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      10-05-2012, 11:59 AM   #1
Diesel130
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Bought used 120d Sport - first impressions...

Hi all - new owner here...

Finally took delivery of an 11 month old 120d Sport F20 last week, after a hiccup with the FEMBody module that needed replacement from Germany before we got it (the folding mirrors weren't working).

What a lot of car for the money! We got it from a main dealer at £10K under its list price, which seems particularly good value for an 11 month old car with 11,000 miles on the clock and a pretty good spec Not good news regarding depreciation for those who bought new though... 36% depreciation over 11 months - yikes!

What a lovely colour Deep Sea Blue is, shiny in the sun and almost black at dusk.

Coming from a 10 year old Golf MKIV, which we had from new, it's perhaps not surprising to see how much cars have developed over the years. It's so much quieter, more powerful and smoother to drive, despite our rubbish roads in rural Suffolk.

Initial impressions are overall very positive, with just a few things I need to work out / fix / fiddle with....

1) First, the steering seems very light (especially as my weekend toy is a 10 year old 911) - so much so, that initially, when I take a hand off to change gear it's easy to push the wheel to the left a bit with my right hand (UK here, so RHD). I found that putting the mode to Sport seems to stiffen up the steering feel just right. Haven't yet worked out what else sports mode does, though - is it less economical than Comfort?

2) The clutch seems to bite quite low down and is very sudden. i.e. it doesn't have much travel between fully disengaged to fully engaged. Is that normal? It seems an effort to get smooth changes, especially if you want to change quickly.

3) I haven't yet found a seating / steering wheel position where I can see both the top of the speedometer and the computer screen at the bottom. I'm not particularly tall (which would make it worse). Have BMW messed up here with the cabin ergonomics, or is there a trick to getting the correct position?

4) The central armrest sometimes gets in the way of my elbow when changing gear - is it possible to move it out of the way? It doesn't seem to do anything apart from slide forward and backwards a few inches - doesn't even seem to lift up.

5) Can the central rear headrest be removed to give better rear visibility - pushing the button in at the collar around the seat back only seemed to let it raise up a small amount - maybe I'm just not pulling it hard enough?

6) Took a while to work out why the mirrors and heating settings kept changing between uses - now figured out the "his and hers" keys!

7) Still puzzled by the start/stop/ignition button. I thought pressing the button twice having come to a stop should turn everything off. But the other night, the dash lights stayed on after the stop button was pressed a second time. Does it behave differently at night than in the day? They went off after I locked the car.

8) Can't seem to find out how to configure the car so that it:-
a) Always starts with the auto start-stop disabled.
b) Always starts in Sport mode
Maybe these items are not configurable, and I have to press buttons after each start up?

Think that's it for now. Hoping to get some time over the weekend to play with the bluetooth / usb / phone integration.
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      10-05-2012, 12:12 PM   #2
Fanis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel130 View Post
3) I haven't yet found a seating / steering wheel position where I can see both the top of the speedometer and the computer screen at the bottom. I'm not particularly tall (which would make it worse). Have BMW messed up here with the cabin ergonomics, or is there a trick to getting the correct position?

5) Can the central rear headrest be removed to give better rear visibility - pushing the button in at the collar around the seat back only seemed to let it raise up a small amount - maybe I'm just not pulling it hard enough?

8) Can't seem to find out how to configure the car so that it:-
a) Always starts with the auto start-stop disabled.
b) Always starts in Sport mode
Maybe these items are not configurable, and I have to press buttons after each start up?
Congratulations...greta car and very nice colour indeed!!

Some answers, in the questions I know:

3. Yep BMW has messed it up a bit. It is a common ''problem'' to most of us. Very few people have managed to have visibility to the whole of the dash.

5. You need to pull it quite hard. I have removed it, so it definetely can be removed.

8. You cannot configure these two things yourself. Maybe it can be done through your dealer (they Start/Stop it can be programmed by your dealer, though not all of them will do it).
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      10-05-2012, 01:24 PM   #3
ovekvam
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1. Sport mode is less economical than comfort, but should give you better throttle response.
3. I hear people say this, but don't understand how this can be a problem. No matter how I sit in the car, I can always adjust the wheel up/down to see everything.
4. When I drive on tracks, I fold the center armrest up. That keeps it out of the way.
5. I have foldable rear headrests (this is an option). Then you can fold them down so they are not in the way.
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      10-05-2012, 02:21 PM   #4
Diesel130
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Thanks for all your feedbacks..

Quote:
Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
4. When I drive on tracks, I fold the center armrest up. That keeps it out of the way..
Takk! How do you do that?
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      10-05-2012, 02:39 PM   #5
ovekvam
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel130 View Post
Takk! How do you do that?
The armrest is the lid over the space where you find the AUX input and USB (depending on options) connector for the radio. You open the lid and leave it fully open. The pivot is in the rear end, so it opens from the front.
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      10-05-2012, 07:22 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel130 View Post

4) The central armrest sometimes gets in the way of my elbow when changing gear - is it possible to move it out of the way? It doesn't seem to do anything apart from slide forward and backwards a few inches - doesn't even seem to lift up.

It requires a good lift up in front to unclip the catch

5) Can the central rear headrest be removed to give better rear visibility - pushing the button in at the collar around the seat back only seemed to let it raise up a small amount - maybe I'm just not pulling it hard enough?

There is a small push bar in the plastic collar you press to release the rails
6) Took a while to work out why the mirrors and heating settings kept changing between uses - now figured out the "his and hers" keys!

7) Still puzzled by the start/stop/ignition button. I thought pressing the button twice having come to a stop should turn everything off. But the other night, the dash lights stayed on after the stop button was pressed a second time. Does it behave differently at night than in the day? They went off after I locked the car.

At night there stay on for about 30 secs or until you lock it. If you want to have the headlights stay on for that time after urning off your engine pull back on the flasher, it will time delay the headlights to allow you to walk to your front door

8) Can't seem to find out how to configure the car so that it:-
a) Always starts with the auto start-stop disabled.
You have to have it reversed by BMW service
b) Always starts in Sport mode
Unfortunately, it is not possible, due to the emmissions requirements in Europe. You may be able to have it done when you get the S/S fixed.

Maybe these items are not configurable, and I have to press buttons after each start up?

Think that's it for now. Hoping to get some time over the weekend to play with the bluetooth / usb / phone integration.
Congrats on joining the 1er club
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      10-06-2012, 04:01 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel130 View Post
3) I haven't yet found a seating / steering wheel position where I can see both the top of the speedometer and the computer screen at the bottom. I'm not particularly tall (which would make it worse). Have BMW messed up here with the cabin ergonomics, or is there a trick to getting the correct position?
I have found that sitting closer to the steering wheel and/or adjusting the wheel closer to your body helps. I adjust it so that I can bend my wrists over the top of the steering wheel. This used to be a problem for me, but after some fiddling, it isn't an issue any more.
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      10-06-2012, 04:31 AM   #8
ovekvam
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When leaning the shoulders firmly on the seat, you are supposed to be able to rest the wrists on top of the steering wheel, and tilt the hands down behind it. If you can't do this, you are sitting too far away from the steering wheel.

As a driving instructor, this is always the first thing I teach people who want to learn advanced driving.
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