MarkCup's BMW M140i

[MarkCup]

Having got thorughly fed up with continual dealership visits and a Focus RS that always had something wrong with it I finally cried "Enough!" and managed to find this peach. It was registered in March 2017 (the exact same day my RS started rolling down the production line!) and had 10,060 miles on it (9,500 less than the RS) as I drove away quite relieved that the RS was finally gone.

Spec wise it has;
Manual gearbox!!!
Metallic black sapphire paint
Coral red leather
Piano black interior trim
Professional media pack
Harman Kardon sound system
Heated seats
Cruise control
Reversing camera with front & rear sensors
Folding door mirrors
Grey windscreen shade band
Rear and side badge delete
Concierge service
M Performance carbon mirror caps
M Performance black kidney grilles
Adaptive LED headlights with high beam assist
Adaptive suspension
Ceramic coating

The only things I would have liked, but couldn't find on anything other than really badly specced manual cars, were a sunroof and privacy glass. Those were the only compromises I had to make. The dealer fitted four fresh Bridgestone Potenzas (non run flats) to it for me as well.

It's tiny! Properly dwarfed by @Jeff simply 's M4 and Lib's RS3...

That I found a few of these in amongst all of the paperwork was a nice bonus...

Initial thoughts?

It's no Focus RS, that's for sure. It's going to take some getting used to, the sense of being pushed from the rear is very strong, traction in the damp up to legal speeds is laughable, and it needs that locking rear diff Jeff has sat in his garage.

I should be getting it on the dyno this weekend...the usual numbers are 355-360 bhp and 380-400 lbft and it feels every bit that strong!

Videos and charts etc. will of course follow...

 

[Clio_fool]

Nice. I'll be very intrested in the spread sheet for the running costs in a few months. I'd love to swap the wife's clio for one but she does 80 miles a day and I think she'd notice the petrol station becoming more familiar ?.
Great spec btw?

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Looks very nice, Mark!

 

[Detail Chris]

Nice Mark although these should have the Michelin supersports, think the potenzas won’t be anywhere near as good. I’m sure they won’t last long at any rate!
Diff and Miltek needed

 

[RDH]

Love these. More than the RS.

Any incoming spreadsheet will be slighty skewed by the horrific depreciation it will undoubtably suffer. I also think they are far more suited to the auto than the manual.

I want one when my lease goes back. White, red leather, auto, pro nav is my spec of want.

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Nice colour combo and sure it goes well, but the 120d looks spoil it a bit for me. Needs something to liven it up a bit. Modifications on the cards for this one?

 

[MarkCup]

Nice. I'll be very intrested in the spread sheet for the running costs in a few months. I'd love to swap the wife's clio for one but she does 80 miles a day and I think she'd notice the petrol station becoming more familiar ?.
Great spec btw?

It's surpisingly frugal! 30 MPG driving it the same way that in my RS would see me getting 24.

Nice Mark although these should have the Michelin supersports, think the potenzas won’t be anywhere near as good. I’m sure they won’t last long at any rate!
Diff and Miltek needed

They're what I had on my Fiesta for years so I think they're good enough for now. It'll definitely be Michelin P4S when they get down to the canvas.

Love these. More than the RS.

Any incoming spreadsheet will be slighty skewed by the horrific depreciation it will undoubtably suffer. I also think they are far more suited to the auto than the manual.

I want one when my lease goes back. White, red leather, auto, pro nav is my spec of want.

I'm sure it will lose value but it has a few things in its favour;
The 135i beneath it
There's no M1 above it
It has every option the internet says they should have except the auto 'box
The next 1 series will be FWD only and have a four pot

Short wheel base, immense power/torque, bullet proof engine, RWD, I could see them being quite sought after in future...even my manual one!

Nice colour combo and sure it goes well, but the 120d looks spoil it a bit for me. Needs something to liven it up a bit. Modifications on the cards for this one?

Diff, definitely. Once out of warranty...Jeff's kind of convinced me to go JB4.

As for the looks it takes me back to my Clio 200 days, black, silver wheels, not shouty, just blends in, perfect.

