120 d A good car.....
Discussion
hi
after doing lots of comparing i seem to have come to the conclusion the 120d sport hatch is a great buy
im looking at a 2006-7
car has bout 167 bhp
good mpg, lowish tax and insurance group
remap potential of around 205 bhp
i am favouring it over 330d at the moment, mostly due to the lower running costs, insurance etc... I dont really care it looks a bit ugly!
so should i get one??
(id also be v interested if there was an lsd for these, maybe a quaife)
after doing lots of comparing i seem to have come to the conclusion the 120d sport hatch is a great buy
im looking at a 2006-7
car has bout 167 bhp
good mpg, lowish tax and insurance group
remap potential of around 205 bhp
i am favouring it over 330d at the moment, mostly due to the lower running costs, insurance etc... I dont really care it looks a bit ugly!
so should i get one??
(id also be v interested if there was an lsd for these, maybe a quaife)
I picked up my 118d M Sport last week. Very pleased with it so far. Seems well put together, and I really like the M Sport leather seats. Mine is the later 140(ish)bhp 118d. I'm planning to run it "standard" for a few months and then remap it if and when I start to get bored.
Averaged just over 50mpg yesterday on a 75 mile run with some very slow central London congestion and then a nice run along the M4 and back. Would have been well into the 50s were it not for the congestion.
Averaged just over 50mpg yesterday on a 75 mile run with some very slow central London congestion and then a nice run along the M4 and back. Would have been well into the 50s were it not for the congestion.
remap at DMS in southampton wil cost 494 plus vat and has a warranty for 3 yrs.
they claim it will increase power to around 210, ad improve fuel economy!
Quiafe LSD fitted will cost approx 1200 at Birds (800 not fitted)
Can all of the traction control systems be switched off on the 120d?
Im now also considering the 330d coupe...
they claim it will increase power to around 210, ad improve fuel economy!
Quiafe LSD fitted will cost approx 1200 at Birds (800 not fitted)
Can all of the traction control systems be switched off on the 120d?
Im now also considering the 330d coupe...
Go for the 330d. I don't think 1 Series is built to the same standard as the 3. Mine was, to be polite, disappointing. Guess it boils down to budget and whether you'll use the back seats.
Friendly helpful folk here http://www.babybmw.net/
Friendly helpful folk here http://www.babybmw.net/
120d M-Sport auto is probably the best all round car I have owned, and I am not a diesel fan really.
I had it at the same time as a 535d sport touring, 335i sport touring and the Audi S4 avant and it saw all of them come and go, in the end we sold it, and bought a.......123d M-Sport auto.
To be honest the 1 series is a much more fun car, and more practical than a 3er saloon or coupe, and the only reason I think you would go for the 3er is if you prefer the looks of the 3er or care what your neighbours see on your drive.
What I will say is there is a massive difference between the pre facelift and facelift cars when it comes to mpg, my pre facelift used to return 34 average (it was an auto) and the 123d which was facelift would return 46mpg average, plus the 123d has different gear ratios that mean sat at 80mph it is not great economy wise compared with the 120d, the facelift 120d I had for 2 days was also an auto and that didn't drop below 50 on the 200 miles I did, to compare, even on a run my pre facelift 120d auto could not quite hit 40mpg.
The facelift also feels much better built, nicer interior and a much smoother ride, and the m-sport on 17's rides better than the SE, the shocks are far better and less crashy, it is firmer, but actually less crashy.
If buying cash then the difference in price between a 2007 facelift and 2006 pre facelift may be the decider, but if using finance look at the figures very closely, you might be surprised how little there is getting what you really want and the mpg savings may make it cheaper to run on overall depending on the mileage you do.
I had it at the same time as a 535d sport touring, 335i sport touring and the Audi S4 avant and it saw all of them come and go, in the end we sold it, and bought a.......123d M-Sport auto.
To be honest the 1 series is a much more fun car, and more practical than a 3er saloon or coupe, and the only reason I think you would go for the 3er is if you prefer the looks of the 3er or care what your neighbours see on your drive.
What I will say is there is a massive difference between the pre facelift and facelift cars when it comes to mpg, my pre facelift used to return 34 average (it was an auto) and the 123d which was facelift would return 46mpg average, plus the 123d has different gear ratios that mean sat at 80mph it is not great economy wise compared with the 120d, the facelift 120d I had for 2 days was also an auto and that didn't drop below 50 on the 200 miles I did, to compare, even on a run my pre facelift 120d auto could not quite hit 40mpg.
The facelift also feels much better built, nicer interior and a much smoother ride, and the m-sport on 17's rides better than the SE, the shocks are far better and less crashy, it is firmer, but actually less crashy.
