Well, she is here at last. The long awaited phone call from the dealership finally came on Friday. "I've got some good news for you. I'm looking at your car now coming off the transporter. Soonest I can have it ready for you is Monday afternoon." Done, in the diary and cue a flurry of activity mixed with dizzy kid levels of excitement.
The first task was to get shot of the Focus. I'd bought myself a mk2 Focus 2.0 Zetec as a stopgap which I'd piled 3,000 miles on since Jan 1st and it had done so without a single breakdown or failure to start. However, and in complete fairness for a £550 car that had had no maintenance since it was pressed into service, it was starting to protest. One of the wheel bearings was starting to complain, the brake discs were juddering like crazy, and the borderline front tyres had crossed the border. I'd already sprung for a new clutch (the saga of fitting it was detailed in a thread on here under "Jobs you wish you'd never started") and a service. Beyond that, it was about running it for as little as possible. So, on it went to eBay with a very honest list at 99p with no reserve. 24 hours later, a local trader handed over £250 in pound notes and drove it away. I figured it was £150 worth of parts (plus a load of time I didn't really have) to get the problems sorted, and then it would still only be a £500 car, so he was welcome to the small profit. Walked back into the house, notified the DVLA on line that I'd sold it to a trader, filed the e-mail confirmation safely, and the job was done.
The next task was to sort out some insurance for the new car. I'm 7 months into a policy so was expecting my insurer to gamble on my reluctance to swallow the hefty cancellation fee and come up with something ridiculous. I was pleasantly surprised at the modest £55 premium hike over the Focus which, with the obligatory £25 admin fee, took my annual premium to a whisker under £390. For an M140i on an estimated 15k a year with business cover, I didn't think this was too bad at all.
After driving my long suffering family mad for the next couple of days, the moment finally arrived. The four of us arrived at the dealership to find a 1-series shaped blob under a dark cloth in a small, segregated area of the showroom. But before we got to the goodies, there was some boring stuff to take care of first. A bit of paperwork, a chat with the finance chap to go through a few bits, sign my life away on the documentation, pay the balance of the deposit, and it was time to see the car for the first time.
The salesman asked if I was ready, then pulled the cover back to reveal the car. It is hard to explain how such a simple thing made such a difference, but after a wait of over 3 months, to see the car there, polished to perfection and ready to go was a massive moment, and actually more than a little emotional. In the 3 months since I'd driven and ordered the car, all the positive stuff had dulled, and the reality of the monthly commitment (fully and carefully budgeted and affordable, but even so) became more prominent in my head. All that evaporated the second the cover swept back to reveal what I was actually getting. It looked perfect. The grey, the red leather, those lovely 18" wheels, the big twin tailpipes. I just stood there taking it in. As experiences go, it is one of those things that will stay with me for a long time. I have to say the experience from the dealer from start to finish was just incredible. 2 unaccompanied test drives, no pressure at any point, and a really enjoyable hand over, and I have written to them to express this.
The salesman (also a genuine car guy - owns an old TVR) said he didn't want to bore me by going through every feature, but would focus on the new iDrive system and safety related stuff such as seat adjustments, security measures etc, and if there was anything else, just ask. Sinking into the seat for the first time and taking in the sights and lovely new car smells of the car, I realise now that the rest of it was actually a bit of a blur. We paired my phone to the Bluetooth, went through the operation of the lights, seats, and various other stuff that, and then it was time for a handshake, to pull the sliding showroom doors back, and drive away.
Firing the car up to drive it out of the showroom was another brilliant piece of theatre. By modern car standards, the M140i is actually pretty loud on start-up, something that has drawn mixed responses from owners on the various owners forums I've been frequenting. When the engine fires, the revs flare to about 1300 RPM even when the engine is warm, and sit there for a good 10-15 seconds before dropping back. It's a lovely straight six burble that I will never tire of, but subtle it is not, even in the open air. In the confines of a sparsely furnished room, it sounded epic to me. Both kids jumped in with me, and once they were safely belted in, I selected drive, and we were off.
As alluded to previously, it was 3 months since I'd driven one, so there was a lot of reacquaintance and rediscovery. The first thing to be reminded of just on nosing forward, after years of (very happily) driving four cylinder cars was the sheer smoothness of the engine. You cannot feel any vibration at all through any surface when it's idling, with just a distant burble from the exhaust being the only real clue. Once out on the road, the next thing that I was reminded of was how remarkably docile such a quick car can feel, and how happy it is to just pootle about. Throttle response is very linear and easy to modulate in the car's default 'Comfort' mode, and the 8 speed ZF box short shifts at about 1800 RPM on light throttle. There's a faintly ridiculous 500NM of torque on tap from 1500 RPM so with this, and combined with the smoothness mentioned earlier, it's a very effortless and relaxing thing to just bimble about in. Add supportive, but comfy leather seats and very good ride and overall refinement in Comfort mode, and there's a 'waft factor' that you wouldn't expect in a car of this size and type.
And that in short is what I fell in love with about the car, and what I am really enjoying already. It's two cars in one. In Comfort mode it's a relaxed cruiser with a comfy ride, silky smooth engine that you can barely hear. In Sport mode it goes like the clappers, is surprisingly loud and rorty, throws loads of pops and burbles out the exhaust, rides firmly, and has a throttle response that is almost hyperactive. My only real complaint is the steering which is over-light and lacking feel. Just like every other modern car, I suppose, but coming from a mk1 Focus, there is no doubt the old Ford had far superior steering. I suspect given the amount of grunt, this could be quite an annoyance when pushing on, and just take away that last degree of enjoyment but we will see what familiarity brings.
In terms of pushing on, with only 100 miles covered, I haven't opened the taps yet, and the car has basically been ambling about to the station and local running around duties where it is showing its disgust with an average of 18.7 mpg so far. I'm not worried unduly by this. Everyone says these cars crack mid-high 30s on a run, the engine is tight, and the usage pattern is not what you'd call economy focused. In terms of running in, BMW suggest 1200 miles of gentle treatment with a 4500 RPM rev limit before you properly open it up. I intend to follow this in spirit at least. I've squeezed the throttle a couple of times while short shifting via the paddles to keep the revs down, and performance is more than quick enough to see off anything I've owned before already. When it's run in, 0-60 is alleged to take 4.6 seconds, and 0-100 9.9, so it's more than enough to be entertaining. What the figures don't show is the delivery though which is utterly lag free, and with a proper kick in the back just a flex of the foot away. It sounds wonderful as well. There's a gravelly, slightly metallic bark at low to medium revs, and I remember the demonstrator giving a proper BMW six pot howl at the top end. It pulls hard all the way to 7k as well. I just have to keep in mind the rules and be gentle, for now.
It's going to get some longer runs over this weekend and into next week with work, and I hope to have the 1200 miles ticked off in the next couple of weeks when I can then investigate Sport+ mode and the Launch Control (yes, really!). I will update as the miles go on, but so far I can't remember ever falling so instantly in love with a car.
Mobile phone pics here (Photobucket links). Better SLR ones to follow (once the weather improves)
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