Hi Guys, just wanted to tell you all about a test drive I had 2 days ago. My own car is a 1year old 116D ED, it has no "lines" and of course no M sport package as that is not available on the Eff. Dynamics. I do have leather seats, radio pro, bluetooth, sunroof, xenons and some other options. Overall, I am very pleased with the car. It is ofcourse a very sensible car, with very low diesel consumpsion and due to the 99g CO2/Km its relatively cheap on tax. Despite all this, when I put it in sport mode, it has quite some punch also, so I enjoy driving it a lot and am among the quicker cars on the road due to my driving style most of the time
(that is untill I meet a real car like a 330D or so
)
I was at my dealer the other day to check out the new 4 series and started talking with my salesperson, with whom I get along with quite well, so I could arrange a test drive in a 125D the next day. I actually asked for a 120D as that is more likely to be my next car in a couple of years (or maybe a 220D but I expect the engines to be the same) but they only had the 125D with AT.
I got to say, that car was really nice to drive! It was almost full option I think, had the sport line (liked the sport steering wheel a lot!), leather, xenon, sunroof and navi Pro (the old one, without touch controlls). So in terms of cabin comfort, it didn't add much to my own car. Except for the navi pro wich I liked to play around with, but don't miss in my own car.
The engine is a fantastic piece of work in the 125D, it has loads of power and torque and it just keeps on going and going. while doing 120(Kmh) on the motorway and pushing the pedal all the way down, it went 10kmh faster every second (I stopped at 170 though..). Really amazing, really nice to drive, has more than enough power to confidently overtake whenever you like, something I do miss in my own car a bit.
The Auto transmission however, is another story. It had the standard, not the sport, but I had it in sport mode the whole time, so I suspect it would't make much difference. While it uses the gears very well, shifts down almost instantly when you floor the gas pedal, shifts up nice and smooth in normal driving... I missed my manual transmission so much! It just takes away all the fun and all the controll you have as a driver! it is such a strange feeling to not being able to controll the car with the clutch pedal, whether when driving fast, approaching a corner, or simply when you're waiting at the lights.. you just have no decision whatsoever as to how many revs to put the car in.. I never tought I would find it that bad, I always assumed that one day I would own an AT myself, but now I hope I never have to!
The other thing I noticed was that the brakes (standard) weren't really up to the task and I was wondering if a car like the 125D would really need the Msport brakes to be good. but when I returned it, there was a guy who had just test driven an M135i and had the same complaint. The BMW guy said that the brakes on test vehicles usually arent that great because they get used to hard straight from the start, without being able to gradually brake in, as you would do with your own car.. May make sense I suppose...
So, if I have the money in a couple of years I would defenitely buy an 125/225D. If not it will have to be a 120/220D. But most defenitely a MANUAL TRANSMISSION for me!
I was wondering if anyone has tested the 120D against the 125D and if there's a lot of difference between the 2? Or is it just that the 120D needs more revs to reach more or less the same power due to the 1 Turbo VS the 2 Turbos in the 125D(which is what the BMW guy at the test center told me..??)
Anyway, thanks for reading this long post guys
! Let me know if you have any questions!