RE: BMW M240i: Driven

[limpsfield]

HeMightBeBanned said:

daemon said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

To all the people banging on about the price and the cost of options, they're irrelevant. 99% of cars sold will be on PCP so all that matters is the monthly outlay.

There are numerous threads running if you want to feel aggrieved about PCP deals for the masses however for info discount available and cost of options will heavily influence PCP payments.

I have no issue with people buying cars on PCP. Whatever works for them.

I looked at the PCP deal which was heavily but politely pushed, .I would have got an extra couple of thousand quid off the price but over three years, using their future value, I reckoned I would still have been around £100 worse off per month rather than just a straight cash purchase - although this does mean the cash is in the car so I can't do the usual PH approach and invest it for a steady 15% a month return. Perhaps I should have taken it and cancelled it, but as usual when it comes to cars my head wasn't doing too much thinking.

[Andy OH]

MustardCutter said:

Bullmiester said:

...mine is DCT...

I thought only the M2 was dual clutch; with the 35i/40i getting the 8 speed torque converter?

You're correct, the only 2 series with a DCT box is the M2.

[mmcd87]

The 6cylinder drivetrain in these, manual or auto, is just superb for the money and really makes the car feel more special than its rivals day to day, even when stuck in town. Huge real world performance, a nice noise and good fuel economy if you drive sensibly. I like the look of them as well.

[R0B.]

Andy OH said:

You're correct, the only 2 series with a DCT box is the M2.

Having driven a 140i with the auto, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between that and a DCT, its a very good auto gearbox.

[va1o]

Nice article and an incredibly talented car. On the options front I think some of these are needed, e.g. the ZF8 Auto is superb, Pro Nav lifts the interior whilst adding lots of features, the HK sound system is awesome and Adaptive dampers improve the ride. Where I'd save money is opting for the M140i 3dr instead which is essentially the same car

[daemon]

HeMightBeBanned said:

daemon said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

To all the people banging on about the price and the cost of options, they're irrelevant. 99% of cars sold will be on PCP so all that matters is the monthly outlay.

There are numerous threads running if you want to feel aggrieved about PCP deals for the masses however for info discount available and cost of options will heavily influence PCP payments.

I have no issue with people buying cars on PCP. Whatever works for them.

Great, then worth noting that the discount achieved and the price of options have a big impact on the PCP deal payments and residual

[daemon]

va1o said:

Where I'd save money is opting for the M140i 3dr instead which is essentially the same car

An "advantage" of the 2 series is that they are nowhere near as common as the one series.

If i'd a pound for every time someone comments on our A45 and says "yes, my sister / aunt / mum / brother drives one of those". No - they drive an A180d.

[diehardbenzfan]

My sister was thinking about buying a qashqai and a top spec 1,000 examples are going for 25k, so how can people say a fully specced straight 6 340bhp rear drive BMW is expensive at 46(without a discount which is easy to get) when a 1.2 Nissan crossover is nudging a 30k list price!

[jgobass]

I picked up one of these a few weeks ago -
a pre reg (7 miles on the clock) stock car.
Met Mineral grey, red dakota leather, auto, harmon kardon.

So far, I love the car. Proper little flying machine, but can do the sedate cruiser thing too.

I got this at a shade under £31k.

I can't see companies making small cars with big (ish) engines going forward, so this may potentially be a keeper / long term.

[diehardbenzfan]

Also I'm sure a similar spec golf r/s3/tts cost around the same amount of money, and while being faster on paper, I'd much rather have the BMW

[daemon]

diehardbenzfan said:

My sister was thinking about buying a qashqai and a top spec 1,000 examples are going for 25k, so how can people say a fully specced straight 6 340bhp rear drive BMW is expensive at 46(without a discount which is easy to get) when a 1.2 Nissan crossover is nudging a 30k list price!

Because its all relative. £46K ish / £40K after discount puts you within striking distance of quite a lot of other heavy duty machinery.

A Qashqai at £30K ish / £25K after discount probably looks quite reasonable, relative to its peers.

[esuuv]

I did 15k over 18 months in a pretty well specced 235 - they are nice enough places to sit - the engine and the gearbox (the zf 8 speed) are fantastic.

