Help me decide, Audi S1 or BMW 135i E82 LCI M Sport

[AGee]

Hi all!

I’m looking at purchasing either a demo Audi S1 or a used BMW 135i. I have just test driven the S1 but I’m yet to test drive the 135i as it’s difficult to find without travelling long distances. I would use the car as a daily drive in a non-congested city, no racing.

1. If you have driven or owned both:

a. Which do you prefer and why?​

b. Which car is more fun to drive and why?​

c. Do you miss the extra acceleration speed of the 135i, does the S1 “feel” as fast, is the difference really noticeable?​

d. Which car was more expensive to service?​

2. In a RHD S1, has anyone had any problems with clipping the side of the clutch with their shoe when placing their foot on the carpeted footrest? I had this happen all the time in a Subaru and it drove me crazy.

3. What is it like to heel & toe in the S1?

 

[DTYME83]

Jose think that is one for you as you have driven both. @josedebardi
I personally prefer the way Audi's drive to BMW. My other half has got a 2 Series and as nice as it is its not for me.
DTYME83

 

[josedebardi]

1. I had a 135i and my S1 is now up for sale FYI...
A. S1. It's far rarer/more exclusive. Holds its value much better (135 dropped £20k in 11 months!!!). It also has much better tech with the MMI compared to BMW. More comfortable also.
B. Much more nimble in the corners. Only thing it obviously lacks is the sideways action ability. I have had both round a race track as well - still prefer the S1.
C. S1 feels faster (tho note I have it running 284bhp). The Quattro makes all the difference tho. The BMW would break traction all too easily - fun of course, but not good for speed.
D. No idea, I have the service pack thrown in for free on every car I buy. But the BMW did eat rear tyres at 5k miles a time whereas the S1 at 6k still has good tread all round.

2. I have an aftermarket footrest. Search for the thread in a1-forum. User GE90 mills them out of aluminium. Foot does not catch the throttle.

3. I have tried it a few times (I used to do it a lot in my now gone MR2 track car). It's not really set up for it. But then equally it won't lock the wheels of you don't like the MR2 would as the Quattro distributes the engine braking - it's obviously not so kind on the clutch to slip down a gear with a big rev difference. On the road for 9/10 downshifts I rev match before I brake.


I sound like I hated the BMW, I didn't it was a lovely car. Just the S1 is like a mad little terrier compared and I love that cheeky side to it. Depends what you want out of the car really.

 

[RMJ891]

Glad to hear you still have love for your S1, Jose

 

[andy l]

I always remember Jeremy clarkson driving a 135i it nearly killed him as it aquaplaned on a straight line test against a golf gti it span out of control!
Good review of the 135i by josedebardi they suffer from massive depreciation also.
Had a BMW 123d four years ago as soon as winter came it was awful and when the snow came I got stuck so many times I ended up taking my wife's ford ka to go to work!!
Never again would I personally re visit BMW.
No doubt there good fun but can you really go sideways on the public road.

 

[coddy85]

Great knowledge from Jose, as always. Having only had my S1 a week. It has caught me out a couple of times when the turbo kicks in. It really is a kick in the head. In fact it's more noticeable then it was in the S3.

 

[AGee]

Thanks for all the responses especially Jose!

1. I had a 135i and my S1 is now up for sale FYI...
A. S1. It's far rarer/more exclusive. Holds its value much better (135 dropped £20k in 11 months!!!). It also has much better tech with the MMI compared to BMW. More comfortable also.

Sorry, I should have mentioned I’m purchasing in Australia. Here I can get a low Km 135i at similar costs to a demo S1. Though watching fifth gear it’s seems depreciation rates in the UK are massive!

The MMI systems here seem to lose a lot of the functionality available in Europe.

B. Much more nimble in the corners. Only thing it obviously lacks is the sideways action ability. I have had both round a race track as well - still prefer the S1.

So if I understand correctly, the S1 has better handling, better traction and pulls out of corners easier while the 135i accelerates faster, more wheel spin and can drift easier around corners. I have read a stock 135i has a little bit of understeer how about the S1? How does the suspension ride compare between the two?

C. S1 feels faster (tho note I have it running 284bhp). The Quattro makes all the difference tho. The BMW would break traction all too easily - fun of course, but not good for speed.