 

[yeecup]

Great choice.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

I also think they are far more suited to the auto than the manual.

The auto is awesome, utter weapon in a straight line, but for car control and driver involvement manual all the way!

 

[Iain C]

What did you do with the rs? Sell it on?
Nice buy this. I was toying with a m135i actually.

 

[Daz.]

Apart from the box that's exactly the car I would buy. I wouldn't want a sunroof personally. Love red leather!

I agree, diff and more ooomph and just enjoy it for a while...

 

[Mr Burns]

Gutted about the Focus, hopefully the Beemer will treat you kindly.

 

[Al_G]

Would you ever own another Ford?

 

[McGherkin]

I don’t get these at all, although I’m not a BMW man anyway.

However, I respect them, they’re decent motors.

 

[JB21]

So they are crying out for a diff even for spirited road driving? Mate has just JB4'd his M135i with mid-box chop and it goes and sounds great.

Looking forward to the details of ownership as the M135i will defo be my next motor, albeit an auto.

 

[Martin.]

These are absolutely epic!! Would have it all day long over the focus RS. More 'grown up', more stylish, better drivetrain, better engine, better noise etc etc etc

One of my best mates has recently just tickled over the 10k marker on his. Absolutely lovely cars.

My cousin has a JB4 on his 135 and so does @GrahamS on his now too. Makes them laughable. Proper punch in the back.

 

[Cookson]

I think the fact it doesnt have a sunroof is a massive bonus. Tinted windows aren't expensive. You've got a great car there, with a hell of a lot of potential. Enjoy it.

And try not to be so anal about this one, lol

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

Will you continue to Vlog etc with this one ? I enjoyed following your ST & RS videos.

Good choice of replacement though, it will be interesting to see what’s it’s like compared to the RS that was pretty stiff and quite a focused hot hatch to a more of a GT type hot hatch.

Let’s hope it makes booked power on the dyno!

 

[cat171]

Nice one Mark! I really like it!

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Shame about the issues you had with the RS, but that's a great replacement mate ?

 

[McGherkin]

Yes Mark, keep blogging. I really enjoyed the Focus ones.

 

[rich_h]

Nice buy Mark, great car for the money.

 

[car.crash]

What’s that stick in the middle with numbers all over it?

 

[mr bognor]

Is the M140I quicker in a straight line than the FRS do you think or about the same .

No 4WD so is throttle control is needed to help get traction and get the power down .

 

[davo172]

Having got thorughly fed up with continual dealership visits and a Focus RS that always had something wrong with it I finally cried "Enough!" and managed to find this peach. It was registered in March 2017 (the exact same day my RS started rolling down the production line!) and had 10,060 miles on it (9,500 less than the RS) as I drove away quite relieved that the RS was finally gone.

Spec wise it has;
Manual gearbox!!!
Metallic black sapphire paint
Coral red leather
Piano black interior trim
Professional media pack
Harman Kardon sound system
Heated seats
Cruise control
Reversing camera with front & rear sensors
Folding door mirrors
Grey windscreen shade band
Rear and side badge delete
Concierge service
M Performance carbon mirror caps
M Performance black kidney grilles
Adaptive LED headlights with high beam assist
Adaptive suspension
Ceramic coating

The only things I would have liked, but couldn't find on anything other than really badly specced manual cars, were a sunroof and privacy glass. Those were the only compromises I had to make. The dealer fitted four fresh Bridgestone Potenzas (non run flats) to it for me as well.

It's tiny! Properly dwarfed by @Jeff simply 's M4 and Lib's RS3...

View attachment 1392406View attachment 1392407View attachment 1392405View attachment 1392403View attachment 1392399View attachment 1392400View attachment 1392401View attachment 1392402

That I found a few of these in amongst all of the paperwork was a nice bonus...

View attachment 1392408

Initial thoughts?

It's no Focus RS, that's for sure. It's going to take some getting used to, the sense of being pushed from the rear is very strong, traction in the damp up to legal speeds is laughable, and it needs that locking rear diff Jeff has sat in his garage.

I should be getting it on the dyno this weekend...the usual numbers are 355-360 bhp and 380-400 lbft and it feels every bit that strong!