If buying cash then the difference in price between a 2007 facelift and 2006 pre facelift may be the decider, but if using finance look at the figures very closely, you might be surprised how little there is getting what you really want and the mpg savings may make it cheaper to run on overall depending on the mileage you do.
Maybe I was unlucky then. My facelift 120d auto never bettered 42mpg, ride was awful on 17s, lacked grip, and lots of interior bits broke. Not sure about more practical, it's pretty small.
Still, one man's meat etc.
My only regret was not checking what else I could get for the money and trying some out. Never a bad thing to do with any purchase I guess.
Still, one man's meat etc.
My only regret was not checking what else I could get for the money and trying some out. Never a bad thing to do with any purchase I guess.but if you were to do a direct comparison with 120d m sport and 320d msport coupe
i would expect that the 3 series would have the advantage in the handling department?
im not bothered about practicality too much (my everyday car is a 200sx)
the facelift models have the 2.0 diesel that produces 177 hp over 163 of prefacelift and do also seem to be more fuel efficient and lower tax band
it would be nice to use the car for the odd trackday once i have done the necessary modifications
i would expect that the 3 series would have the advantage in the handling department?
im not bothered about practicality too much (my everyday car is a 200sx)
the facelift models have the 2.0 diesel that produces 177 hp over 163 of prefacelift and do also seem to be more fuel efficient and lower tax band
it would be nice to use the car for the odd trackday once i have done the necessary modifications
Just want to counter some of the build quality comments. We have had 4 1 series now, 2 118d's and 2 120d's over the 4 years in those we have covered 250k miles, and have had only 2 warranty repairs, the auto headlight sensor stopped working the the electric inflatable side bolsters failed.
The facelift cars do have much nicer interior plastics, and others have said the mpg on the newer cars is a lot better, my current 120d coupe is doing over 50mpg week in week out.
The facelift cars do have much nicer interior plastics, and others have said the mpg on the newer cars is a lot better, my current 120d coupe is doing over 50mpg week in week out.
As ever the 1er gets my vote time and time again.
Wifes 120d Mnonsense is a cracking drive. Pity so many BMWs are having clutch judder problems. Wifes last 116d was refunded because of this very problem. So be aware of this.
Msport trim is the way to go, the rest of the trim range is a bit "meh" in comparison.
Runflats might be an issue for some.
Msport with Xenons
Wifes 120d Mnonsense is a cracking drive. Pity so many BMWs are having clutch judder problems. Wifes last 116d was refunded because of this very problem. So be aware of this.
Msport trim is the way to go, the rest of the trim range is a bit "meh" in comparison.
Runflats might be an issue for some.
Msport with Xenons
I got a tuning box from Spider, always use DMS normally but I had just sold my 335i the week before going to France, Italy, Switzerland and back over to France again, 4000 miles in 3 weeks, so decided as I was taking the 120d (also an M-Sport auto) I would get it mapped, DMS could not get me in before my trip. So bought the Spider box as a stop gap, thought I would use it for a month and then sell it on and get a map.
Ended up keeping it, awesome little box, gave it a real kick when pressing on and you could feel the extra torque at low speeds too, MPG went from 33 average to around 38 average too, on s steady 70mph run it went to around 44mpg which never happened before the box.
All in all I was pretty pleased with it.
Considering another one again rather than a remap.
Ended up keeping it, awesome little box, gave it a real kick when pressing on and you could feel the extra torque at low speeds too, MPG went from 33 average to around 38 average too, on s steady 70mph run it went to around 44mpg which never happened before the box.
All in all I was pretty pleased with it.
Considering another one again rather than a remap.
geeeman said:
hi
after doing lots of comparing i seem to have come to the conclusion the 120d sport hatch is a great buy
im looking at a 2006-7
car has bout 167 bhp
good mpg, lowish tax and insurance group
remap potential of around 205 bhp
i am favouring it over 330d at the moment, mostly due to the lower running costs, insurance etc... I dont really care it looks a bit ugly!
so should i get one??
(id also be v interested if there was an lsd for these, maybe a quaife)
I have both - I would go for the 330d over the 1 series every time. after doing lots of comparing i seem to have come to the conclusion the 120d sport hatch is a great buy
im looking at a 2006-7
car has bout 167 bhp
good mpg, lowish tax and insurance group
remap potential of around 205 bhp
i am favouring it over 330d at the moment, mostly due to the lower running costs, insurance etc... I dont really care it looks a bit ugly!
so should i get one??
(id also be v interested if there was an lsd for these, maybe a quaife)
The 3 series running cost have been much less that the 1 series - its only needed servicing and consumables, whereas the 1er has had a lot of electrical issues. I may just be unlucky with the 1er but I would also add that the 330d is actually more economical on my commute and my wives...
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