600bhp 1 Series
Discussion
b
hstewie said:
hstewie said: Apologies as I'm latching onto a few M140i threads at the moment but I'm considering one and absorbing as much Youtube and real world feedback as I can.
Any regrets or things to know?
Not the OP, but I picked mine up in September after looking at them since last March so thought I might be able to chime in with a few things. I spent a very long time first convincing myself that it was the right car and then choosing the spec.Any regrets or things to know?
I went for a 3 door as I preferred the looks and don't really need the 5 door practicality very often. Other than that I went for:
- Melbourne Red as there aren't many around in this colour
- Auto - I'd heard how good the auto box was and the test drive convinced me, however see below...
- Adaptive Suspension - very noticeable difference in the various modes
- Auto Headlights - love this feature, the car reacts as quickly as I would
- Cruise Control, speed limit display
- Heated Seats, Front & Rear Parking sensors, reversing camera
- Lumbar support - back issues made this a must have
- HK Audio and Pro Nav
- Sunroof - a last minute addition, so glad I added it as it helps brighten up a quite dark interior
In general I like the auto box and this is my first ever auto, however I do wonder if it does dilute the driving experience a little - the flip side being that in full auto mode it does (as I said above) help to reduce the driver workload. It does occasionally get caught out when in 'Comfort' mode which can lead to a delay before anything happens when accelerating - this can be a little disconcerting when trying to pull out at busy junctions. This doesn't seem to be a problem in Sport mode, so I can live with it.
I'm getting about the same MPG on my short (8 mile) commute as I got out of the ST, but on longer journeys it is much better. We're planning on taking it up to Scotland next year for a west coast tour and I'm fairly sure it will handle the trip with ease.
A common problem (which mine has just started suffering from) is 'exhaust flap rattle', this is an occasional problem on startup and leads to you assuming something is about to fall off! BMW are aware of it, but it appears to be pretty variable as to whether or not (or how) they will fix it. A guaranteed cure is to fit the M Performance Exhaust which is an option I may explore as it doesn't add too much anti social volume but does give a slightly more sporty tone.
Handling/performance wise, I can't see how anyone could get anywhere near the limits of this car on the road without driving like a complete fool. It can be a little tail happy if you push on a bit, but the electronics are very good at sorting out any issues. With the current slippery state of our roads I struggle to use much more than a quarter of the throttle without traction issues, but I was aware of this when buying the car and sampling RWD was one of my reasons for choosing it. When there is grip though, the acceleration is astonishing - it just keeps pulling.
For me, I can't think of any other car available for the same money that could compete with it. A solid 8 out of 10 car for me.
Edit: Just seen that you are in the midlands, so a cautionary note is that quite a few have been stolen from that area recently - they do seem to be quite popular with the car thieves
Edited by rasto on Wednesday 27th December 16:28
J4CKO said:
I am aiming for one of these when I am done paying a grand a month in Uni accommodation.
Anyone driven the 135i and 140i ? much difference ?
Yes, I drove both as I was originally looking at 2nd hand. To be honest, I didn't notice much difference - but there was a fair gap (couple of months) between the test drives. I suspect I would notice the difference now, I think the 135s are meant to be a bit more 'revvy' but the 140s are more 'torquey'. The 135 engine is meant to be slightly louder too.Anyone driven the 135i and 140i ? much difference ?
Supposedly the suspension on early 135s is not as good as the LCI 135/140s - suspect you would have to own both to really notice it though.
Best bet it to ask over on babybmw.net, lots of very knowledgeable folk on there.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Apologies as I'm latching onto a few M140i threads at the moment but I'm considering one and absorbing as much Youtube and real world feedback as I can.
Any regrets or things to know?
A bit late to the party here, but better late than never...Any regrets or things to know?
I've just clocked over 15,000 miles in mine now, so I'm well settled into it, my thoughts are as follows:
Test drive cars with and without adaptive suspension. There is a lot of talk about how it is an essential must have option, I've driven both, and to be honest I'm just as happy without it. Then again, my car is a daily hack for everything not just a drivers toy for hooning, so perhaps if my criteria were different I'd feel differently about it.
I've driven manual and automatic, and in all honesty I don't really get why you'd bother choosing the manual. The auto fits my lifestyle as I'm traffic a lot and it can just get on with it, but pressing on I find being able to change gears with the paddles very engaging and the box is very fast, I can't fault it at all. Aesthetically I also prefer the look of the steering wheel with the paddles, but that's by the by.
My options were specced to make the car as comfortable and relaxing as possible for the miles I do, and I went with:
Adaptive Headlights - Unbelieveably good, they come with the auto-main beam bundled in and are just outstanding at night, bending round the corners and lighting up the road brilliantly.
