RE: BMW M140i and M240i announced
Discussion
JuanGandini said:
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 couldn't agree more. I ditched my S3 for something more exciting and my M135i is centainly that. I can't see me ever not having this engine in my life, the noise is fantastic for a stock exhaust. I love cold starts, missis thought I put Halfords cherry bomb on it as it doesnt sound stock. I've changed my opinion of the looks since I've owned it. I quite like the way it sort of blends in, untill you flick the stick over to S and let the press the loud pedal slowly. And you get that lovely bark as it changes gear, missis thinks I'm a knob when I do it, but it puts a smile on my face every time,e I drive it. Not many cars can do that.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 was hoping the M140i although better, isn't a Hugh improvement in regards to it looks. I like the performance package you get on the M240i in white, looks amazing but the cost with the options makes me want to cry when my man maths isn't working right. Anyone gone for M240i with all the trimming ?
Sheetmaself said:
Going to test drive a 140i tomorrow but also have been offered a 240i convertible with mettalic paint but no other options costed in for £449 deposite £390 per month. Seems a steal!
Sorry got those figures wrong. Just bough one came out at £2000 deposit £449 per month for convertible auto,metallic paint, pro nav, harman kardon,heated seats, coloured roof and service pack over 48 months. Seems a good deal.
We just got a M235i - its a little belter! Missus comes in with a smile on her face after her commute! Its too quiet though! Anyone here put the pricy M Sport back box on one or can you do that golf tee mod that seems applicable to defeat an exhaust noise valve in a 3 series? Also, will sat nav search by voice? Failed miserably the other day and was just switching to Gary Barlow media!!! Ughh!
Ken Figenus said:
We just got a M235i - its a little belter! Missus comes in with a smile on her face after her commute! Its too quiet though! Anyone here put the pricy M Sport back box on one or can you do that golf tee mod that seems applicable to defeat an exhaust noise valve in a 3 series? Also, will sat nav search by voice? Failed miserably the other day and was just switching to Gary Barlow media!!! Ughh!
have a look on babybmw.net. I have a 140 and the new version of the golf tee mod is to unplug the valve.I am now 1200 miles into a Black M140i with the adaptive dampers, I have come from a modified Mazda 6 MPS (circa 320 bhp) so in a good position to cover the traction points.
Firstly its a cracking car, it jumps between comfy 6 cyl cruiser into hooligan machine in a heartbeat. Compared to the longer wheel based 4wd drive car I have come from, yes the TC light does flash up more often, particularly in comfort but in the dry the M140i is the quicker car by a notable margin, in the wet the M140i would stay with the MPS without too much issue albeit working harder than the other driver. The only real time I have noticed traction being an issue per say (in that I would not have liked to try to push on) was after the floods have left the road strewn with mud, leaves and grease ! It does make you drive it properly and is less forgiving than the mazda, but exciting and / or special all the time . The engine for me is what tipped the scales from the Golf R and A45 AMG I was considering, the engine feels and sounds very special and I drive most places with the window down ! My car came with the potenzas and frankly I am not a big fan, I shall get different rubber when they come round for replacement, they are not awful but a good set of F1's or similar would definitely pay dividends.
The traction control does a nice job of being an ediff and even the lord harris himself suggested the M135i did not miss this on the road, the M140i is much better sprung than the M135i, carrying over from the LCI models and matching the 240i components and by all accounts is a notable step up from the M135i. I can't comment on that too much but I have come from a great handling car with 4WD and two computer controlled diffs and the M140i feels agile and grippy and fun, yes you have to correct the oversteer on acceleration which the mazda would have sorted out for you but hey that's what the big round thing is for.
As to the final straw for me, the price it worked out £5k cheaper than the golf R over 3yrs starting from the same RRP £39k a piece, due to a 9k discount and better residuals. I actually went out to buy Golf R, was left a little underwhelmed and ended up in the BMW, the A45 is just too stiffly sprung, its just not comfortable ! Apparently the really strong deals that used to be out there for the golf are not available any more and the 1 series is going FWD next year, so one of the last chances to jump into a small RWD 6 cyl car, which cant hurt the residuals either
Firstly its a cracking car, it jumps between comfy 6 cyl cruiser into hooligan machine in a heartbeat. Compared to the longer wheel based 4wd drive car I have come from, yes the TC light does flash up more often, particularly in comfort but in the dry the M140i is the quicker car by a notable margin, in the wet the M140i would stay with the MPS without too much issue albeit working harder than the other driver. The only real time I have noticed traction being an issue per say (in that I would not have liked to try to push on) was after the floods have left the road strewn with mud, leaves and grease ! It does make you drive it properly and is less forgiving than the mazda, but exciting and / or special all the time . The engine for me is what tipped the scales from the Golf R and A45 AMG I was considering, the engine feels and sounds very special and I drive most places with the window down ! My car came with the potenzas and frankly I am not a big fan, I shall get different rubber when they come round for replacement, they are not awful but a good set of F1's or similar would definitely pay dividends.
