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M135i


330dcoupe
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I've had my Mlite for just over 4 months now. Thought I'd do a little review for y'all.

I leased an Alfa Giulietta  2.0 TDI Veloce for 2 years before the Mlite. The Alfa was a really nice car, with a torque-y 170bhp engine (especially in dynamic mode...when it pulled like a train through the mid-range) it was very good on fuel, comfortable, spacious and imo looked fantastic. The handling and steering left a lot to be desired though, but it did precisely the job I acquired it for. When I took the lease, I knew there would be a transition stage coming in my life, so really didn't want to commit to something expensive to lease and run. Did 30k miles in 2 years and it didn't miss a beat. 

Funnily enough, the lease on it finished close to the time I went from selling my businesses and starting a full time job as a Project Manager. So, as plans go - it worked perfectly. 

The new job meant less mileage which, basically, gave me the freedom to pick anything (within reason) that I wanted. 

The Golf R was at the top of the list for a while and, if the truth be told, I never even considered the M135i as a possible replacement. As  also a leasing broker, I had the pick of most of the cars on the hit list. The list read: 1) Golf R (new lease) 2) BMW 335i (used) 3) MK7 GTI (new lease) 4) Audi A7 3.0 TDI (used) 5) Merc C250d (new lease)

so, as you can see: no Mlite. The biggest reason for this was the general misconception I had in my mind about it. The usual 'horrendous on fuel, expensive to insure, crap in the bad weather' etc. It wasn't until about 4 weeks before my Alfa contract was up, that I started reading up on them. The more I read, the more I started to think about the possibility of owning one. Got some insurance quotes and they weren't that much more expensive than the R and GTI. 3 weeks left and I made it my mission to test drive an Auto - as that's the one I heard get the plaudits the most. For love no money could I get a test drive at any of the main dealers in the NE. 

Time was running out - so I just went with my gut instincts. I trolled through the classified and, 4 days before the Alfa was due to be collected, I found the combination I was looking for: A 5dr Graphite Grey Auto with Coral leather.

There was one slight issue, I really wanted the professional media. Did I really need sat Nav? I guess not, I though, so went ahead and placed a deposit on it. 

The car was in Chester VW, so I booked a train that weekend to go and pick it up. For that full journey, I just kept thinking about all the things that could, potentially, go wrong with what I was about to do. What if i didn't like it? I've never bought a model of a car without testing it first. 

I was welcomed at the dealer by the principle dealer. Nice chap. He took me to the car and told me that he had personally bought the car from a good friend of his. He seemed really proud of it; personally showed me the spotless bodywork. And it was. Spotless. 25k on the clock and really looked after. The car had just had a full service and a full set of MPSS's on as well. Result! I managed to wrangle a 3 year bodywork (dints, scratches etc) warranty worth £500 out of them for free as well. 

As soon as I pulled out of that dealership - I knew I had made the right desicion. The seating position was perfect. The steering was lovely and chunky. In 'Comfort mode' the feel of the steering was positive and lite. The ride felt well judged and not as harsh as past M sport set-ups i had owned.  I was pretty cuffed! 

That day, the traffic was horrendous. It must have taken at least 30 miles before had a chance to open the taps up on it. And when I did, I was stunned. I was like "wtf??"  Now, baring in mind, a few days before collecting the Mlite, I had an M4 for a full day (gifted to our leasing company as a thank you present for a week) I mean, you would expect an M4 to be fast - I just didn't expect this little 1 series to be so much poke. Sounds daft. I know. 

Was it better than the cars from my original list. Yes. In my mind, the R was always going to be the Alfa's replacement. I was sure of it. I loved the R from the day I drove it - 18 months previously.  But I'm so glad I opted for the Mlite.  Don't get me wrong, the R is a weapon. I wont't doubt that for one second - but this little beemer just feels a bit more special to me. It's exciting. Keeps me on my toes. The seating position (imo) is better than the R and just feels so much more involving. The engine is epic. 

People were telling me I'm mad for getting a RWD with that much power. This Mlite's capabilities compared to my past BMW E46's and E90 are on a different planet. Even in the wet, it feels far more planted, even with some reasonably spirited driving. 50% of what I can push this in the wet would have spun the old BM's. Of course, I still have to respect the fact that it does have it's limitations in the wet. So can't get too excited at such times. 

If I had one criticism, it would be about how restricted the exhaust note is. I'm thinking of doing something about it now though. A sports cat downpipe is on the horizon and I've enquired about the MPE mod on the standard back box to a local exhaust specialist. 