Videos and charts etc. will of course follow...

Very nice what did you get for the rs as a part ex just out of interest?

 

[MarkCup]

What did you do with the rs? Sell it on?
Nice buy this. I was toying with a m135i actually.

Part-ex with the dealer I bought this from. He has it up on AT already.

Would you ever own another Ford?

I still have the C-Max, that's been trouble free. Now that I have this I can see my wife wanting the BMW C-Max equivalent when we come to replace it.

So they are crying out for a diff even for spirited road driving? Mate has just JB4'd his M135i with mid-box chop and it goes and sounds great.

Looking forward to the details of ownership as the M135i will defo be my next motor, albeit an auto.

They are, very much. Without it you can feel that it has potential, but to unstick the rear you have to put loads of lateral load into the the back or the throttle just merrily spins the inside wheel. So you're kind of inducing lift off oversteer and then trying to keep it going with a spinning inside wheel. It's messy and unpredictable.

I think the fact it doesnt have a sunroof is a massive bonus. Tinted windows aren't expensive. You've got a great car there, with a hell of a lot of potential. Enjoy it.

And try not to be so anal about this one, lol

I'm ahead of you already. After my first full fill-up;

Cashier "Do you want a receipt?"
Me "No"

Me, leaving...

Yes Mark, keep blogging. I really enjoyed the Focus ones.

I'll not be giving up anytime soon. It currently funds my one trackday each year. As things are seeming to go right now, I think it'll soon fund two!

Is the M140I quicker in a straight line than the FRS do you think or about the same .

No 4WD so is throttle control is needed to help get traction and get the power down .

Definitely! So long as it has traction that is...which is a challenge. Having said leaving everything fully engaged it just drives and turns like any car with decent enough grip would, it just won't accelerate until you start unwinding the lock and then boom, you're off LOL

Very nice what did you get for the rs as a part ex just out of interest?

The exact same as I paid for this. No cash changed hands at all, it was a straight swap.

So you could say I got £30k for it, or you could say I got £20k for it. Whatever you choose, that's what I paid for the 140.

 

[JamesBryan]

RSTuning has just mapped one of these to 470bhp.

 

[Daz.]

^^^ I saw that on Facebook.

It's depressing me that my 'hot' hatch has less that 200bhp than the current crop of fast hatches!

 

[Sir_Dave]

RSTuning has just mapped one of these to 470bhp.

Be interesting to see how long it lasts at that level of tune lol.
Must have ALL of the boost ?

 

[TimR26]

Nice spec Mark. Considering the issues and the disappointment at Surrey Rolling Road it sounds like a good swap.

 

[Al_G]

How much is the trader advertising the FRS for?

 

[TimR26]

How much is the trader advertising the FRS for?

This looks like it so £26,990
https://www.jamespaul.co.uk/ford-focus-rs-lux-pack-winter-pack-6370619

 

[Short Norman]

Swapped for this one
https://www.jamespaul.co.uk/bmw-1-s...v-harman-kardon-in-west-sussex-surrey-6364137

 

[Al_G]

This looks like it so £26,990
https://www.jamespaul.co.uk/ford-focus-rs-lux-pack-winter-pack-6370619

No mention of the replacement engine!

 

[Matthew]

Sure it's a very capable car but it does nothing for me I'm afraid. Looks like any other 120D on the road.

 

[KitsonRis]

What is the button next to the gear stick? Top is traction control, next two are to change driving modes and the one at the bottom I don’t know. Mine doesn’t have this button so wondering what it does.

 

[Cookie]

Sure it's a very capable car but it does nothing for me I'm afraid. Looks like any other 120D on the road.

Says the man in the Skoda though

I don't think Mark wants to stick out tbf

 

[Iain C]

This looks like it so £26,990
https://www.jamespaul.co.uk/ford-focus-rs-lux-pack-winter-pack-6370619

Does look mega in that grey. I bet it goes on for ever.

 

[FatRS]

So I wasn’t far off when I said A29 heading towards Pulborough. Just a little further down the road from the Audi garage.

 

[Cookie]

I bought my M3 from them, nice guys