The traction control does a nice job of being an ediff and even the lord harris himself suggested the M135i did not miss this on the road, the M140i is much better sprung than the M135i, carrying over from the LCI models and matching the 240i components and by all accounts is a notable step up from the M135i. I can't comment on that too much but I have come from a great handling car with 4WD and two computer controlled diffs and the M140i feels agile and grippy and fun, yes you have to correct the oversteer on acceleration which the mazda would have sorted out for you but hey that's what the big round thing is for.
As to the final straw for me, the price it worked out £5k cheaper than the golf R over 3yrs starting from the same RRP £39k a piece, due to a 9k discount and better residuals. I actually went out to buy Golf R, was left a little underwhelmed and ended up in the BMW, the A45 is just too stiffly sprung, its just not comfortable ! Apparently the really strong deals that used to be out there for the golf are not available any more and the 1 series is going FWD next year, so one of the last chances to jump into a small RWD 6 cyl car, which cant hurt the residuals either
Gotcha2 said:
I am now 1200 miles into a Black M140i with the adaptive dampers, I have come from a modified Mazda 6 MPS (circa 320 bhp) so in a good position to cover the traction points.
Firstly its a cracking car, it jumps between comfy 6 cyl cruiser into hooligan machine in a heartbeat. Compared to the longer wheel based 4wd drive car I have come from, yes the TC light does flash up more often, particularly in comfort but in the dry the M140i is the quicker car by a notable margin, in the wet the M140i would stay with the MPS without too much issue albeit working harder than the other driver. The only real time I have noticed traction being an issue per say (in that I would not have liked to try to push on) was after the floods have left the road strewn with mud, leaves and grease ! It does make you drive it properly and is less forgiving than the mazda, but exciting and / or special all the time . The engine for me is what tipped the scales from the Golf R and A45 AMG I was considering, the engine feels and sounds very special and I drive most places with the window down ! My car came with the potenzas and frankly I am not a big fan, I shall get different rubber when they come round for replacement, they are not awful but a good set of F1's or similar would definitely pay dividends.
The traction control does a nice job of being an ediff and even the lord harris himself suggested the M135i did not miss this on the road, the M140i is much better sprung than the M135i, carrying over from the LCI models and matching the 240i components and by all accounts is a notable step up from the M135i. I can't comment on that too much but I have come from a great handling car with 4WD and two computer controlled diffs and the M140i feels agile and grippy and fun, yes you have to correct the oversteer on acceleration which the mazda would have sorted out for you but hey that's what the big round thing is for.
As to the final straw for me, the price it worked out £5k cheaper than the golf R over 3yrs starting from the same RRP £39k a piece, due to a 9k discount and better residuals. I actually went out to buy Golf R, was left a little underwhelmed and ended up in the BMW, the A45 is just too stiffly sprung, its just not comfortable ! Apparently the really strong deals that used to be out there for the golf are not available any more and the 1 series is going FWD next year, so one of the last chances to jump into a small RWD 6 cyl car, which cant hurt the residuals either
Similiar view point from me. I'm 1100 miles in to my M140i 3dr auto having done 68k miles in a M135i 5dr manualFirstly its a cracking car, it jumps between comfy 6 cyl cruiser into hooligan machine in a heartbeat. Compared to the longer wheel based 4wd drive car I have come from, yes the TC light does flash up more often, particularly in comfort but in the dry the M140i is the quicker car by a notable margin, in the wet the M140i would stay with the MPS without too much issue albeit working harder than the other driver. The only real time I have noticed traction being an issue per say (in that I would not have liked to try to push on) was after the floods have left the road strewn with mud, leaves and grease ! It does make you drive it properly and is less forgiving than the mazda, but exciting and / or special all the time . The engine for me is what tipped the scales from the Golf R and A45 AMG I was considering, the engine feels and sounds very special and I drive most places with the window down ! My car came with the potenzas and frankly I am not a big fan, I shall get different rubber when they come round for replacement, they are not awful but a good set of F1's or similar would definitely pay dividends.
