BMW M140i vs Golf R. Which is best for Britain and tuning?
Discussion
liner33 said:
Tyre choice and technique is more critical for the 140 for sure , the golf requires little finesse
The fact that dragy is littered with sub 3 second 0_60 times for the 140 means it can get down the road well with the right driver
Unlikely to be UK cars with no LSD on standard suspension. The fact that dragy is littered with sub 3 second 0_60 times for the 140 means it can get down the road well with the right driver
I'm sure elsewhere in the world they got an XDrive version.
M.F.D said:
Unlikely to be UK cars with no LSD on standard suspension.
I'm sure elsewhere in the world they got an XDrive version.
lol I suspect if you are going to map one to give the 700hp needed to get these kind of times you would have already fitted a lsd and decent suspension I'm sure elsewhere in the world they got an XDrive version.
But no plenty of rwd uk cars have done sub 3 second 0-60s
M.F.D said:
Sorry you have me confused now. You said you're ST was stage whatever it is and estimated around 300-340bhp? The Golf R you drove was around 360bhp? Where is the 120bhp gap coming from?
Depends what you want, again sounds like you want a straight line rocket, in which case get the Golf. The m140i is severly traction limited once modified, made worse by the standard open diff.
The Megane is an epic car, but if you aren't bothered about driver involvement/going round corners then it will definately not be for you.
Sorry about the confusion, my ST currently is stage 2, I'm in the process of a stage 3 build. Progress has been slow as I've just bought my first home. If I didn't if would have been finished by now Depends what you want, again sounds like you want a straight line rocket, in which case get the Golf. The m140i is severly traction limited once modified, made worse by the standard open diff.
The Megane is an epic car, but if you aren't bothered about driver involvement/going round corners then it will definately not be for you.
But that's why I was so confused as to why it didn't really pull like I expected it too. I think at 400bhp ish it would be a slightly different story it's just (to me) didn't feel as quick as my Dad's Focus RS did. I assume people are going to call me out and say I'm just a Ford fanboy or whatever but truth be told, I really did like the Golf, it just needs that extra something in my eyes. Glenn63 said:
That’s the problem with 4wd I find, just mash the pedal and zero drama for fuss it just goes but takes away some of the excitement. Add in that it’s probably more insulated etc than the fiesta it just adds to the masking of power/speed/excitement.
At least with RWD you will have to manage the pedal a bit more, rear may step out requiring steering corrections etc makes it feel more of a handful and exciting imo.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Hopefully by Saturday I'll find out which I prefer. I think a bit of drama would have helped the Golfs' case but obviously it can't help it, it's AWD and does a damn good job of doing what it's supposed to do. At least with RWD you will have to manage the pedal a bit more, rear may step out requiring steering corrections etc makes it feel more of a handful and exciting imo.
Glenn63 said:
If you get a proper drive in it use ‘sport +’ as in ‘comfort’ I find the traction control very sensitive, as if even the slight thought of possible wheel spin it cuts power. Sport + allows a nice bit of slip but won’t send you full sideways!
Yeah I think that's how a guy called Joe Achilles used to drive his, albeit M135i. He said it would give you a nice controllable slide so if you're a half-decent driver you could kick the arse out if you want to. So if it did ever step out you could reel it back in as long as you know what you're doing So everyone I finally got that drive in the M140 and all I can say is wow. What a difference over the Golf!
Turned up, the dealer was very friendly, and let me go out for a test drive by myself. Not many people would trust a slightly dodgy-looking 21 year old with their 3 litre RWD 25 grand car.
I'll be honest I didn't put the car nor gearbox into any setting other than normal just to see how the car would be normally. As soon as I got some space I put my foot down and even in normal mode the gearbox and engine response was amazing, would have been even better in sport but wasn't my car and I was being trusted by the dealer so didn't want to take the piss
I didn't get a chance to throw it around any bends so couldn't really comment on the "m lite handling characteristics". However, even going around roundabouts you could definitely feel the weight of the car but I fully expected this. The steering was nowhere near as sharp as my fiesta's but again, I expected this. Brakes took a bit of getting used to just because the brakes didn't have much initial bite but the further you pressed down the more progressive they became.
Overall, very impressed with the car. I must say, felt so much faster than the Golf but again, masked it's speed very well. I have a little video from onboard but isn't very good and doesn't do the car any justice
So finally, after this 22 or-so thread I think we've found my next car 
Turned up, the dealer was very friendly, and let me go out for a test drive by myself. Not many people would trust a slightly dodgy-looking 21 year old with their 3 litre RWD 25 grand car.
