Being BMW

Bob Lefsetz describes Steve Jobs as "someone who doesn't believe in market research but instead trusts his gut. Someone who delivers what people should have, and not what people think they want".

I think it's true. Until Apple came out with the iPod and their superior OS X people were quite satisfied
with regular portable music players and the Windows operating system and everything that came with it. Apple showed them how things could be done better and what they were missing.

After Jobs returned to Apple and took over from John Sculley, things in Apple started shaping up and we now have great products from a great company led by a great leader. The iPod revolution changed the face of the portable music industry forever. With multitudes of MP3 players in the market, the iPod stood out by being a simple player with a great interface and great looks. It did what it was meant to do without being a multi-tasking feature-filled gadget like the other MP3 players in the market. And that meant a lot to music lovers.

With all the sophistication going into cars these days, most luxury car makers have deviated from the fact that their cars are meant to be great driving machines. What good is a car if it doesn't drive well? It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't really matter if it has the most advanced navigation system or the most powerful speakers if it doesn't drive well. In fact, all this modern gadgetry would be more appealing on a car that drives well than on one that doesn't.

Many car companies in recent times have gone with the status quo of making average cars in bulk at competitive prices with the hope that they would appeal to the mass market. There's nothing remarkable about these mass market cars other than the fact that they are affordable but the fact is that even affordable cars can be made remarkable, but car companies chose not to. There really is no specific reason why you should choose one manufacturer over the other when it comes to this segment. It's like trying to decide what juicer to buy within a certain budget.

It's true that such products could have been developed after extensive market research and analysis, but what conventional marketing doesn't tell you is what moves people to buy a product. It could tell you what people think they need, but rarely what they deserve.

Had Steve Jobs been a conventional marketer, he would never have founded and shaped up Apple the way it is now. People who buy Apple products feel that they deserve what they bought and that coupled with superior performance is Apple's strong selling point. All this brings me back to the reality that the BMW 135i is a great car to drive. I enjoyed every moment with this car – from the time it was handed over and for the next three days. It's a car that you would love to own and use every day. It has been made with the main motive of giving people a well-built car that feels great and drives well.

It brings back memories and charm that the earlier 3 series and cars like the BMW 2002 have left behind. It is a car that you would never get bored of driving. The light gold-coloured convertible that I had the pleasure of driving came with BMW's straight six 3.0 litre twin turbo engine producing 306 hp with a 0 – 100 km/h acceleration in just 5.3 seconds.

This car did everything well. The turbo system had two different sized units each handling the lower and higher rpm speed requirements. The well-known BMW handling and steering control complements this powerful engine and the result is a compact sport saloon with the best handling in its segment.

A few other cars could match the acceleration and offer much more precise handling from a 2.0 litre engine and a single turbo, but then, the all- wheel-drive system and its yaw control-aided road grip make up for the lack in engine size. The BMW isn't trying to do that. It just wants the driver to feel great and at ease while taking turns and while cruising down the highway.

The computer controlled Stability and Traction control are tuned to let this rear-wheel-drive car over-steer to levels that provide the right amount of fun to a responsible driver. The BMW logo on the steering wheel further assured me that the car knew what it was doing!

The convertible roof takes about 22 seconds to retract or close and is operable up to a speed of 40 km/hr. Leg room at the back seemed a little insufficient for my 2-year-old daughter, but she wasn't complaining. The boot space isn't all that great either, but hey, why would I buy this car if leg room and boot space was what I was looking for? We're talking power and perfect handling on a compact car and that's what BMWs were all about from the start.

The iDrive system interface isn't difficult to use at all. The sound system is quite balanced and simple enough to use. The dashboard layout and the red instrument cluster lighting is quite typical of BMW and that is another reason I love this car. No fancy interiors. No fancy music system.

No mood lighting option with a
choice of 100 colours. It comes with a conventional handbrake and not the leg operated handbrake found on most modern cars. This is a perfect example of how a car should be built.

The body styling could have been a little better considering the price of this car, but you wouldn't complain once you taste its handling.

The exhaust tone is perfect and loud and is well suited for the look and feel of this car. The seats are well-designed and comfy and so much better than those in any car in this segment.

With the introduction of the 1 series and especially the 135i, BMW, like Bob Lefsetz further describes Steve Jobs, "is like a rock star who doesn't go on an overpriced greatest hits tour but demands that you listen to his new material".

It is one of the best handling cars that I have driven in this segment, and is a true rock star in the automobile industry!

Philip Shane is a Dubai-based motorhead