In response to Drews comment, both cars net a good gain from turbo back exhaust and engine managment.

Aftermarket parts are much cheaper for an STI. Downpipes for a 135i will cost you around 700-800 dollars for compared to 300-400 for an STI (non-ebay).
Pretty much any aftermarket part for a 135i your looking on average to spend twice as much (look at the prices for ECU flashes from Dinan compared to Cobb/ECU Flash? or even free for your Subaru with OpenECU).

The STI comes with a slightly shorter warranty than the BMW and does not include free routine service, but BMW parts DO cost more outside of warranty.

The biggest difference is the personality of the car, if you own either and are under 24 people will think mommy and daddy bought you the car or your going to be financing it for the next 36 months with one hell of a monthly payment. The 135i is more respectable as a BMW though. Both of the cars are possibly the ugliest offering from each company for this year.

Yea! Can’t compare it, no way…

ok ok i get the beemer part but think abouth the power to weight ratio on the sti WOW. i own a sti now and its plenty fast with a couple of bolt on parts. with the light sti body and same but improved power plant it is going to be one hella fast sti on the street.

This is like comparing a fully loaded economical car to a luxury vehical. Yeah there are some similarities but that’s where it ends. No one buy cars nowadays just because of horsepower. We buy cars base of status appeal and good looks and then speed is considered. We can aquire speed through tuning and tweeking. I would view someone owning the STi as nerdy and diffrent and not in good way. While on the other hand I view the person owning a 135i as young, sucessfull and fun. Think about that before you spend the $35,000 on that dreafull “honey i fed steroid to the focus svt (STi)”. My choice would be the 135i but I would much rather purchase a 3 series coupe or a G37 and then tune and tweek it to my liking. The insurance would be less and the car have better status appeal.

BMW: for under 1k you can pack an additional 80hp to the 135i engine with software alone.

BMW: for under 1k you can pack an additional 80hp to the 135i engine with software alone.

BMW: for under 1k you can pack an additional 80hp to the 135i engine with software alone.

Subaru Focus, Vs. The BMW Tiburon.

….uhhh…….gotta go with the….Bimmer….not really a good comparsion…maybe this bimmer or a acura TL? still go for the bimmer thou.

the sti looks like a ford focus svt..i would def take the bimmer..european stlying at its finest..