I'll be honest I didn't put the car nor gearbox into any setting other than normal just to see how the car would be normally. As soon as I got some space I put my foot down and even in normal mode the gearbox and engine response was amazing, would have been even better in sport but wasn't my car and I was being trusted by the dealer so didn't want to take the piss
I didn't get a chance to throw it around any bends so couldn't really comment on the "m lite handling characteristics". However, even going around roundabouts you could definitely feel the weight of the car but I fully expected this. The steering was nowhere near as sharp as my fiesta's but again, I expected this. Brakes took a bit of getting used to just because the brakes didn't have much initial bite but the further you pressed down the more progressive they became.
Overall, very impressed with the car. I must say, felt so much faster than the Golf but again, masked it's speed very well. I have a little video from onboard but isn't very good and doesn't do the car any justice
So finally, after this 22 or-so thread I think we've found my next car Dylanaledhall said:
So everyone I finally got that drive in the M140 and all I can say is wow. What a difference over the Golf!
Turned up, the dealer was very friendly, and let me go out for a test drive by myself. Not many people would trust a slightly dodgy-looking 21 year old with their 3 litre RWD 25 grand car.
I'll be honest I didn't put the car nor gearbox into any setting other than normal just to see how the car would be normally. As soon as I got some space I put my foot down and even in normal mode the gearbox and engine response was amazing, would have been even better in sport but wasn't my car and I was being trusted by the dealer so didn't want to take the piss
I didn't get a chance to throw it around any bends so couldn't really comment on the "m lite handling characteristics". However, even going around roundabouts you could definitely feel the weight of the car but I fully expected this. The steering was nowhere near as sharp as my fiesta's but again, I expected this. Brakes took a bit of getting used to just because the brakes didn't have much initial bite but the further you pressed down the more progressive they became.
Overall, very impressed with the car. I must say, felt so much faster than the Golf but again, masked it's speed very well. I have a little video from onboard but isn't very good and doesn't do the car any justice So finally, after this 22 or-so thread I think we've found my next car
Called it!Turned up, the dealer was very friendly, and let me go out for a test drive by myself. Not many people would trust a slightly dodgy-looking 21 year old with their 3 litre RWD 25 grand car.
I'll be honest I didn't put the car nor gearbox into any setting other than normal just to see how the car would be normally. As soon as I got some space I put my foot down and even in normal mode the gearbox and engine response was amazing, would have been even better in sport but wasn't my car and I was being trusted by the dealer so didn't want to take the piss
I didn't get a chance to throw it around any bends so couldn't really comment on the "m lite handling characteristics". However, even going around roundabouts you could definitely feel the weight of the car but I fully expected this. The steering was nowhere near as sharp as my fiesta's but again, I expected this. Brakes took a bit of getting used to just because the brakes didn't have much initial bite but the further you pressed down the more progressive they became.
Overall, very impressed with the car. I must say, felt so much faster than the Golf but again, masked it's speed very well. I have a little video from onboard but isn't very good and doesn't do the car any justice
So finally, after this 22 or-so thread I think we've found my next car As an ex M140i owner from new all I can say is they're a fantastic car, proper tame but with a very fast and fun streak. You haven't made a bad choice.
I moved on to a mustang and prefer it in almost every single way but in a way I wish i'd kept the M140i too for my wife so I could take it out every now and then!
Post pics!
So I'm not going to excite everyone, the one I drove isn't going to be the one I buy, simply because it isn't my ideal spec, ideally I'd be after a 3 door. However, here's some pictures ( and a very very short video that my girlfriend took) of the one I drove yesterday:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/UCyQVw7c.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/U8xDicaW" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/U8xDicaW.jpg)
Edited by Dylanaledhall on Sunday 15th May 18:13
QuattroDave said:
Called it!
As an ex M140i owner from new all I can say is they're a fantastic car, proper tame but with a very fast and fun streak. You haven't made a bad choice.
I moved on to a mustang and prefer it in almost every single way but in a way I wish i'd kept the M140i too for my wife so I could take it out every now and then!
Post pics!
I really do like Mustangs, although my boss has a 5.0 GT and he's been back to the dealer 25 times with things that keep going wrong with it. Not saying all Mustangs are like it because I haven't really heard of anyone else having as many issues as he's had As an ex M140i owner from new all I can say is they're a fantastic car, proper tame but with a very fast and fun streak. You haven't made a bad choice.
I moved on to a mustang and prefer it in almost every single way but in a way I wish i'd kept the M140i too for my wife so I could take it out every now and then!
Post pics!
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