Arbee
Honorary ///Member
Over the December holidays while in Durban, my cousin who was going out of town allowed me the use of his recently acquired 220i.
When he bought the car, i wasn't too happy as it was a 220i. I argued that the money he spent could have bought him an M3...
The car is sort of well spec'd with those features you don't see but when you use it, it just changes the experience completely, namely:
8 Speed Sport Automatic
Sports Brakes
Comfort Access (Although i think this is standard on the F series?)
Auto Lights
Auto Wipers
"Nice" Audio with Bluetooth
Unfortunately, my cousin did not take the Sunroof or wheel option. He did choose a stunning color though.
Looks:
I think its a great looking car, the exterior sport package really add's that aggressive look to it. I compared it quickly with a non-sports or Modern line.
Modern line does not show off the lines like a sport pack does, on many BMW's. The modern line 220i looks similar to a Yaris Sedan with 2 doors. Not saying its hideous, but its not as good as the Sport.
Wheels, I will admit, the 17's did grow on me after a day or two. Especially after they had been cleaned. But i still think 18 should be minimum for this car. 19 would be awesome.
Interior:
Amazed!! I really think BMW has upped the game here. The usual Orange driving lights are changed to white, with some blue illumination as well on the dials. The one thing that i am really ecstatic about it the white drop lights from the panel on the roof. This is orange on my car and nobody can replace these globes. Glad they changed it.
Interior color is black, leather. If it were me, i would have gone with a lighter color to bring out the Estoril Blue exterior. But, the colors make a good couple.
With any 2 door, the loading of more than 1 passenger is always a task. However, surprisingly, this little 2 door has ample space and is a lot more comfy getting in and out the back seats. This is what the passengers said. I didn't want to sit in any other seat but the driver seat.
Drive:
Handling is amazing, the rear end feels planted, a lot more than my E90 with more power and feels nimble on the road. BMW has done something to make the runflats feel softer, maybe its the 17's. But the car does not feel harsh and bumps are absorbed as apposed to the feedback from the E90.
For a 4pot, 2litre. It is epic, the turbo charged motor goes from zero, hardly any lag is felt. It has a slight purr, Performance back box should be done for more of a growl. It has ample power to pick up speed and keep speed. Durban is known for its up and down hills. Up hills were no issue, over taking was a pleasure.
I mainly used the Eco Pro and Sport+ modes. Eco Pro is okay, i mean as a daily use car it will help. However, i dont see the start/stop function being a selling point. It gets annoying at time. Especially because it cuts the aircon off, leaves the fan running only. Its clever though, if the interior temp is not stable enough, it wont switch off the car.
Sport+ is another ball game, will get to that later.
Fuel consumption:
A tad bit on the high side. My cousin is a ON and OFF driver, by that i mean. He flats the pedal when he needs to go and is hard on the brakes. I could see by the brake deposits in the wheels. A normal wash of the wheels loosed no dust. It was stuck.
Yes, consumption... Sat at around 12l/100km when i picked it up. Managed to bring it down til low 11 but still, i think that too high for a 2l 4cy turbo. It costed around R500 to fill the tank, i didnt finish the tank in the week but i did roughly 300km with it, left the car with just under half tank remaining.
Onto the good stuff:
Gearbox:
This is what makes this car so enjoyable.
Like i said above, Eco Pro and Sport+ was preferred and used mostly.
Eco Pro, the gears change at low rpm, allowing the engine to gradually increase speed but keeping the car in a higher gear at low rpm. I noticed that with slight throttle, the rpm averaged below 1200rpm.
Switching to Sport+ mode and Sport mode on the gearbox turned this little "fuel saver" into a mad machine. The rev's climbed, gears changed and car let off a small pop and pulled forward again. I can only imagine how the M235i goes with this gearbox.
Flappy peddles, my next car must have these...
"Nice" Sound:
Another great feature. Sound crystal clear and has that amazing bass kick. Sounded like a well arranged sound setup. Plus, the addition of both AUX and USB made it easier for me. I didnt need to burn cd's.
The Bluetooth interface is much easier to understand, especially with iDrive as it shows you what to do. I paired my Samsung S4 phone to the car within a minute. With my E90, i gave up trying. I also like that the display in both on the iDrive screen and on the speedo. So you don't have to look away to see whose calling. Plus answer on the steering control.
Sport Brakes:
Look, i laughed when i heard the car had this. My word "Sport brakes on a 220i, why?". I still dont think its needed to stop the car, the normal brakes would have been more than sufficient. However, they look great and once the wheel is changed it will emphasize the pretty calipers.
All in all:
I did enjoy the car, so much so that im considering the F30 320i or 320d as i am well impressed with the capabilities of the new tech 4 pots.
This 220i, deserves a better wheel, sunroof, jb4 and performance exhaust.
