At the end of 2014 we got the chance to spend a day with a BMW 118D M-Sport 5 Door, now yes that dos not sound that fun and its not the most powerful thing around but it is still a decent car. Yes It has taken some time to get this post out but lets forget that, I don’t want this to be a Review as well, I’m no car journalist so lets just say these are our impressions from the day. The BMW 118D M-Sport that we had our hands on had a lather of add-ons from the options sheet. First of the M-Sport pack as we can all see, next was the uprated M-Sport brake pack, 4 pots up front 2’s at the back. Them two were the biggest differences I would say over standard, there were also things like multi zone climate control, privacy glass, things along them lines. So what did we actually think of the car? Well read below.
Engine and Gearbox:
The 2.0 Litre Turbo Diesel unit was a pleasant engine to use, Plenty of low down torque, and for once a Diesel that was quite happy to rev. The specs to the engine are 141 bhp at 4000rpm and 320 Nm (236 lb·ft) of torque between 1750-2500 rpm, there was no noticeable turbo lag unlike older TD’s I’ve had the displeasure of driving so for me a decent engine that is fairly economical. The gearbox was a slick 6 speed box, short-ish throw, and a real pleasure to use like all BMW manuals.
On the road and Brakes:
So on to the Brakes with there M-sport brake pack, Very grab-by at first which is like most newer cars these days. I was finding it hard to moderate the brakes at first but you can learn when they will grab fairly easily, but once applied they do there job bringing the speed down with little effort. I have a feeling that like most BMW brakes that once on track they would over heat pretty fast but on the road and on B-roads they work better than most. For the ride and spirited driving the chassis is very impressive soaking up pot holes and bumps very well without upsetting the car at all. There was plenty of grip on the cold and sometimes damp road surface and was a real join to drive on B-roads especially even with it been a Diesel. The only disapointed thing was the steering, overly light even in Sport mode and Sport plus modes, there was also just that little bit of disconnect of what was completely happening under the contact patch of the rubber. You had to let your senses and arse tell you what was happening more than the steering wheel, as the wheel never seemed to load up a lot. But that dos’nt mean the steering was bad, Its very direct and small changes in angle were defiantly implemented. If only you could have this car with the E46 steering system.
Interior:
The cabin was a well thought out place to sit, Seats hugged you and kept you pinned on spirited drives. The steering wheel was extremely chunky, but I was a big fan of it actually. The material were all BMW expected top notch, and I couldn’t find anything to complain about, probably if a person sat behind me they could since leg room isn’t the best but also I’m 6’3 so I always get complained at.
So over all what were are impressions of the car. Well I liked the car an awful lot, If it had been a 3 door even more probably. The only down side I found was the steering, but as most cars turn to electric assisted steering its something we will have to live with until the engineers perfect the assisted progression like they had with most hydraulic systems. But all in all I had a positive impression from the car and If I bought one then I would be very happy.
