Evening, haven't posted since selling the meg a while ago. So went the sensible family route and got a Mercedes gla, lasted 18 months then realised im still a boy racer at heart lol. So march this year i picked up my shadow edition m140i with a host of goodies. And i must say what a bit of an animal it was in stock form but after 2 weeks of ownership the slippery slope of modifying started AGAIN. So few suspension goodies and engine mods including a trip to rs tuning shes now sitting happily at 453bhp/458 lb/ft. When i was active on the forum i mentioned about new cars etc and ppl saying 140s were boring blah blah blah. Honestly as much as i loved the meg the 140 is just a totally different level. So if anyones in the market for 1 test drive it and make your own mind up and i can guarantee you wont be disappointed. Cheers jambo
each to there own..had a mate who bought one brand new, and sold it after 6 months,as it was to unengaging. Regularly see them getting passed on trackdays,but no doubt that engine is a absolute another level in performance.
I sold a 400hp BMW to move to the Megane. The BMW was a couple of years old, people still scratching their heads... But even with the suspension changes and they did vastly improve the cars handling, it was a one trick pony. Straight line, savage acceleration and sub 4 seconds to 60. (4wd) Other than that, I didn't feel having so much money tied up in a car was wise. Anyway, good to hear you are enjoying the BMW. The 3.0 turbo engine is very good. Sounds great.
Just takes time as you need to understand characteristics from fwd to rwd. Had a few blasts against some respected handling cars and up to now never been outclassed lol. But for your friend to say unengaging i dont get that. When pushing on you've gotta be switched on and engaged
hes talking about the car,not himself .Same applies to the Golf R..in tuned form its a very capable,fast car.But it has a remote feeling,where the steering,and the seat of your pants dont tell you whats going on under the wheels. Again its all about the individual person,and what they want from a car. On the road my Tuned R26 is still far to fast on a B road,and could lose you your license when just cruising. Put 400hp into the equation,and those odds shorten dramatically.
Manufacturers have made it way too easy for those to go fast in cars who want to, easily. The result is an abundance of family cars with performance of previous sports cars.... and a series of disengaged driving experiences In my opinion pushing a car to the edge of performance does not make it engaging. It might make it exciting, but not engaging.
They are seriously rapid no doubt. Epic Engine made available to the masses. 911 Turbos were putting out those numbers 10 years ago. Considered one for sure. Been out in a 140i and a 7R. At the time I had an E92 DCT M3. So both were lacking the character of that car. I like the Meg enough. Right amount of performance for me ( never thought I would say that.....). Friendly on the pocket. Rare Enough that I enjoy spotting another and not easily mistaken for lesser model. Actually dont see many regular Meganes either.
was out earlier in my R26,and it still thrills me with its ability to be a all round package. Very much like the DC2 i used to have,which i would still have if it had more torque. My next car will be a Honda FK8 type R...again..another complete car,without headline grabbing performance figures. I doubt if i will ever sell the R26..in a couple years,these "seat of the pants cars" will not exist anymore. You have to admire BMW though, in offering so much power with the 140/240/135i to the regular man. As mentioned they have serious supercar pace of 10 years ago, in a hatchback!
I look forward to a direct comparison between a bog standard 140i, and my (quite modified) RS. Myself and a workmate (who owns the BMW) are going to a trackday at Donington together, in a months time. Will report findings here
Well we finally had the comparison yesterday (at Oulton Park). In the morning it was a bit damp, so I was just using my stock 265hp, and traction control. The Megane was better on the brakes, and quite a bit better on exits (Megane on Michelin PS4-s, BMW on Toyo R888R). In a straight line the BMW was able to use its 340 ish HP, so was quicker there. After lunch it dried up so I deployed my map of 320HP, and my mate had a little trick up his sleeve; he had done a few minor mods, and had a 450hp map to upload! He pretty much mullered everyone, until he cooked his brakes (Ferodo DS2500, on oe discs).
I am guessing even with std power a 140i would need quite a bit of mods on chassis & brakes to balance the package out. More so if you throw 20% more power & torque at it. Meg is a balanced package out of the box & the engine is limited for big power mods so unlikely you can get such an imbalance.