Elec Memory Seats - I'm not blessed to be one of these people who can set their seat and leave it for years, I'm constantly changing my seating position and the electric seats are great for me for this, plus my wife uses the car and she might as well be 3ft 2, so having her settings saved for her key is great, they auto apply when she unlocks the car with it.
Heated Seats / Heated Steering Wheel - Again, total creature comforts but they're great, the seats help with back ache and the steering wheel is delightful in the recent cold snap we've had.
Pro Media - This gives you the larger widescreen and bits like Online Entertainment etc, so you can use streaming music services. This works brilliantly with voice command, and you can talk to the car easily and ask it to "play horrendous youth music" or "fleetwood mac" depending on your level of traffic frustration. You also get great nav, and real time traffic etc.
Rear Camera - Personal preference this, I just fancied one really. It's good, it's also in continual need of the lense cleaning at this time of year.
Sun Protection Glass - Again, personal preference but I think it makes the car look smarter.
Harman Kardon Sound System - It's not the best sound system in the world by any means, which probably means you should definitely get it as I suspect the standard system is pretty appalling, however it's decent enough and the tweeters in the doors look smart.
Cruise Control - This may be standard now, it was an option when I specced my car and although it's frustrating you can't choose adaptive radar cruise, it's still nice to use and I use it a lot on the motorway.
I didn't bother with comfort access which is the keyless entry, as it's supposed to make the cars easier to pinch anyway, but also regardless of whether you choose comfort access or not, you still get keyless go so you just have to have the key in your pocket to start the car, the only benefit of comfort access is being able to unlock the car simply by touching the door handle.
You can tweak the options around but crucially I wanted to stay under 40k list so I didn't jump tax bands, and also I wanted mine to be as nice a place as possible inside for when I just want to mince home calmly after a horrendous shift.
Things that I wish I'd known / are annoying etc. Well, the fuel tank is still hilariously small. I get that it's a 1 series but that's my main gripe, I get about 250 miles from a tank and if it would do 400 I wouldn't be at petrol station every other day. I also somehow forgot to tick folding mirrors, and it's staggering how often I want to fold them and now have to do it manually. Horrendous. I'm considering employing a chap solely for the task.
My car developed the famed exhaust rattle from the flap in the back box. I video'd this and complained to my dealer, who raised it with BMW UK. Thanks to having to sign a NDA I can't divulge what BMW did to rectify this for me, but I now have the M Performance back box fitted to my car, which doesn't have a valve in it, so can't ever rattle. Problem solved.
Bar that, it decided it needed some coolant at 11K miles ish, took it in and they pressure tested the system and it was fine, so they topped it up. It seems on the forums that the B58 likes to use a drop of coolant. No issues since it was topped up.
I still love the car, the performance is great, it feels like a premium product, I'm happy with how the car drives and now that I'm used to it, it's pretty easy to drive nearer the limit and you can point it through and out of corners on the throttle quite happily. Sport+ allows a nice amount of slide but not daft amounts, and generally it's all very good and rosy.
I'd buy it again tomorrow if mine vanished or combusted, one very happy owner.
D4MJT said:
Lots
Thank you I really appreciate you taking the time to write all of that.
The Q1 finance deals are out (seems there's a big BMW contribution so it makes sense even if the intention is to pay it off right after assuming the T&Cs allow it) so next step is to stop watching YouTube and sort a test drive.
I'll add my thoughts although mine is the 2016 M135i (but I'm sure they are not that different.)
Options:
Mine is a daily not a track toy so I went with the auto. The transmission tunnel cuts into your space so I found the pedals on the manual a bit uncomfortable. It's an amazing box.
HK. Mine doesn't have it. The standard setup is rubbish. Saying that, the HK won't satisfy any audiophile but it's a bit better and has more punch. My mate has it on his 320d touring and I was completely underwhelmed yet I'd still probably tick the box on my next BMW.
Pro Nav. I'm told this is a must have although I've only ever used sat nav about 3 times in the last 2 years and it works perfectly fine as it is. Along with the bigger screen, you get some other nice features with the pro version but nothing I've missed really. I can still play my Spotify playlists from my phone via Bluetooth and take/receive calls, etc.
Cruise control. Not sure if this was ticked or comes as standard but I have it and use it whenever I'm stuck on average speed camera roads. The slightest twitch of your foot can see you jump above the limits without realising so it's nice not to have to worry about it.
Heated seats. I always opt for this, mines never off and I prefer to warm myself up with this than having the aircon on.
Black Panel. Mine came with this as standard although it was an option on the pre LCI cars. It's a nice to have.
