Humble hatchback
The limited-run M140i isn’t a fully fledged M-car. But it isn’t far off, says Damien O’Carroll.
BMW’s limited-run M140i isn’t a fully fledged M-car. But it isn’t far off.
The M2 looks way angrier, sounds better (and is much louder) and is just plain special.
If you have ever hankered after a BMW M2 (and you should, because it is easily the best M-car the company currently makes) but can’t quite front up with the $117,050 asking price, then does BMW have a deal for you.
It is called the M140i and it packs a whole lot of the M2’s bolshy attitude and frankly silly power into a more practical and, cheaper package. Where the M2’s
3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo engine belts out 272kW of power and 465Nm of torque, the M140i uses a slightly detuned version that ‘‘only’’ pumps out 250kW of power, but a chunkier 500Nm of torque at 1520rpm.
The M140i produces its peak power 1000rpm lower than the M2, while its bigger torque number lands just 120rpm higher, making them an even closer match in the real world. In fact where the M2 belts to 100kmh from a standing start in 4.3 seconds, the M140i does it in 4.6.
The M2 packs a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and more aggressive power delivery, while the M140i gets an eightspeed conventional automatic and a slightly more relaxed attitude. But only slightly.
But here’s the best part; at
$82,000 the M140i costs a whopping
$35,050 less than the M2, making it something of a serious performance bargain.
But wait, as they say on the telly, there’s more! The car you see here is in fact the M140i Edition Shadow, a special pack with extra equipment that BMW is doing globally.
As standard you get adaptive LED headlights, a Harman Kardon audio system, M sports brakes, suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats and an M aerodynamic package, as well as rear privacy glass, tinted tail-lights and a number of other gloss black exterior bits and pieces.
All up, the Edition Shadow packs around $8500 of extra gear into the M140i, but BMW NZ is listing the Edition Shadow at $69,990. So that’s $8500 of extra kit and $12,000 shaved off the price, making the fully-loaded M140i you see here a full $55,550 less than a standard M2. And to make it even stranger, you can still buy a standard M140i for $82,000 or M240i coupe for $92,000, but you would be quite silly to do so.
So it’s a lot cheaper and almost as fast, so you wouldn’t bother buying an M2, right?
What are you? Nuts? Of course you would! The M2 looks way angrier, sounds better (and is much louder) and is just plain special.
It is a proper M car that is bursting with barely restrained anger, that also happens to be remarkably easy to live with.
But if you can’t afford one, then you aren’t exactly doing it hard by buying an M140i instead.
In terms of being practical and easy to live with, even though the M2 is surprisingly pliable and docile when needed, the M140i easily has it over the M car by being a sensible five-door hatch with a usefully sizeable boot and a slightly more relaxed demeanour.
It is a handsome-enough looking thing, but lacks the drama of the bulging and muscular M2, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your point of view.
On the inside it is attractive and elegantly laid out, with a lovely little chunky steering wheel and fantastically supportive seats, although it does all look a bit black and dated now.
When you crank it into Sport+ and drop the throttle, however, none of that matters because the
3.0-litre turbo six is a thoroughly fantastic thing.
From a standing start the unassuming looking five-door hatch belts away with a shriek of rubber and a defiant waggle from the rear end. It relentlessly gathers pace with eye-widening aggression and simply hammers the power on anywhere in its rev range when you nail the throttle.
Toss it into a corner at it reveals a wonderfully responsive and adjustable attitude, with bullish muscle car-type rear end antics being the order of the day when you are an ape with the throttle, or a delightfully precise and accurate rear when you are more circumspect.
The M140i’s ride is firm, but in a pleasingly sporty way that doesn’t get irritating at a more relaxed pace.
While I started comparing the
M140i to the M2, in reality no-one buying an M2 would consider a
M140i, simply because it isn’t an
M2, no matter how close it is. However, the M140i’s $69,990 asking price lands it bang in the middle of Subaru WRX STI and VW Golf R territory, with the
221kW WRX STi Premium costing
$64,990 and the 228kW Golf R costing $76,990 (the indent-only manual is $74,490).
And if, like me, you enjoy the purity and tactility of a sharp RWD chassis and the throaty below of an inline six, then it really isn’t a choice at all.