RE: BMW M140i and M240i announced
Discussion
MaxA said:
Second, why does BMW persist with a naming strategy that no longer reflects the size of the engine, but still insists that the engine is fuel injected? I remember when the first i's came out and it was a big deal. Shouldn't we be talking about a BMW M130T or M230T here? They could follow VAG and change the colour of the t or T depending on how powerful it was, maybe silver 't', black 'T', red 'T' etc.
If they put the engine size on the back then with the 1-series you'd have the choice of....Petrols:
1.5
1.6
2.0
3.0
Diesels:
1.5
2.0
2.0
2.0
Instead they just give them numbering that shows where they sit in the line up in terms of power and performance, with diesels and petrols being (more or less) comparible - a 120d and a 120i both do 0-60mph within a couple tenths of each other, a 118i is faster than a 116d, etc.
I don't have an interest in the VW range, so I had no idea that different colour badges on the back meant different engines, but bigger number = faster is a pretty simple one to follow.
MaxA said:
I have a couple of comments, one relevant and one less relevant.
First, if you're having a traction issue, then you might want to consider softening the rear suspension, and fitting wider and stickier rear tyres. Or a remap to limit the torque in lower gears. But this is endemic to the big powerful front engine/rear wheel drive coupes: I once had a go in a C63 Black Edition, which was crap over a bumpy road as the rears just kept spinning up and destabilising the car ... not really my idea of fun when you keep having to feather the throttle.
Second, why does BMW persist with a naming strategy that no longer reflects the size of the engine, but still insists that the engine is fuel injected? I remember when the first i's came out and it was a big deal. Shouldn't we be talking about a BMW M130T or M230T here? They could follow VAG and change the colour of the t or T depending on how powerful it was, maybe silver 't', black 'T', red 'T' etc.
Because 'i' is the coolest letter to add to a model name to make it sound hip and trendy. It no longer has any connotations to fuel injection. iPlayer, iPad, i8, etc... Blame Apple! Whilst I like the idea of the 'T' customers don't like change and probably won't get it.First, if you're having a traction issue, then you might want to consider softening the rear suspension, and fitting wider and stickier rear tyres. Or a remap to limit the torque in lower gears. But this is endemic to the big powerful front engine/rear wheel drive coupes: I once had a go in a C63 Black Edition, which was crap over a bumpy road as the rears just kept spinning up and destabilising the car ... not really my idea of fun when you keep having to feather the throttle.
Second, why does BMW persist with a naming strategy that no longer reflects the size of the engine, but still insists that the engine is fuel injected? I remember when the first i's came out and it was a big deal. Shouldn't we be talking about a BMW M130T or M230T here? They could follow VAG and change the colour of the t or T depending on how powerful it was, maybe silver 't', black 'T', red 'T' etc.
Denaris said:
If you are out in the sticks or have access to a track that is great, but I suspect most of these will spend their lives crawling along the A40 at rush hour. That doesn't mean I don't like these cars, I do, but in the real world most people have no use for them.
If you actually live in the sticks (rural Somerset here) then you'll quickly discover that big powerful cars are generally slower down the road than small agile ones. The ability to thread your way between hedgerow and tractor is far more important than a thumping great engine.Thorburn said:
MaxA said:
Second, why does BMW persist with a naming strategy that no longer reflects the size of the engine, but still insists that the engine is fuel injected? I remember when the first i's came out and it was a big deal. Shouldn't we be talking about a BMW M130T or M230T here? They could follow VAG and change the colour of the t or T depending on how powerful it was, maybe silver 't', black 'T', red 'T' etc.
If they put the engine size on the back then with the 1-series you'd have the choice of....Petrols:
1.5
1.6
2.0
3.0
Diesels:
1.5
2.0
2.0
2.0
Instead they just give them numbering that shows where they sit in the line up in terms of power and performance, with diesels and petrols being (more or less) comparible - a 120d and a 120i both do 0-60mph within a couple tenths of each other, a 118i is faster than a 116d, etc.
I don't have an interest in the VW range, so I had no idea that different colour badges on the back meant different engines, but bigger number = faster is a pretty simple one to follow.
Interesting that the price is actually cheaper than the base 3 dr M135 RRP.
Interesting to read some of the comments about unusable power for the road 99% of the time and lack of traction etc.
I get the first point about the usable power. I leased a 3dr auto for two years and it was by far and away the best car I've ever owned. That doesn't say much really, but one lingering feeling it did leave me with was that it has SO much power that the only times I got to use it were for about 3 seconds on the on-ramps to motorways or when going from a 30 zone to a national speed limit. Once you're rolling and you plant your foot on the loud pedal it really took off and in a blink of an eye you'd be at the legal speed limit.
I suppose I am in the 'glass half full' brigade about that whole usability debate though, as I found those moments of superb overtaking capability addictive and so that's what I'll remember about the time I spent with the car. Ok you can't use all the power more often, but then there aren't really many modern cars which you can drive around at 10 10ths all day long anyway!
