118d - what's the difference in spec between SE or Sport ?
Discussion
Hi
Before I start, just to say that this is 2nd hand info I've gleaned from a few forums as I'm also looking into buying a 1 Series in the near future, so don't take any of this as guaranteed accurate.
From what I understand though, the Sport has sports suspension but they all handle pretty well and some say the sport suspension is too harsh. I think it also has more sporty seats and different alloys.
Other than that, there's very little difference as far as Im aware. Also look out for the M sport which is different again and only came out in about 2006 eventually replacing the Spor, although there was an overlap for quite a while. That comes with the M Sport front/rear bumpers (which IMHO look significantly better), M sport suspension, sports seats, 17" alloys and a few M Sport specific trim items. Again though I dont think the fundamental spec is hugely different to an SE.
Personally I'd try and push just above your budget though, and have a look around to see if you can get a facelift SE which has the more powerful (and economical - lower car tax) 140-odd bhp engine with efficient dynamics etc. The facelift also includes a new front bumper which looks better than the original but not as good as the M Sport IMHO, and a partially facelifted interior. There's a few 07/57 plate 120d SEs in car supermarkets now for around £13-14k so you might sneak a 118d in under £13k if you're lucky. If you want the M Sport suspension, better seats and 17" alloys, just look for an SE fitted with the Dynamic Pack as this comes with all three, albeit the seats are different material and the alloys different design. The facelift suspension (M Sport and normal) is also supposed to be a slight improvement in ride quality compared to earlier cars.
Before I start, just to say that this is 2nd hand info I've gleaned from a few forums as I'm also looking into buying a 1 Series in the near future, so don't take any of this as guaranteed accurate.
From what I understand though, the Sport has sports suspension but they all handle pretty well and some say the sport suspension is too harsh. I think it also has more sporty seats and different alloys.
Other than that, there's very little difference as far as Im aware. Also look out for the M sport which is different again and only came out in about 2006 eventually replacing the Spor, although there was an overlap for quite a while. That comes with the M Sport front/rear bumpers (which IMHO look significantly better), M sport suspension, sports seats, 17" alloys and a few M Sport specific trim items. Again though I dont think the fundamental spec is hugely different to an SE.
Personally I'd try and push just above your budget though, and have a look around to see if you can get a facelift SE which has the more powerful (and economical - lower car tax) 140-odd bhp engine with efficient dynamics etc. The facelift also includes a new front bumper which looks better than the original but not as good as the M Sport IMHO, and a partially facelifted interior. There's a few 07/57 plate 120d SEs in car supermarkets now for around £13-14k so you might sneak a 118d in under £13k if you're lucky. If you want the M Sport suspension, better seats and 17" alloys, just look for an SE fitted with the Dynamic Pack as this comes with all three, albeit the seats are different material and the alloys different design. The facelift suspension (M Sport and normal) is also supposed to be a slight improvement in ride quality compared to earlier cars.
Edited by LocoBlade on Monday 1st December 13:24
SE - Comes with alright seats, but nothing more than that.
Boge/Sachs struts and springs, very crashy on UK roads.
Sport - comes with the sport seats which are the best seats I have had in any car, beating all the Recaro seats in S4's etc. and makes the 5 series and even the 7 series seats seem crap.
It has the same struts and shorter springs, probably as bad as it gets for ride comfort.
M-Sport - This gains the superb Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, the ride is alot more comfortable compared with the above cars, the set up soaks up the poor UK roads and makes the extra worth it alone.
I would buy an SE with Sport seats.
I would buy a sport but would have to change the suspension.
The M-Sport is spot on, straight out the box......well almost!
All of them need the run flats ditching, this transforms a very good car into something seriously good.
Boge/Sachs struts and springs, very crashy on UK roads.
Sport - comes with the sport seats which are the best seats I have had in any car, beating all the Recaro seats in S4's etc. and makes the 5 series and even the 7 series seats seem crap.
It has the same struts and shorter springs, probably as bad as it gets for ride comfort.
M-Sport - This gains the superb Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, the ride is alot more comfortable compared with the above cars, the set up soaks up the poor UK roads and makes the extra worth it alone.
I would buy an SE with Sport seats.
I would buy a sport but would have to change the suspension.
