Owner Review: Dynamic, rear-wheel drive fun - My 2017 BMW 118i Sportline (F20)

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Basic information about my car:

2017 BMW118i Sportline F20 
RM167,000.00

Reasons why I bought this car(purpose):

After due consideration, my wife finally gave up her problematic 3 years old French car. Therefore, she assigned me to source for a compact car that matched her requirements and of course, fulfilled my own expectations.

Car selection process

She has a budget of about RM180,000
Models that I have considered: BMW118i F20 sportline, Mercedes Benz W176 A180  or A200 (pre registered)

Reasons why I chose this car: 

We test drove both the cars and they were almost equally impressive. After much thought, my wife and I decided to buy the 118i pre-registered unit that comes with 5 years free maintenance as well. Actually, I personally preferred the 118i M-Sport because of the sportier and aggressive look. However, my wife didn't want it because of the pricing. We chose this car due to the design, driving dynamic and features.
Design wise, we like the long nose and short tail of this car. Interior build quality and design are undeniably BMW,  the dashboard and doors panels are made of soft material. Both the front electric bucket seats are very supportive and with 2 memory settings for the driver seat. In fact, both seats'  " bucket" width are adjustable electronically to accommodate the occupant body size in order to "hold"  the person firmly.

The B38 1.5L 3 cylinders power plant has an output of 136 HP & 220 NM of torque at disposal. The engine is longitudinal mounted and power is transmitted via 8-speed ZF box to the rear wheels. The ZF box works very well whereby gear change is seamless at every ratio.

The output number may not be attractive but most important of all, this car still inherits BMW DNA, it's rear wheel drive. Whereas the A180 / 200 are front wheel drive. It's actually quite uncommon for a compact car with RWD setup and this could be the last rear wheel driven 1 series. The latest 1 series F40 is either FWD or AWD (M135i) only. The 50/50 weight distributions, multi link rear suspension (5 link), rear wheel drive and low centre gravity are the recipes for good handling and engaging drive of this car.
In addition to the standard safety features , there are additional functions i.e. locating the car, honk, unlocking doors, ventilate the cabin and lights that can be controlled via BMW Apps.

User Experience

• I have done: 47,000 km
• My average fuel consumption is about: 7.0L/100km (combined)

Pros and Cons

Pros of my car

- Driver oriented car
- Rear wheel drive
- Onboard e owner's manual & e service record
- SOS function can be activated automatically/manually
- Coasting function engaged when ECO mode selected
- Additional features accessible via BMW Apps
- 8 speed ZF box and gear change is seamless
- 4 drive modes available - eco, comfort, sport & sport+

Cons

- Limited cabin space (rear)
- No directive lights
- No auto cruise
- Tires rolling noise is quite intrusive at high speed
- No rear center armrest
- No rear cupholders

Total Score: 4

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 5

Ride comfort: 3

Fuel Economy: 4

Price & cost: 5

Summary:

Based on the car's characteristics, the 118i is truly a driver oriented car with engaging dynamic which matched BMW tagline " Sheer Driving Pleasure"
Last but not least, I would like to thank Wapcar for allowing me to share my second car review.

Interesting events 

There was one night, (about 11.30 pm) I was browsing for my E-service record via i drive. After a few sub menus, I came to the BMW Connected Drive service and pressed "enter" due to curiosity. There was a ringtone and someone answered. I embarrassedly apologized and off it . OMG! I have misused this function. My bad.

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