I still believe that the money spent here, is M3 money!
Some pics:
Thanks!
When he bought the car, i wasn't too happy as it was a 220i. I argued that the money he spent could have bought him an M3...
The car is sort of well spec'd with those features you don't see but when you use it, it just changes the experience completely, namely:
8 Speed Sport Automatic
Sports Brakes
Comfort Access (Although i think this is standard on the F series?)
Auto Lights
Auto Wipers
"Nice" Audio with Bluetooth
Unfortunately, my cousin did not take the Sunroof or wheel option. He did choose a stunning color though.
Looks:
I think its a great looking car, the exterior sport package really add's that aggressive look to it. I compared it quickly with a non-sports or Modern line.
Modern line does not show off the lines like a sport pack does, on many BMW's. The modern line 220i looks similar to a Yaris Sedan with 2 doors. Not saying its hideous, but its not as good as the Sport.
Wheels, I will admit, the 17's did grow on me after a day or two. Especially after they had been cleaned. But i still think 18 should be minimum for this car. 19 would be awesome.
Interior:
Amazed!! I really think BMW has upped the game here. The usual Orange driving lights are changed to white, with some blue illumination as well on the dials. The one thing that i am really ecstatic about it the white drop lights from the panel on the roof. This is orange on my car and nobody can replace these globes. Glad they changed it.
Interior color is black, leather. If it were me, i would have gone with a lighter color to bring out the Estoril Blue exterior. But, the colors make a good couple.
With any 2 door, the loading of more than 1 passenger is always a task. However, surprisingly, this little 2 door has ample space and is a lot more comfy getting in and out the back seats. This is what the passengers said. I didn't want to sit in any other seat but the driver seat.
Drive:
Handling is amazing, the rear end feels planted, a lot more than my E90 with more power and feels nimble on the road. BMW has done something to make the runflats feel softer, maybe its the 17's. But the car does not feel harsh and bumps are absorbed as apposed to the feedback from the E90.
For a 4pot, 2litre. It is epic, the turbo charged motor goes from zero, hardly any lag is felt. It has a slight purr, Performance back box should be done for more of a growl. It has ample power to pick up speed and keep speed. Durban is known for its up and down hills. Up hills were no issue, over taking was a pleasure.
I mainly used the Eco Pro and Sport+ modes. Eco Pro is okay, i mean as a daily use car it will help. However, i dont see the start/stop function being a selling point. It gets annoying at time. Especially because it cuts the aircon off, leaves the fan running only. Its clever though, if the interior temp is not stable enough, it wont switch off the car.
Sport+ is another ball game, will get to that later.
Fuel consumption:
A tad bit on the high side. My cousin is a ON and OFF driver, by that i mean. He flats the pedal when he needs to go and is hard on the brakes. I could see by the brake deposits in the wheels. A normal wash of the wheels loosed no dust. It was stuck.
Yes, consumption... Sat at around 12l/100km when i picked it up. Managed to bring it down til low 11 but still, i think that too high for a 2l 4cy turbo. It costed around R500 to fill the tank, i didnt finish the tank in the week but i did roughly 300km with it, left the car with just under half tank remaining.
Onto the good stuff:
Gearbox:
This is what makes this car so enjoyable.
Like i said above, Eco Pro and Sport+ was preferred and used mostly.
Eco Pro, the gears change at low rpm, allowing the engine to gradually increase speed but keeping the car in a higher gear at low rpm. I noticed that with slight throttle, the rpm averaged below 1200rpm.
Switching to Sport+ mode and Sport mode on the gearbox turned this little "fuel saver" into a mad machine. The rev's climbed, gears changed and car let off a small pop and pulled forward again. I can only imagine how the M235i goes with this gearbox.
Flappy peddles, my next car must have these...
"Nice" Sound:
Another great feature. Sound crystal clear and has that amazing bass kick. Sounded like a well arranged sound setup. Plus, the addition of both AUX and USB made it easier for me. I didnt need to burn cd's.
The Bluetooth interface is much easier to understand, especially with iDrive as it shows you what to do. I paired my Samsung S4 phone to the car within a minute. With my E90, i gave up trying. I also like that the display in both on the iDrive screen and on the speedo. So you don't have to look away to see whose calling. Plus answer on the steering control.
Sport Brakes:
Look, i laughed when i heard the car had this. My word "Sport brakes on a 220i, why?". I still dont think its needed to stop the car, the normal brakes would have been more than sufficient. However, they look great and once the wheel is changed it will emphasize the pretty calipers.
All in all:
I did enjoy the car, so much so that im considering the F30 320i or 320d as i am well impressed with the capabilities of the new tech 4 pots.
This 220i, deserves a better wheel, sunroof, jb4 and performance exhaust.
I still believe that the money spent here, is M3 money!
Some pics:
Thanks!