The M-Sport is spot on, straight out the box......well almost!
All of them need the run flats ditching, this transforms a very good car into something seriously good.
gizlaroc said:
SE - Comes with alright seats, but nothing more than that.
Boge/Sachs struts and springs, very crashy on UK roads.
Sport - comes with the sport seats which are the best seats I have had in any car, beating all the Recaro seats in S4's etc. and makes the 5 series and even the 7 series seats seem crap.
It has the same struts and shorter springs, probably as bad as it gets for ride comfort.
M-Sport - This gains the superb Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, the ride is alot more comfortable compared with the above cars, the set up soaks up the poor UK roads and makes the extra worth it alone.
I would buy an SE with Sport seats.
I would buy a sport but would have to change the suspension.
The M-Sport is spot on, straight out the box......well almost!
All of them need the run flats ditching, this transforms a very good car into something seriously good.
(Slightly O/T here - sorry.)Boge/Sachs struts and springs, very crashy on UK roads.
Sport - comes with the sport seats which are the best seats I have had in any car, beating all the Recaro seats in S4's etc. and makes the 5 series and even the 7 series seats seem crap.
It has the same struts and shorter springs, probably as bad as it gets for ride comfort.
M-Sport - This gains the superb Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, the ride is alot more comfortable compared with the above cars, the set up soaks up the poor UK roads and makes the extra worth it alone.
I would buy an SE with Sport seats.
I would buy a sport but would have to change the suspension.
The M-Sport is spot on, straight out the box......well almost!
All of them need the run flats ditching, this transforms a very good car into something seriously good.
Guy - I am intrigued by your comments about the different suspension components and the resulting ride. I have an 130 se (Boge/Sachs bits I presume ?) which are indeed crashy especially with 18 inch runflats (it's literally like having a crash whenever you hit a pothole) !
I had always assumed the lower M-Sport would, if anything, be worse riding but are you saying it is actually better ?
Cheers, DD
dibbly_dobbler said:
Guy - I am intrigued by your comments about the different suspension components and the resulting ride. I have an 130 se (Boge/Sachs bits I presume ?) which are indeed crashy especially with 18 inch runflats (it's literally like having a crash whenever you hit a pothole) !
I had always assumed the lower M-Sport would, if anything, be worse riding but are you saying it is actually better ?
Cheers, DD
Bilstein supply the struts and Eibach the springs on the M-Sports for both the 1 series and 3 series, may be for other models too but I don't know??
On really smooth surfaces the SE does feel softer, but as soon as you get on to a typical British road the M-Sport set up soaks up the rough lumps and bumps far, far better, however most of our really good roads are the newest motorway surfaces and then you want a firmer set up anyway, so the M-Sport is the winner again.
It was the same when I had a 320d SE for 2 days recently, compared to my wifes 320d M-Sport touring it was so crashy it was untrue.
gizlaroc said:
dibbly_dobbler said:
Guy - I am intrigued by your comments about the different suspension components and the resulting ride. I have an 130 se (Boge/Sachs bits I presume ?) which are indeed crashy especially with 18 inch runflats (it's literally like having a crash whenever you hit a pothole) !
I had always assumed the lower M-Sport would, if anything, be worse riding but are you saying it is actually better ?
Cheers, DD
Bilstein supply the struts and Eibach the springs on the M-Sports for both the 1 series and 3 series, may be for other models too but I don't know??
On really smooth surfaces the SE does feel softer, but as soon as you get on to a typical British road the M-Sport set up soaks up the rough lumps and bumps far, far better, however most of our really good roads are the newest motorway surfaces and then you want a firmer set up anyway, so the M-Sport is the winner again.
It was the same when I had a 320d SE for 2 days recently, compared to my wifes 320d M-Sport touring it was so crashy it was untrue.
[Welshbeef Mode] Another factor in my quest for a replacement for the 130 - perhaps a facelift 130M could be the thing after all ...[/Welshbeef Mode]
Worth remembering though that the Dynamic pack on a (possibly facelift only) SE spec car means you get the same M Sport suspension anyway. Not so sure about earlier cars, in fact thinking about it I cant actaully recall seeing a pre-facelift SE with a dynamic pack so perhaps it was only released with the FL?
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