OK so comparing performance figures on http://www.automobile-catalog.com/

2014 Audi S1 Sportsback vs 2012 BMW 135i Coupe E82 (manual)
(Sorry about the formatting the editor is not behaving)

S1 - 135i​

0-30 km/h (s): 1.2 - 1.3
0-40 km/h (s): 1.5 - 1.6
0-50 km/h (s): 1.9 - 2
0-60 km/h (s): 2.6 - 2.3
0-70 km/h (s): 3.1 - 3.1
0-80 km/h (s): 3.8 - 3.7
0-90 km/h (s): 4.8 - 4.3
0-100 km/h (s): 5.6 - 4.9
0-110 km/h (s) 6.6 - 5.7
0-120 km/h (s): 7.7 - 6.9
0-130 km/h (s): 9.2 - 7.9
0-140 km/h (s): 10.6 - 8.9
0-150 km/h (s): 12.2 - 10.1
0-160 km/h (s): 14.2 - 11.5

0-20 mph (s): 1.2 - 1.3
0-30 mph (s): 1.8 - 1.9
0-40 mph (s): 2.8 - 2.5
0-50 mph (s): 3.8 - 3.7
0-60 mph (s): 5.3 - 4.7
0-70 mph (s): 6.9 - 5.9
0-80 mph (s): 9 - 7.7
0-90 mph (s): 11.4 - 9.5
0-100 mph (s): 14.3 - 11.6​

So assuming the numbers are accurate, for street driving speeds the two compare well until 80km/hr. I’m guessing that around 90km/hr (56mph) the S1 has to shift into 3rd while the 135i can stay in 2nd gear.

I’m guessing the S1 with 284bhp might be doing 5sec flat to 62mph?

3. I have tried it a few times (I used to do it a lot in my now gone MR2 track car). It's not really set up for it. But then equally it won't lock the wheels of you don't like the MR2 would as the Quattro distributes the engine braking - it's obviously not so kind on the clutch to slip down a gear with a big rev difference. On the road for 9/10 downshifts I rev match before I brake.

I thought that might have been the case the pedal box looks to be shifted off centre to the left, I guess that would make heel and toe uncomfortable and the accelerator pedal could use a little bit more length.

I always remember Jeremy clarkson driving a 135i it nearly killed him as it aquaplaned on a straight line test against a golf gti it span out of control!

No doubt there good fun but can you really go sideways on the public road.

I was never really sure if that was staged or for real, from memory he spun off in the wet accelerating in a straight line in the M135i hatch.

Good point with not going side ways on public roads.

Having only had my S1 a week. It has caught me out a couple of times when the turbo kicks in. It really is a kick in the head.

I noticed that, it can be violent!

 

[josedebardi]

You are very welcome mate.

Wow. 135's must really hold their value in Oz then!!

The S1 does have under steer as its only option past the limit of grip (when REALLY on it you can induce lift off oversteer) - but the limit of grip is much higher than the BMW. The 135 will naturally under steer unless you are actively trying to oversteer, which surprised me as I thought the RWD would make it more neutral most of the time. The ESC is quite forgiving on the BMW, which is nice in some respects, but also meant that it would snap sideways a surprising amount before saving you if you weren't concentrating. My wife didn't like driving it as she always felt like it was going to kill her due to the ease of breaking traction and then having to look like a drifting God before it pulled you back in line! On a track day where trying to go quick, not sideways, it totally wore out the fronts - whereas street driving will heavily wear the rears more that the fronts (or at least in my case as I would never push anywhere near as hard in the corners on the road - just enjoy the acceleration). You could never get a nice balance in the corners, it was either progressing under steer, or snap oversteer - the S1 is much easier to drive fast around a corner, and when the front starts to slide you just lift off a little and it keeps a nice balance.

Yes, my S1 is flat 5's to 100k and so of course somewhat quicker in the early phases as well. 2nd gear is only good for about 95k which is very annoying for getting a good 0-100 figure but in the real world a non issue. The BMW would run on to just over 100k in second I think - but I had the DCT box (which is amazing) so seamless shift meant that didn't really matter anyway - also not sure if the ratios will match the manual version (probably not as its a 7 vs 6 speed).

Knowing the cost/depreciation situation you are in, I think I'd be more tempted by the 135i, as a new/demo S1 will likely lose more than a 2 year old 135i would. But that's the head talking! Both are great cars as I said, and it probably comes down to personal choice, I just like the S1 better as in the real world you can use more of the performance safely, plus as I mentioned, it has a more thrilling feel to it and more character (only lacking in the character of exhaust note - I do miss that straight 6 roar!).

Good luck with your choice and do let me know if you have any more specifics you want to know about!

 

[AGee]

Awesome Jose! Just the kind of information I was after and the type you probably would not get from test driving for 20 minutes under supervision on public roads. Thanks very much!

The demo car that I was looking at doesn’t have the folding/heated/dimming mirrors, does anyone know if the A1 parts/mirrors would fit onto the S1?