un1eash

Is this the joint venture with BMW as sounds like it could have BMW's B58 Engine tied to the ZF8 gearbox. Looks like it is but they've reduced the torque to 450nm on the 335bhp tune.

I keep meaning to try the RS to see if they fixed all the problems with the standard Nismo, apart from barely being able to fit a baby seat in the back the chassis and brakes off the standard Nismo couldn't handle the power, it was scary at times trying to come to a stop quickly from speed.

540i M Sport xDrive, ok its not a looker but fits all the other criteria.

Image trying to park an F150 at the local Aldi when shopping.

I'd go for something like a 340i or 440i GC, the 5dr M140i is great but does lack a little space in the rear to make it a proper all rounder.

Bmw do a warranty approved LSD and M Performance exhaust.

I thought we had an Ev thread now for this kind of thing.

There very big for everyday use around town and you need deep pockets when things go wrong. They were something like £70k new and now 2012 cars are going for well under £20k.

Hopefully its dry tomorrow. The 140 is never going to be a looker but inside its no different from a 2,3 or 4 series when it comes to looks and quality.

The trick with leasing is to not get set on one individual car but to go with the deals. I had ordered an Octavia vRS 245, £1000 down 23x £202, 8k miles a year. I had to cancel the order because there are massive delays and my current leased 5 series goes back end of feb so I needed a car for then. The killer on lease is optional extras as you pay the full price of the option over the lease period so the price soon shoots up. Check out the lease vol5 thread on pistonheads for the latest cheap deals and https://www.contracthireandleasing.com is good but don't believe all the prices you see on there. We now have a Qashqai Tekna with glass roof pack coming as it was an in stock deal, its £238 fully maintained on a 6+35 lease. Not mega cheap but a decent price from what suv's have been. An Ateca or Kodiaq Se Tech is a little cheaper but no way near the spec.

Where from as that's around £100 cheaper a month to anything I've seen. 1 series is currently going through a price increase also so PCP deals will be changing.

M Performance Exhaust and BCS mid pipe are the most popular exhaust mods, biggest complaint about the 140 is how quiet it is compared to the 135.

M Performance LSD was a £2500 option so pretty rare but they are out there. Business Nav became standard from late 2015 so early cars won't have it but sounds like you want Pro Nav which got updated around the same time with the bigger touch controller. There are 3 levels of audio, standard, advanced and hk. The hk isn't as good as that found in 3/4/5.. series so some say its not worth it. Pretty much everything was an extra, rear tinted windows, rear parking sensors, heated seats, cruise etc were all extras which you'd expect to be standard on a £30k car.

Don't say this over on babybmw as you'll start a fight. Are you set on having an LCi face lift? Early low mileage cars are going for around £16k. A lot of people will argue over manual/auto and maybe with your mileage the auto will be a better fit. Spec is always a personal thing, I don't have pro nav or adaptive which others see as essential. The M135i and M140i are quite different so I'd recommend driving both, the 40 has more low down torque which some refer to as more a diesel type power delivery. In comfort it can feel a little effortless and lazy as it has so much torque but switch to Sport/Sport+ and its like jekyll and hyde. I wouldn't recommend runflats for winter as you might as well have a 116i, they take an age to get heat in them and you can't press on so take this into account on test drives. First one has pro nav and h&k audio, that and its main dealer with auc warranty it'll be about £1k more than a non BMW dealer.

If its only short term you can pick up a M135i for £15k now from a main dealer with a years Auc warranty.

Would just get a V6 Exige, complete package already and won't be throwing money out the window every time you drive it.

Looks nice in blue, I always wanted a moonland grey one with red fabric roof. Best thing, well another positive is you can run it for a couple years and hardly loose if any money on it when you come to sell.

I go left leg in first, sit down then right leg in. Confuses the hell out of me getting in the passenger side. Normally put the key in the ignition first also or on the floor. VX and S2 Elise very similar, S1 Elise the opening with the roof on is tiny.

Boss has a 330e and doesn't like it at all, it averages 28mpg. His old Lexus IS 300h which he says was miles better in both performance and quality would do 45+ mpg

Loved my E92, took it a couple Toyota garages and they thought I was crazy looking to trade it in for a GT86. I don't look at my M140i in the same way but I do love it in a different way.

The M Lites attraction came from the fact you can pick up a brand new M140i for a little over £26k. This has changed now though and your looking at £29k for a standard 1 which is the same price for a 2 as they have bigger contributions from BMW.

Had my 5dr M140i for 6 months now. Its definitely more a GT then a sports car. They are very very quick with a ton of torque making the manual easy to live with in town, nearly all the B58 Mx40i's that have been dynod make more then the claimed 335bhp. The interior is almost identical to the 3/4 series and has a more quality feel now on the 1. I've fitted the rear under brace to mine to help stiffen the rear up which helps putting all that power down.

Only 220 model 3's delivered in Q3, Uk pre orders will be a very long way off, 2020 maybe?

Wheres the nose badge?

This is too easy, Elise all day long. K series Elise runs out of puff at 100mph+ but it will be quicker then a 350z up to that and stop even quicker. Cheap to run, cheap to maintain and after a couple years you'll get your money back.