The traction control does a nice job of being an ediff and even the lord harris himself suggested the M135i did not miss this on the road, the M140i is much better sprung than the M135i, carrying over from the LCI models and matching the 240i components and by all accounts is a notable step up from the M135i. I can't comment on that too much but I have come from a great handling car with 4WD and two computer controlled diffs and the M140i feels agile and grippy and fun, yes you have to correct the oversteer on acceleration which the mazda would have sorted out for you but hey that's what the big round thing is for.
As to the final straw for me, the price it worked out £5k cheaper than the golf R over 3yrs starting from the same RRP £39k a piece, due to a 9k discount and better residuals. I actually went out to buy Golf R, was left a little underwhelmed and ended up in the BMW, the A45 is just too stiffly sprung, its just not comfortable ! Apparently the really strong deals that used to be out there for the golf are not available any more and the 1 series is going FWD next year, so one of the last chances to jump into a small RWD 6 cyl car, which cant hurt the residuals either
I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
mikey k said:
Similiar view point from me. I'm 1100 miles in to my M140i 3dr auto having done 68k miles in a M135i 5dr manual
I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
I'm 6000 miles into mine. There is an extra under body brace that was left off of the 5dr to save weight. Its fitted to the 3dr. This sharpens it up ever so slightly. Could be what you are experiencing. I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
Have you unplugged your exhaust valve yet? Sounds much better!
I also went out looking at Golf R's and came back with the 140.
J4CKO said:
Anyone tuned a 135i, i.e. a remap of beyond ?
I've had my M140i remapped, it made 404.7bhp/447.8lbft.It can pull easily on my mates 16 plate RS3 which it struggled to keep up with previously. It's completely standard apart from the remap.
ETA - it made 346bhp/377lbft standard.
Edited by R8Steve on Wednesday 26th October 14:45
mikey k said:
Similiar view point from me. I'm 1100 miles in to my M140i 3dr auto having done 68k miles in a M135i 5dr manual
I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
M235i came with PSS Mike - cant imagine its ride on RFT'sI HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
Thought they avoided the RFTs on sportier models as we all hate them? We tried that baby four pot AMG too - not in the same league!
I am struggling to like the electric steering though and there is no mode I prefer - all of them do something I don't like and driving it on the paddles is a PITA as it has so many gears :-(
Lowtimer said:
Ken Figenus said:
Thought they avoided the RFTs on sportier models as we all hate them?
It's the proper M cars that avoid the curse of the runflats.There has been a bunch of cars recently put out on runflats as Michelin have stopped making the MPSS. The newer ones will come with MPS4+ so it was take a massive delay until the new year or go with RFT.
Sounds like progress then, and I am glad to hear it. A few years ago, the only new cars you could get from BMW that weren't on mandatory runflats were the full-fat M cars. Then, unexpectedly, they took the runflats off some of the low spec models, probably to help with pricing models, but left them on all the mid range models. If they are now letting you order all the cars on non runflats that's a step forward for consumer choice.
S3_Graham said:
Lowtimer said:
Ken Figenus said:
Thought they avoided the RFTs on sportier models as we all hate them?
It's the proper M cars that avoid the curse of the runflats.There has been a bunch of cars recently put out on runflats as Michelin have stopped making the MPSS. The newer ones will come with MPS4+ so it was take a massive delay until the new year or go with RFT.
I'll change to the MPS4's once I've killed the run flats. Never been a fan of Bridgestone tyres
S3_Graham said:
mikey k said:
Similiar view point from me. I'm 1100 miles in to my M140i 3dr auto having done 68k miles in a M135i 5dr manual
I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
I'm 6000 miles into mine. There is an extra under body brace that was left off of the 5dr to save weight. Its fitted to the 3dr. This sharpens it up ever so slightly. Could be what you are experiencing. I HATE the run flats
I prefer the suspension on the 5dr M135i to the 3DR M140i
The M140i is TOO stiff even in "comfort" mode
Its seems BMW put the M235/240i suspension on the 3 dr and leave a more compliant suspension on the 5drs
I still preferred it over a A45AMG or Golf R (it was close with the Golf though!)
Have you unplugged your exhaust valve yet? Sounds much better!
I also went out looking at Golf R's and came back with the 140.
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