My little boy, who's  now 7, loves it. "Dad, put it in sports mode and nail it" he says. Lol

 

 

Edited by 330dcoupe
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:cool: I also took an R out and thought it was for sure the car for me. In the end, VW made the decision by closing the orders just as I was ready to go. Mate of mine suggested the M140i and that was that. The only thing that should have been a dead cert for me was the new Type R, but new Hondas and 'deals' seem non existent, and I wanted an auto box for a change, and heated seats, and ummm, more than 4 cylinders for the first time ever :roflmao:.

I had a little moment today, wondering if i'd made the right decision. Looked through hundreds images of all the colours wondering if i should change from red to blue, or grey, or or or...in the end i found a stunning image of a red one and decided I made the right choice. 

I also watched several YouTubes of them, one with it doing an acceleration and top speed run down the autobahn vs a new Focus RS. The M seems to have the legs, especially at the higher speeds, the ones i'll never reach anyway!   

4 weeks (hopefully) to go now. Getting excited. 

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Welcome to the club lads. I had the Pre-LCI M135i and am now in to month 5 of ownership of the M140i. 

Write up here :-)

I'm only 2.5k miles in but every time I've been in it, I've always thought. I got the right and best car for me. No regrets whatsoever. Its a great piece of equipment and I don't even drive it to its full potential.

By the way, I think the exhaust note noise was reduced even further on the M140i to comply with EU emission laws as I'm sure my previous M135i was louder. I still think its pretty loud enough for me though.

I remember once overtaking some slow coach once while on the phone to a friend and he went...Christ! Is that your car I can hear, bit loud isn't it? I just smiled. Obviously that was the symposer doing its thing

Edited by S3Bangs
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23 hours ago, eldavo69 said:

330dcoupe - whereabouts in the NE are you? I may be able to recommend some very good exhaust companies. 

I'm from Newcastle mate.

Do you have any tips?  I'm kinda useless when it comes to mods.  The 3 most popular options seem to be a sports cat/de-cat down pipe (but this is supposed to trigger the EML, which then requires a re-map to fix), a straight through 'Y' pipe or the MPE mod, where they open the back box and do a few bits and bobs to improve the sound flow.

 

 

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£/bhp don't bother decat or sports cat, BMW cats aren't that restrictive anyway.

The modded back box is supposed to give a nice noise without being too droney on the motorway & will release a few ponies & pounds weight to boot.

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1 hour ago, E-bmw said:

£/bhp don't bother decat or sports cat, BMW cats aren't that restrictive anyway.

The modded back box is supposed to give a nice noise without being too droney on the motorway & will release a few ponies & pounds weight to boot.

A local exhaust specialist has quoted me £200 for the MPE mod job. Quite reasonable for a 2-3+ hour job. The back box delete is supposed to be brilliant for better noise - and I've seen video's to support this. I'm just worried about the droning. 

Edited by 330dcoupe
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15 hours ago, eldavo69 said:

Get a switchable system. Look up electric exhaust cutout valves. 

 

Have it running through the silencer normally and then push a button a button to divert through a straight pipe hidden underneath or at the side. 

That sounds like some next level A-Team stuff....and expensive!  I can't justify spending a load of money on an exhaust, tbh. The Mrs wants a new kitchen by August.....so need to keep her on-side too!

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22 hours ago, 330dcoupe said:

I'm from Newcastle mate.

Do you have any tips?  I'm kinda useless when it comes to mods.  The 3 most popular options seem to be a sports cat/de-cat down pipe (but this is supposed to trigger the EML, which then requires a re-map to fix), a straight through 'Y' pipe or the MPE mod, where they open the back box and do a few bits and bobs to improve the sound flow.

2

For the money, I'd skip anything switchable and stick to the MPE. Removing the backbox is good for weight saving but will the noise will eventually annoy if the car is your daily (family) drive.  Now if it was a weekend toy, then yes, rip that fecker out and do the CAT. I did the same on my John Cooper Works MINI - Miltek Sports CAT and exhaust, it sound liked an F1 on full-tilt but on a long drive that sound became irritating. 

I've looked at putting a switchable backbox on M2 but you're looking at almost 5k for the Akrapovic Evolution, I can leave it in Sport mode for free 

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With back box deletes, they are not usually any louder when idle or on a very light throttle.

However, get to a motorway on ramp/overtaking and 'oh yes, enjoy the sound'!!!!

 

I had this done on my previous A8 V8, and on start-up, was a good woofle!  (Even my mum loved it!), cruising through town - nothing.  Slight addiotion of some thrust and out came the yummy V8 goodness for all to enjoy.  Especially in the multi-storey up ramp at work :grin:    VERY addictive.

Oh, and the fecking back boxes weigh a ton!!!!  Must be about 25 - 30 kg combined!!!!

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