In driving our sporty blue 135i, the questions I heard a little too often were, “How much for the car?” and “Thirty-seven…what?!”

The love fest that surrounds the BMW 135i is pretty clear. It’s a fun little car that is a blast to drive, gets surprisingly good gas mileage, and performed well in our tests. It’s going to garner a lot of Personal Picks when the engineers and editors opine on the latest test group featured in the October issue. And I’ll weigh in there. Even though I’m not a died-in-the-wool Roundel worshiper, I really like this car.

But I’ve got some gripes that just can’t wait. So before the mushy adoration starts flowing, allow me to get in a few thoughts.

My nits to pick
At $34,900 base, the 135i is pricey. But it comes with some standard features you often have to pay for on less expensive vehicles: Xenon lights; rain-sensing wipers; cruise control (I’m looking at you, Volvo C30!); a power glass moon roof; and an auxiliary audio port (sadly, not the iPod connection we had in our 328i convertible).

But, come on BMW, can’t you put some sort of tie-downs or clips on the back of the floor mats for thirty-five large? Time and time again I found the driver’s side floor mat sliding forward onto the gas pedal. Not really what you’d expect in the Ultimate Driving Machine. Heck, Toyota had a recall in some Lexus and Toyota models because the mats slid forward. So let’s get some 10-cent clips, Velcro, or maybe chewing gum to hold these mats down, ASAP.

Next up, the radio display. Why is the climate control readable with polarized sunglasses, but not the radio? The BMW customer is probably more likely than most to sport an expensive pair of polarized sunglasses, so why should the radio be unreadable? And this isn’t new. A quick Web search shows owner complaints going back to the 2006 model year. Is this another case of “Germans know best” and we’re supposed to just deal with it? Sounds vaguely familiar to our complaints about iDrive, too.

Finally, we chose the optional Sports Package for $1,000, which included really great sport seats. Sure, the manual adjustment on a car costing $37,650 out-the-door is surprising, but the lack of motors is less complex and probably saves weight. (Makes you faster, right?) But how about a lumbar adjustment, BMW? I can tilt the front and rear of the seat independently, extend the thigh cushion, and set the recline, but there isn’t even a knob to give my back a bit more support?

Are these items deal breakers? Heck, no. While the floor mat can be a safety issue, the others, for me, are simple annoyances. For 2009 BMW is raising prices by an average of 2.1 percent. Let’s hope they can at least provide some Velcro and maybe a spare lumbar knob for that increase. Beyond addressing those nits, please don’t change a thing.

See more road test videos from the October issue sporty car group. And also check out our 300hp shootout: 135i, Evo, STi.

—Jon Linkov