Timmay

As a follow-up to another post I made recently and because most people thought the BMW M5 I had gone bonkers about shouldn't be in the same sentence as an S3 or even RS3 for miscellaneous reasons, well now that I'm in Europe and rented a car in Germany, it coincidentally turned out to be something that would be directly competing with the S3 at least. Enter the 2019 BMW M140i.

To be blunt, I had forgotten what a Bimmer felt like since it has been a while. Don't get me wrong, I love Audi and have owned a few of them over the years. BUT, I have been driving a brand new 2019 BMW M140i hatchback and I'm seriously impressed. It's unfortunate we can't have this car in the States (as far as I know), it's a shame really. This car that I picked up at Sixt literally had just 50 kilometers on the odometer so I was the first customer to drive it. Unlimited mileage and a nice GPS that seems nicer than the one in my Audi. 3D rendering is amazing, but I guess when I'm driving around downtown Amsterdam or some cities in Germany, it renders cool looking buildings that are let's say, European. Guess I hadn't experienced that before so it's a cool vibe.

NOTE: Admittedly I'm using my Android phone and Google Maps which somehow works much better than when I'm using it back home in America. It's amazing actually and has quicker response times, especially when considering the absolute complexities of the road systems here. This is not directly related to the car obviously but just a side note and props to Google Maps. When I used the OEM navi in the Bimmer it worked pretty well but it's just a pain looking up stuff and I'm used to my phone, etc.

First off this car has a nicely tuned 6 cylinder 340HP (?) engine and this particular model is a 5 door hatchback with a nice beefy sound. Perhaps one of the things I love most about it is the phenomenal feeling of the heavy weighted steering, something Audi has always seemed to struggle with. On top of that, this is an 8 speed automatic but when I use it in fully auto mode, particularly in Sport mode, it's perfect. I didn't even think about manually changing gears via the paddle shifters. For the record, I use my paddles 100% of the time on my S3 because the automatic mode sucks. This M140i is amazing and the shift patterns are nearly perfect, including nice rev matching when slowing down. The steering wheel itself reminded me why I liked my old M3 so much, softer and fatter feel.

Because it's still Winter season in Germany, it's required by law that all cars are running on Winter tires. I can only imagine how much better this car would be performing with some Summer treads. Having said that, I was able to rip down the Autobahn in the rain and wind at some scary speeds anyway, pushing it pretty hard, yet it held it's own. When I return home, I'm never going to appreciate my car or future cars nearly as much as those here driving in Germany can with the Autobahn system. What an absolute white knuckle experience! Obviously you have to know what you're doing as well or you can get yourself into trouble quickly. I just cannot even begin to imagine Americans having a road system like this. There would be fatalities and massive crashes left and right I'm afraid just because of the average driving skills, or lack thereof. I know there are plenty on this forum that have driven here plenty of times but as a newb doing it for the first time, I can't help but get a buzz over it. Being able to actually drive the car like it was designed... nuff said.

Back to the original point, I'd trade my current S3 for this BMW M140i in a heartbeat. It's that good IMHO. No, it isn't as nicely arranged interior-wise, but BMWs never have been and that's where Audi shines. But again, this reminded me of a true driver's car. Unfortunately the weather has been crappy with rain and my time limited to 2 full days but I put 1,000 kilometers on the brand new car and I can't complain about the new car smell either, lol.



Standard cockpit but nice feel


Front end street parking


Random 3D rendering on GPS


Rear quarter view


Cluster gauge (note the gray colored circle with diagonal lines that indicates no speed limit on the Autobahn)


M140i in Amsterdam

Raidin

Have you tried the M240i here?

Timmay

No, I have not. I would imagine it may have similar traits, certainly the power delivery. However, I don't want a small 2 door coupe an am not a big fan of the 240's styling. Actually one of the reasons I suggested this M140i would be a nice car to cross shop with the S3 (in it's sedan form) as this hatchback is 4 doors as well. I just don't get why we can't have this car in the US : )

Flying Scotsman

I could not agree more on the average driving skills of North Americans and now with technology laden cars with auto braking, lane control, side assist, parking assist, semi autonomous, etc. Those average driving skills will further erode, due to not paying attention to surroundings and driving conditions.

Timmay

You seriously need to pay attention to what you're doing if you want to drive fast because what you might think is fast may be slow for another guy driving a faster car. I certainly didn't find myself falling asleep behind the wheel, my adrenaline wouldn't let me!

luv2sleep

I wish European automakers decide to bring more station wagons/hot hatches to N. America. Apparently most 'mericans don't like hatchbacks. Damn shame.

Timmay

I was thinking the exact same thing. I have a hard time understanding it because it does seem like hatches and wagons are popular, but the numbers probably suggest something else? There's a difference between enthusiasts like us that spend time on forums just like this one, versus the masses who don't give a crap about what kind of car they drive from Point A to Point B, right? 'Mericans love their huge gas guzzling pickup trucks and SUVS, the bigger the better. Sad.

It is indeed a shame. One thing I love about being here in Europe, particularly Germany is the variety and makes of cars we can't see in NA, especially the US. If it were available, I'd seriously be thinking about pulling the trigger on this hot hatch BMW M140i, it's really a lot of fun. I miss it already.

MARK YAG

How true, love Hatchbacks or sportbacks. Why 'merikans love there SUV's is beyond me.
What America needs are more wagons, and HB's as they try them and you will love them.
I do think that back in the 1970s the pinto and vega HB's made hatchbacks seem cheep
and un-loved.

Raidin

I can't believe BMW is ignoring the small luxury market right now. MB is about to release the new A-class, which will give them 2 small sedans, and Audi still has all 3 variants of the 3-class, and all BMW did back at the beginning is make a cheaper 3-series, which doesn't seem to be around anymore. A 2-series coupe by itself won't be enough. I hope they bring the 1-series over.

In any case, did you guys see Audi's recent tweet? (Forum won't let me link it, so here's an article about it: https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/11/...wagons-for-us/ )

Timmay

You and me both.