my sensors that are dead along with other stuffs. Thankfully I brought it to my friends workshop, to find out that my sensors just needed cleaning. And my rear brake pad wear sensors along with the pads needed replacement (which might have been the problem lol) Anyway. that's the only biggest thing I've got. Which wasn't a real big thing. As for maintenance. I change my Oil and filters in every 7-8k Miles, Fuel Filter in every 4 oil changes. AT Fluid change in every 30k miles. Air Filter once a year. Changed my spark plugs at 60+k miles although they were still fine, but better be safe. My shocks are surprisingly long lasting. Even at 100k miles. But I changed my suspensions anyway as I wanted a new feel 😂 All the 130i comes with the m sport package. So you'd get the 18" M Alloys, Steering wheel, M Suspension and the body kit makes the E87 so different vs the other E87s. If you're buying a second hand one. like any other cars. The number one enemy is RUST. look out for those, under, inside etc. See of the car has been in an accident, do some soft knocks on both sides to see if they're the same. who knows. Give it a drive and see if you like it. It's a Naturally Aspirated engine. No turbos and unfortunately no turbos for you to fit in later on as it's not made for one. The R32 and GTI has this amazing pull at low to mid revs that makes it feel fast 😂 While the pull feel is constant up to high revs on the 130i. I know this is long, but better type em rather than put em up one by one 😂
Sorry but, VW and Audi are very similar. Is an A4 better than a Passat? Bought have the same tech. The same engines, the same gearboxes (S-tronic = DSG), and Audi is not the most luxury brand that VW Group has. It is Bugatti, and the next is Lamboghini.
Bad test! ...U can never test, how is the quickest car on the track, if u drive all of the corners in a drift!!! ...it´s such a unexact result! bad bad bad....speachless!
even sports cars cannot be defined without modifications. they are too expensive even now on the second-hand market. golf has a terrible change and the bmw has an incomprehensible behavior. it goes from understeer to oversteer too suddenly. can I spend over 30,000 and have to add another 3,000 between suspension and domes bars? shot down.
@IchHabeWasIhrWollt you shound like a little kid ? saying shit like " i would't take a shitty vw for free" ok then so you think that the car has a pricetag of about £30,000 for nothing lool and to be fair the only gd thing about the b m is the badge watch the top gear version, it will show you why e.t.c
What on earth are you lot on about!! A BMW 5 series is a good car, a BMW 3 series is a great car. In fact BMW are amazing engineers. Which is why anyone with half a brain would simply ask "Why on earth did they waste their lives building the one series?". They should have stuck to the exec saloons market, thats what they are good at. The one series, i hate to say, is a wet fish compared to its rivals from Ford, VW and Audi across the whole range, especially top end. What a pointless car!!
Ha Ha Ha,,, this is not true, man wake up you cant conmpare an VW with an BMW ,NEVER. BMW haves a better cars than VW. who has fooled Ha ha ha view all specs and al tests and you will see
The new Golf R was a letdown, 2.0L TSI engine at 260 bhp or so, I hate this eco-movement. NA engines are going down the toilet... BMW M engines are going to be turbod (the new M5 V8 engine is a twin turbo), the Megane RS is 2.0T engine at 250 bhp. The next Clio RS will have a 1.6T engine... gay!!!
@05BURNAGE i wouldnt even take a shitty vw for free if i had to drive it .. maybe if i could resell to buy a nice bmw .. vw is just crap and not fun to drive .. front wheel drive or all wheel drive .. your a women ? bmw is a real car for skilled drivers i think if some pro driver would test them the bmw would be faster .. this guy cant drive it anyway .. i've owned 4 bmw now and i love this brand for a good reason .. because its better then other car brands in its price class ;;;
