2008 BMW 135i

Is 300 hp too much power for a compact, four-passenger sport coupe? Back in 1974, singer Barry White softly spoke the timeless line, "I've heard people say that too much of anything is not good for you, baby." Although White, of course, was referring to the love of a woman, nearly everyone who got behind the wheel of our Four Seasons 2008 BMW 135i coupe had similar thoughts about the twin-turbo six under its hood: was it simply too much for this little car?

But hang on. White's next line was, "But I don't know about that." And that was the reaction of most drivers once they'd revved, rev-matched, and redlined our 1-series: if anything, it wasn't enough. After all, as White continued, "the more you give, the more I want." Greedy bastard, just like us. Our 135i's logbook was filled with comments from staffers who first wondered if the 1-series had too much power and then, suddenly slapped silly by its absurd accelerative capabilities, wrote love letters to the engine. Case in point - after a ten-day, 1500-mile road trip, assistant editor David Zenlea got out his pen: "I am an enthusiast of the American muscle car persuasion, but I admit that the rush of the 135i's in-line six at full throttle is every bit as satisfying as that of a big pushrod V-8."

Although all of us, from time to time, wondered if the 135i suffered from powertrain overendowment, no one thought the 135i's chassis couldn't handle the Jurassic grunt. Still, everyone seemed to question whether maybe, just maybe, a 1-series really needed to be this fast. After all, it's not an M car, and in our minds, the 1-series was supposed to mark a return to BMW's traditional strengths of performance by virtue of thoughtful engineering and light weight, rather than simply the brute force of a disproportionately muscular powertrain. When our Alpine white coupe arrived, we had a hard time wrapping our heads around its design and its size. Is it too big and heavy to be called a One? Is it too small to cost what it does? One confused staffer couldn't decide whether it was "the deal of the century or the ultimate rip-off."

Compared with premium German compacts like the Volkswagen GTI and the Mini Cooper S, the 1-series seemed overpriced and underequipped, and it lacks hatchback versatility. On the other hand, the 135i was a more practical, more powerful, and far less expensive alternative to the Porsche Cayman.