In terms of driving, it handles fine up until a point then it can get very skittish. Traction isn't great in anything other than dry conditions so you have to take that into account when pushing on. I love the torque and power delivery. Even a small squeeze of the throttle can have you stepping out on roundabouts in the damp without doing silly speeds. A quick alter of steering and you're back in line without any drama. I'm no Tiffany Needles but it can be fun to "accidentally" step out of line now and then. Overtaking is ridiculously easy. It just goes pulls from low revs all the way up. I've opened up gaps on more powerful and exotic N/A machines much to the surprise of them and I.
I have a teenager and a 2 year old. Even the 3 door fits the pram and some shopping in the boot although it is harder to get younger babies in and out without the extra doors.
As above, the range is poor. I'm not used to having to find a petrol station every 220 to 250 miles. I wish the tank was a bit bigger.
Overall, it's an epic daily. More of a mini GT car than a hot hatch. Very comfy, a few luxuries, a nicer quality interior than your average hot hatch and you'll never worry about being humbled at the traffic lights unless you're up against a lot more exotic (and expensive) cars. For the price, they are great. I'd rather have an M2 but my car was specced up to about £33k new (£27k with the discounts and deals) and the performance per £ maths didn't add up
Options:
Mine is a daily not a track toy so I went with the auto. The transmission tunnel cuts into your space so I found the pedals on the manual a bit uncomfortable. It's an amazing box.
HK. Mine doesn't have it. The standard setup is rubbish. Saying that, the HK won't satisfy any audiophile but it's a bit better and has more punch. My mate has it on his 320d touring and I was completely underwhelmed yet I'd still probably tick the box on my next BMW.
Pro Nav. I'm told this is a must have although I've only ever used sat nav about 3 times in the last 2 years and it works perfectly fine as it is. Along with the bigger screen, you get some other nice features with the pro version but nothing I've missed really. I can still play my Spotify playlists from my phone via Bluetooth and take/receive calls, etc.
Cruise control. Not sure if this was ticked or comes as standard but I have it and use it whenever I'm stuck on average speed camera roads. The slightest twitch of your foot can see you jump above the limits without realising so it's nice not to have to worry about it.
Heated seats. I always opt for this, mines never off and I prefer to warm myself up with this than having the aircon on.
Black Panel. Mine came with this as standard although it was an option on the pre LCI cars. It's a nice to have.
In terms of driving, it handles fine up until a point then it can get very skittish. Traction isn't great in anything other than dry conditions so you have to take that into account when pushing on. I love the torque and power delivery. Even a small squeeze of the throttle can have you stepping out on roundabouts in the damp without doing silly speeds. A quick alter of steering and you're back in line without any drama. I'm no Tiffany Needles but it can be fun to "accidentally" step out of line now and then. Overtaking is ridiculously easy. It just goes pulls from low revs all the way up. I've opened up gaps on more powerful and exotic N/A machines much to the surprise of them and I.
I have a teenager and a 2 year old. Even the 3 door fits the pram and some shopping in the boot although it is harder to get younger babies in and out without the extra doors.
As above, the range is poor. I'm not used to having to find a petrol station every 220 to 250 miles. I wish the tank was a bit bigger.
Overall, it's an epic daily. More of a mini GT car than a hot hatch. Very comfy, a few luxuries, a nicer quality interior than your average hot hatch and you'll never worry about being humbled at the traffic lights unless you're up against a lot more exotic (and expensive) cars. For the price, they are great. I'd rather have an M2 but my car was specced up to about £33k new (£27k with the discounts and deals) and the performance per £ maths didn't add up
I've had a 140 Shadow Edition for 3-4 months and about 3,400 miles.
Great car, goes like absolute stink. Like another poster, I've no idea how you could ever get near to the car's potential on a public road.
My spec:
Sport Auto. Mineral Grey. Adaptive Suspension. Adaptive LED Lights. Electric Seats. Heated Seats. Front PDC. Pro Media. Shadow edition includes cruise and HK audio as standard.
I would choose all of those options again, all have been very useful and I don't think any wastage has gone on there. I also don't feel like I am missing anything either. Make sure you avoid runcrap tyres, the MPSS (which I have) are better)
As a daily, it's super smooth, pretty refined, easy to drive in traffic and overall MPG is reasonable (I get low 30's). When you want to overtake or push on, it goes like crazy. I've not experienced much in the way of the traction issues some here refer to, but I am pretty smooth and progressive with my right foot when pulling away etc.
Handling is fine, always feels like it's got plenty of grip and is well planted. Steering feel isn't great but aside from an MX-5 or Boxster I suspect 99% of modern cars unfortunately feel this way.