But the steering is woeful - its also a pretty heavy car, take a big traffic island at speed and it just leans over on its offside front wheel - giving you little feedback. Its also bouncy / uncontrolled on a typical b road - I had a 2.7 Cayman before which had less power and a slightly German prison feel to the interior but was a way nicer thing to drive.

[Nickbrapp]

What I don't get, why is it and the 140i called a m140/m240 but the 3 series with the same engine is a 340i and the 5 is also a 540i but both are avaliable in m sport trim level?

Still annoys me they don't fit LED rear indicators to the LCI 1/2

[daemon]

Nickbrapp said:

What I don't get, why is it and the 140i called a m140/m240 but the 3 series with the same engine is a 340i and the 5 is also a 540i but both are avaliable in m sport trim level?

Still annoys me they don't fit LED rear indicators to the LCI 1/2

Its not M Sport spec though is it?

Also, i think BMW are trying to get this half-way-house model idea going thats above an M Sport but below a proper M, and reserved for the top of the range variant in each range.....

.... until of course they twig that people will pay extra for the spec then they'll roll it out and there'll be M114d's before long..

[JD]

diehardbenzfan said:

Also I'm sure a similar spec golf r/s3/tts cost around the same amount of money, and while being faster on paper, I'd much rather have the BMW

An Auto S3, no options other than Paint is £34,810, and standard spec is very minimal.

Makes the M240 look an utter bargain.

Would swap the S3 for one of these in a heartbeat!

[daemon]

JD said:

diehardbenzfan said:

Also I'm sure a similar spec golf r/s3/tts cost around the same amount of money, and while being faster on paper, I'd much rather have the BMW

An Auto S3, no options other than Paint is £34,810, and standard spec is very minimal.

Makes the M240 look an utter bargain.

Would swap the S3 for one of these in a heartbeat!

On top of that theres heavy discounting on these and the M140i - Drive The Deal will do a M140i for £26,825.

Cracking cars for the (discounted) price. Genuinely performance bargains!

[Nickbrapp]

daemon said:

Nickbrapp said:

What I don't get, why is it and the 140i called a m140/m240 but the 3 series with the same engine is a 340i and the 5 is also a 540i but both are avaliable in m sport trim level?

Still annoys me they don't fit LED rear indicators to the LCI 1/2

Its not M Sport spec though is it?

Also, i think BMW are trying to get this half-way-house model idea going thats above an M Sport but below a proper M, and reserved for the top of the range variant in each range.....

.... until of course they twig that people will pay extra for the spec then they'll roll it out and there'll be M114d's before long..

It looks EXACTLY the same as a m sport 220i. So why have they just stuck a M badge in front of it on this but not a 3 series?

If it's supposed to be a halfway house between m sport and M cars like the Audi S range or the AMG43 then why isn't the 3 series badged as a m340i under the m3 and the 540i badged as a m340i, is it because the 40 engine is only available in a m sport type line on the 1&2 but can be had in any trim line on a 3/5

[telecat]

Nice just put a deposit down on one of these!

[diehardbenzfan]

Nickbrapp said:

It looks EXACTLY the same as a m sport 220i. So why have they just stuck a M badge in front of it on this but not a 3 series?

If it's supposed to be a halfway house between m sport and M cars like the Audi S range or the AMG43 then why isn't the 3 series badged as a m340i under the m3 and the 540i badged as a m340i, is it because the 40 engine is only available in a m sport type line on the 1&2 but can be had in any trim line on a 3/5

I think it's because a lot of work has been done on the m140i/240i over a standard m sport giving the badge a purpose, the 340/440/540's haven't had the same treatment, those engines are probably offered in the 3/4/5 range for refinement over a diesel, not for all out performance like the 1&2 series. Thats what I think anyway, also to my understanding, bmw actually offered an m550d on the F10 and now offer an m550i in other markets so maybe an m540i wouldn't be fast enough for the badge

[strike4A]

Nickbrapp said:

It looks EXACTLY the same as a m sport 220i. So why have they just stuck a M badge in front of it on this but not a 3 series?

If it's supposed to be a halfway house between m sport and M cars like the Audi S range or the AMG43 then why isn't the 3 series badged as a m340i under the m3 and the 540i badged as a m340i, is it because the 40 engine is only available in a m sport type line on the 1&2 but can be had in any trim line on a 3/5

G20 M340i coming next year with same B58 engine as current 340i but tuned to 360hp.