“Wow,” said my lovely life partner when she saw this picture of the new 1 Series M Coupe alongside an E30 M3 in Evo Magazine, “they really haven’t let it grow too much, have they?” I shot her a look. “You know that only one of those is a 3 Series, right?” She grinned sheepishly. Wishful thinking never looked so cute. “3 Series, 1 Series, what’s the difference?” she asks with the air of someone who doesn’t expect an answer. There’s a slight pause while I wonder what the hell to say to that. Nothing leaps out, so she’s the first to break the silence. “Besides,” she says as she turns the page, “it’s got 100 horsepower on your M Coupe and it’s awfully cute. You know, I could really use one of those.” I silently resolve to keep new issues of Evo to myself in the future. “Let’s look at the Veyron SuperSport,” I say.
She makes a fair point. Cars have grown in size (current Golf is as big as a 1980’s Passat inside etc).
So as long as the car drives well, is as functional as the E30 then what does it matter if 1 or 3 series?
In 2025 (when my mortgage is finally paid off and I might have some disposable cash for a toy car) I look forward to buying the new BMW 13 below zero series, as that year’s 1 series is only available in yellow for ferrying full classes of children on school outings.
If model growth is a response to customer demand, then why are customers still demanding the manufacturers make a model below the bloated one ?
I agree. The point is that there’s a car that meets any E30 fantasies you might have. It’s about the right weight, size, and price. It also is a lot more modern and has a ton more power.
A rose by any other name…
The 1 series isn’t as functional as an E30. The E30 had a big trunk, a real back seat, and a full sized spare tire. I suppose it is just icing that the E30 weighed about 400 lbs less in comparable equipment levels. The 1 series weighs more than the E46 that it is based on, while basically having had all the room sucked out to shrink it. I suppose none of it matters though. Even if 1 series don’t sell in big numbers, there are more insecure trend chasers than there ever were BMW CCA members.
Are you absolutely certain she was really talking about the car? :-)
Why does it matter if it’s a 1 or a 3? It’s just a badge. Both vehicles are the smallest cars BMW offered in their respective years. Besides- the 1 is really just a narrowed and shortened 3
The size increases and introducing new models to replace older smaller ones is just a rampant disease among all manufacturers today.
Pot, let me introduce you to Kettle. Kettle, meet Pot.
Your wife needs that car in her life :)
I can’t decide if the M3 is passing on the outside in that shot (sweet!) or the M1 is passing on the inside (boo!). Neither message seems to be the one BMW would want to communicate.
Judging from the low blurring of the background even in a shot that appears to have been a relatively long exposure on a moderately overcast day – I would guess that both cars are carefully negotiating the curve at about 30 mph, synchronized behind the camera-car which is probably some sort of SUV with the tailgate open. Not a high speed passing shot, so what does it matter… :-)
I really dislike the rear fender flare. It looks like an afterthought.
I’m not digging the overstyled front air dam, either.
“‘3 Series, 1 Series, what’s the difference?’ she asks with the air of someone who doesn’t expect an answer.”
She’s right on that score. Just bought a 2011 135i M Sport Package last week as a replacement for my lemon law returned 2010 Mustang (sigh). The 135 drives so much like a faster, more chuckable 335 that, for many people, there is no need to spend the extra dosh on the 3er. (Some would argue that the 3 series is prettier, or has more cachet, or is more roomy for hauling passengers. All legitimate matters of personal taste/needs. But for me the 1 series does everything I need it to.) The 1 M, on the other hand, doesn’t seem like much more car than the already excellent 135i – at least not on paper. I’ll withhold final judgement until I’ve had a chance to drive the beast.
if BMW follows their tradition of keeping those runflats off the M’s, that alone would justify whatever premium they may charge for the M. Also, perhaps due to bushing softening to make those same runflats ride less than absolutely abhorrent, once you get some speed on the car in bumpy sweepers, the difference, if anywhere close to the difference between the 335i and M3, is very apparent. So much so that the 335 can easily become relegated to freeway duty, where the M allows you to make good time comfortably in prettier surroundings.
I will warrant that the runflats stink on broken pavement. When mine expire, they will be replaced with non-runflats and the “mobility kit,” which is a flawed solution as compared to a spare, but preserves the trunk space.
I have nothing but unbridled hatred for run flats.
My mother recently switched from an e46 325 wagon to a e92 328 wagon. Both have/had a stick and are great cars but I still wish she kept the less powerful e46, because not only did it not have runflats – but it had a full size spare.
*sigh* – what a great little car that was
My neighbor in my condo community has a brand new Audi A4….which is longer, wider, and taller, and most likely heavier than my turn-of-the-last-century A6.
And I will tell you one reason it matters: Insurance. Insurance companies keep track of accident costs by make and model…as cars get bigger and more complex, they get more expensive to fix, damage-wise. That cost is born equally among people who drive the same make and model….so, if all new A-6’s get progressively larger, heavier and thus more expensive, that cost in passed on to ALL A-6 drivers, even those like me, whose car is older, smaller, lighter and likely more easily and less expensively repaired.
I prefer E90 M3.
This. Even if it’s slower, at least with the E30, you don’t have to look two or three times before you’re sure it’s a BMW and not just some other formless EuroJap blob.
It’s a decent replacement for the E30. Back in 1986, the original M3 was about as fast as a Ford Sierra Cosworth , slightly shorter and heavier, but no where near as practical (the boot/trunk is small, as the rear seats) and offcourse more expensive. Today , I’m afraid the Focus RS (which is a descendant of the Escort which was one size smaller than the Sierra etc.) may have trouble beating a ‘M1’ (i know it’s wrong, but that’s what I’ll call it) but it’s still more practical, and lighter. And the 1-series does look good (even as a 3 and 5-door hatch), and it is the only ‘real’ BMW available today in my opinion.
On the other hand I would choose the E30 over the 1 for the weight alone, if I didn’t love Sierras so much…
Grrrr!
I’d like to see an M hatch, or an M ‘vert, just not the coupe. Looks wise, I can see why many prefer the coupe, and maybe the others are too noodly for the M people, but I just find it too small and awkward. For what they’ll probably end up charging for it, I’d just rather get a Cayman if I wanted a spacefree, good handling, fast car.
An M hatch on the other hand, would be downright practical for it’s performance envelope, while a ‘vert could serve as a half price 911 bike, suitcase and surfboard sticking out the back substitute.
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a straight man use the term “life partner” before. As far as I can tell the 1 series exists only for those (very few) people who look at the modern 3 and think its just too big. Miata fans and Euro’s. In my opinion its just impossible for a grown man to look cool in a car that tiny. Not my style, all I can think is it looks like it should be parked in front of Barbie’s dream house.
Jim Clark looked pretty cool sitting in the Lptus 49…
In todays dollars the E30 would cost over $50k I believe.
Over $65,000, actually.
Why can’t I get the insides of the 1 inside the ousides of the 3?
They’re both too small. I’ll keep my E60 545. :D