Great car, goes like absolute stink. Like another poster, I've no idea how you could ever get near to the car's potential on a public road.
My spec:
Sport Auto. Mineral Grey. Adaptive Suspension. Adaptive LED Lights. Electric Seats. Heated Seats. Front PDC. Pro Media. Shadow edition includes cruise and HK audio as standard.
I would choose all of those options again, all have been very useful and I don't think any wastage has gone on there. I also don't feel like I am missing anything either. Make sure you avoid runcrap tyres, the MPSS (which I have) are better)
As a daily, it's super smooth, pretty refined, easy to drive in traffic and overall MPG is reasonable (I get low 30's). When you want to overtake or push on, it goes like crazy. I've not experienced much in the way of the traction issues some here refer to, but I am pretty smooth and progressive with my right foot when pulling away etc.
Handling is fine, always feels like it's got plenty of grip and is well planted. Steering feel isn't great but aside from an MX-5 or Boxster I suspect 99% of modern cars unfortunately feel this way.
Fantastic cars these.
Mine is quite well specced with HK, adaptive suspension, heated seats etc and I'm struggling to think of a replacement that offers the performance and everyday comfort. I find the adaptive suspension is great at altering the character of the car from comfort to performance mode so I'd personally always spec this.
I've done 29k and thinking about possiblly selling if anyone's interested.
Mine is quite well specced with HK, adaptive suspension, heated seats etc and I'm struggling to think of a replacement that offers the performance and everyday comfort. I find the adaptive suspension is great at altering the character of the car from comfort to performance mode so I'd personally always spec this.
I've done 29k and thinking about possiblly selling if anyone's interested.
clarkeysntfcDrove an M135i today as it was all that particular dealer had in auto but it was enough to make me thing I'd like one if they can get the money right 
Interesting as it was cold and roads were damp and you could feel it just bite a little when pulling away or turning into junctions.
Very easy to get a lot of speed very quickly so on the configurator I'm adding speed limit display.
Got the M140i lined up for Monday.
Interesting as it was cold and roads were damp and you could feel it just bite a little when pulling away or turning into junctions.
Very easy to get a lot of speed very quickly so on the configurator I'm adding speed limit display.
Got the M140i lined up for Monday.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Drove an M135i today as it was all that particular dealer had in auto but it was enough to make me thing I'd like one if they can get the money right
Interesting as it was cold and roads were damp and you could feel it just bite a little when pulling away or turning into junctions.
Very easy to get a lot of speed very quickly so on the configurator I'm adding speed limit display.
Got the M140i lined up for Monday.
I added speed limit display for the same reason, it works really well too and shows other signs that it has detected as well.Interesting as it was cold and roads were damp and you could feel it just bite a little when pulling away or turning into junctions.
Very easy to get a lot of speed very quickly so on the configurator I'm adding speed limit display.
Got the M140i lined up for Monday.
scratch pervert said:
Fantastic cars these.
Mine is quite well specced with HK, adaptive suspension, heated seats etc and I'm struggling to think of a replacement that offers the performance and everyday comfort. I find the adaptive suspension is great at altering the character of the car from comfort to performance mode so I'd personally always spec this.
I've done 29k and thinking about possiblly selling if anyone's interested.
How do you think it will have fared for depreciation? Is it 5dr auto?Mine is quite well specced with HK, adaptive suspension, heated seats etc and I'm struggling to think of a replacement that offers the performance and everyday comfort. I find the adaptive suspension is great at altering the character of the car from comfort to performance mode so I'd personally always spec this.
I've done 29k and thinking about possiblly selling if anyone's interested.
rasto said:
I added speed limit display for the same reason, it works really well too and shows other signs that it has detected as well.
Thank you, the demonstrator didn't have black panel or this option - could I ask if it warns you if you're exceeding the limit and if so how configurable it is?Presume there's a digital speedo option as well as the analogue as I always find that quite useful as it's in your face.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Thank you, the demonstrator didn't have black panel or this option - could I ask if it warns you if you're exceeding the limit and if so how configurable it is?
Presume there's a digital speedo option as well as the analogue as I always find that quite useful as it's in your face.
It doesn't warn you if you exceed the displayed limit and yes, you can configure a digital speedo although it is quite small.Presume there's a digital speedo option as well as the analogue as I always find that quite useful as it's in your face.
They are absolutely brilliant little cars. I had a 66 plate m135i last of them made pre 140i. It is a great all rounder and so bloody fast! Only negativity was the standard suspension was outclassed on uk B roads and is quite bumpy but then it's not a long chassis.
I need to go and have a shot of a m140i to see what it's like in comparison to the m135i
I need to go and have a shot of a m140i to see what it's like in comparison to the m135i
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