Oh and one final thought from me... No-one has yet mentioned the noise from the 6 cylinder engine in these. It is really one of the compelling things that sets it apart from the 4 cylinder opposition. My neighbours are probably delighted that they're no longer being awoken by the cold starts from my old M135i on Sunday mornings when I drove off to play football, but those start ups were just fantastic fun - as was every other occasion, no matter how mundane the journey ahead was going to be. That noise was just
I get the first point about the usable power. I leased a 3dr auto for two years and it was by far and away the best car I've ever owned. That doesn't say much really, but one lingering feeling it did leave me with was that it has SO much power that the only times I got to use it were for about 3 seconds on the on-ramps to motorways or when going from a 30 zone to a national speed limit. Once you're rolling and you plant your foot on the loud pedal it really took off and in a blink of an eye you'd be at the legal speed limit.
I suppose I am in the 'glass half full' brigade about that whole usability debate though, as I found those moments of superb overtaking capability addictive and so that's what I'll remember about the time I spent with the car. Ok you can't use all the power more often, but then there aren't really many modern cars which you can drive around at 10 10ths all day long anyway!
Oh and one final thought from me... No-one has yet mentioned the noise from the 6 cylinder engine in these. It is really one of the compelling things that sets it apart from the 4 cylinder opposition. My neighbours are probably delighted that they're no longer being awoken by the cold starts from my old M135i on Sunday mornings when I drove off to play football, but those start ups were just fantastic fun - as was every other occasion, no matter how mundane the journey ahead was going to be. That noise was just
I've been saying it for a while but I think that about 250bhp is the sweet spot for the road else you never get to fully use the power band. Factors including traffic, enforcement, road condition and weather are too limiting, unless you like blatting along dual carriageways with WOT in the dark of night of course!
Hitch78 said:
I've been saying it for a while but I think that about 250bhp is the sweet spot for the road else you never get to fully use the power band. Factors including traffic, enforcement, road condition and weather are too limiting, unless you like blatting along dual carriageways with WOT in the dark of night of course!
I don't think you can put a number on it because of all the different situations you could be in on UK roads. On the narrow, high-hedged Devon lanes the fastest and most fun is in a small agile car, where 150bhp would no doubt be ample as top speed is pretty irrelevant. But that power limits overtaking opportunities on faster A roads and DC/Motorwaysboyse7en said:
I don't think you can put a number on it because of all the different situations you could be in on UK roads. On the narrow, high-hedged Devon lanes the fastest and most fun is in a small agile car, where 150bhp would no doubt be ample as top speed is pretty irrelevant. But that power limits overtaking opportunities on faster A roads and DC/Motorways
Pah, manage plenty overtakes in the OH's 73bhp shopping cart. Power just makes you lazy. 
I figured I'd be getting rather jealous at this news of the new baby BMW, as I've recently bought an M135i myself (although I bought a three year old one, on the basis that a new one would be difficult to (financially) climb out of)). However, I'm not.
I commend BMW for pushing the bar even further with this, however it must be said that I agree with a lot of the posters here, that chasing more power is fundamentally futile. Certainly on the basis of keeping ones license safe, and being predominately based on UK roads. I've had the car a little under two months and there have been only a few times I've really been able to explore the entirety of the rev range, albeit those are *glorious* moments.
The soundtrack, the gearbox (ZF8) and the modern interior are all beautiful to behold but I can't help thinking that for the majority of time, a 116i could perform all the same functions and in some scenarios, be a more enjoyable drive.
First world problems I appreciate, but it's an interesting topic and reading a lot of the posts already here, I feel I am not alone.
I commend BMW for pushing the bar even further with this, however it must be said that I agree with a lot of the posters here, that chasing more power is fundamentally futile. Certainly on the basis of keeping ones license safe, and being predominately based on UK roads. I've had the car a little under two months and there have been only a few times I've really been able to explore the entirety of the rev range, albeit those are *glorious* moments.
The soundtrack, the gearbox (ZF8) and the modern interior are all beautiful to behold but I can't help thinking that for the majority of time, a 116i could perform all the same functions and in some scenarios, be a more enjoyable drive.
First world problems I appreciate, but it's an interesting topic and reading a lot of the posts already here, I feel I am not alone.
The faster 1ers have really grown on me recently. There seems a lot to be said for six cylinders and rwd coupled with a manual gearbox in a compact exec which is actually bloody compact for a change. Say what you like about BMW, no-one else has done anything like that for years.
Like a few people have mentioned already, though, I do wonder if some of the later iterations might be a bit much. Admittedly this is coming from someone who's never driven a road car faster than his stock third gen MR2, so perhaps my tune would change if I sat in one.
Like a few people have mentioned already, though, I do wonder if some of the later iterations might be a bit much. Admittedly this is coming from someone who's never driven a road car faster than his stock third gen MR2, so perhaps my tune would change if I sat in one.
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