BMW M140i owners

J35T3R · 1 Feb 2020 at 20:49

Test drove one today and they've given me a pretty good deal on my GTD. Made the mistake of going for another diesel, tried a Racechip and it just wasnt cutting it.

It's a 66 plate, 33k miles, BMW approved used with a years warranty. Was really impressed with the car...

Big question is, what are these cars like on fuel? My daily commute is 25 miles mostly motorway and A Road, surely it should be good for 30mpg plus on a run?

Are the servicing costs reasonable too?

Anything else worth mentioning about them?

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 1 Feb 2020 at 21:27

Don’t worry about it. It’ll be worth it either way.

Oh and just remember not to use kick down on damp roads.

paradigm · 1 Feb 2020 at 21:32

( |-| |2 ][ $ said:
Oh and just remember not to use kick down on damp roads.

Isn’t that it’s one redeeming feature over the competition, the tail out fun that can be had when the mood takes?

You’re making it out to be some uncontrollable monster when in reality they are very controllable even with DSC off.

chroniclard · 1 Feb 2020 at 21:47

Take it very very easy and drive economically can hit over 40 mpg on those engines.

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 1 Feb 2020 at 21:56

paradigm said:
Isn’t that it’s one redeeming feature over the competition, the tail out fun that can be had when the mood takes?

You’re making it out to be some uncontrollable monster when in reality they are very controllable even with DSC off.

You’re absolutely right, the engine / rwd define the car.

That said, floor it at 30mph on a damp road and it will try to go sideways even if you were driving straight originally.

I never said it was a bad thing.

melchy · 1 Feb 2020 at 22:06

In my M240i I'm averaging 28.6 mpg according to the car and that's not with a particularly heavy foot. Using Tesco 99 and driven on nearly all country A roads. I think the roads I drive on my commute are not particularly good for fuel economy, I'd expect a more normal commute to achieve better figures. It also eats through front tyres faster than you may expect for a rear driven car. Not had any issues at all in the 18 months or so I've owned it. My car came with a 5 year service pack (I also bought approved used), so I've not had to deal with the servicing costs. I believe that the brakes can be a bit pricey. I'd also echo the don't boot it in damp conditions especially if there is any weird camber on the road (although I guess that's just common sense

).

MeAnBoY · 1 Feb 2020 at 22:19

With smooth driving I saw 35mpg with little effort in a m135i and 40mpg can be had on the motorway. Whether other people get similar or results or not the bottom line it's an efficient engine, especially so considering its power and displacement.

melchy · 1 Feb 2020 at 22:33

As a comparison, I was averaging 24.5 mpg in my old N54 335i on the same journey.

muon · 1 Feb 2020 at 22:41

I do ~25mpg average and drive 20 miles a day almost entirely in stop start city traffic. Same run when there is very little traffic is >30mpg.

Motorway runs are easily >30mpg even at >85mph. Motorway/A roads at ~70mph or less should see high 30s.

This is with a manual, so an automatic with longer gears should be even better.

J35T3R said:
Anything else worth mentioning about them?

The PSS tyres whilst very good in the warm and dry, can be slippery in the cold especially.

Servicing costs are fine once over 3 years old.

J35T3R · 2 Feb 2020 at 00:03

Thanks. It's a manual car, I believe they stopped offering manuals from 2017.

I did give it some beans today in Sport (Sport Plus wasn't allowed on the test drive) and I did feel a little squirm from the back end but the car drove straight. Kept checking what gear I was in, thinking I was still in forth with the pull it had from sixth.

J35T3R · 2 Feb 2020 at 00:04

muon said:
I do ~25mpg average and drive 20 miles a day almost entirely in stop start city traffic. Same run when there is very little traffic is >30mpg.

Motorway runs are easily >30mpg even at >85mph. Motorway/A roads at ~70mph or less should see high 30s.

This is with a manual, so an automatic with longer gears should be even better.

The PSS tyres whilst very good in the warm and dry, can be slippery in the cold especially.

Servicing costs are fine once over 3 years old.

PSS? Pilots Super Sports?

Did check the tyres and it currently has Dunlop SP Sport Max on the rears and Bridgestone up front.

muon · 2 Feb 2020 at 00:08

J35T3R said:
PSS? Pilots Super Sports?

Did check the tyres and it currently has Dunlop SP Sport Max on the rears and Bridgestone up front.

Yes Pilot Super Sports are the original tyres. I'd still take them over everything else though. Would only consider the PS4S which doesn't come in the stock wheel sizes. PS4 tyres do come in the right size and many people switch to that as cold and wet performance is much better than the PSS.

I'm guessing the car has runflats fitted with that tyre selection? That might be something to eventually change.

J35T3R · 2 Feb 2020 at 08:03

Do you need to run these cars on the higher octane fuel, the one question I forgot to ask on the test drive?

[TW]Fox · 2 Feb 2020 at 08:19

J35T3R said:
Thanks. It's a manual car, I believe they stopped offering manuals from 2017.

For good reason. Get the auto.

dacads · 2 Feb 2020 at 09:51

[TW]Fox said:
For good reason. Get the auto.

Not everyone likes an auto

[TW]Fox · 2 Feb 2020 at 10:19

dacads said:
Not everyone likes an auto

I guess it you ask nicely they'll put windup windows in as well?

LiE · 2 Feb 2020 at 10:24

[TW]Fox said:
I guess it you ask nicely they'll put windup windows in as well?

I couldn't go back to a manual or even a non-electronic handbrake.

Gaygle · 2 Feb 2020 at 10:46

J35T3R said:
Do you need to run these cars on the higher octane fuel, the one question I forgot to ask on the test drive?

They don't *have* to be, but on standard 95, you'll lose about 20bhp or so. The power and fuel consumption figures quoted are based on using the highest RON fuel the car is listed to run on.

Shadowness · 2 Feb 2020 at 11:02

I'm almost a year into 140i ownership, getting one from new on the 1st March.
They are a lot better on fuel than you might think, for a I6 350bhp engine! I've logged every mile I've done in the Road Trip app, really handy....

As you can tell, I fill up to full every time (with 98RON fuel). So that gives you a pretty good idea what they are capable of. Bear in mind when I do drive to work, it's mainly A roads with very little stop/start, so the 13 mile journey will typically give me almost 40 mpg avg.
One thing that I also noted is the trip computer is remarkably accurate! The numbers I have here are typically well within 1 mpg of what the computer says.

They are great cars though, and they can be a handle which I've discovered on the wet greasy roads of late!!

Temujin · 2 Feb 2020 at 12:38

Supposedly the manual is not as good on fuel as the auto, and also it's higher tax (at least this was the case on the m135i). I averaged around 31 mpg over 18 months which as others have said for a 300+bhp car is not too shabby, however I just found it boring to drive unless you were in license losing territory, they don't handle well out of the box but with mods can be made good. I think the hype outweighs the delivery with these baby M cars, and they're pretty much the fashionable car to be in right now, but there are better hatches available though obviously your mileage may vary if this is the car you're set on.