Awaiting delivery: BMW 118d

German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
Hello everybody,

I'm a recently graduated engineer (Process Engineering, University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg) and need to travel a lot to customers in many different parts of Europe. So I decided to get a fuel efficient, practical car.
After driving the Mazda3 2.0 diesel, the Honda Civic diesel and the BMW 118d, the BMW was by far the nicest.
When I got the numbers for the lease deal, I was surprised that the (much more expensive to buy) BMW was actually a bit cheaper per month (for 20,000 km/year) than the Japanese cars. Additional kilometers are 0.047€ for the BMW, 0.081€ for the Honda.
The final nail in the coffin for the Japanese cars was BMW's €19.95€/month insurance for cars leased through BMW Financial Services. The Japanese cars would cost me more than €100/month to insure.
So last Monday I went to my local BMW dealer to order the damn thing.

BMW 118d 3-door hatch
Jet black with Chromeline exterior trim
V-Spoke wheels Style 141 7Jx17


Pearlpoint Cloth/Leather Orange/Black
Titanium interior trim


(it's far more orange in real life than on the pictures)

Xenon headlights
Headlight washer
Advantage package (air conditioning, fog lights, velour floor mats, extended storage)
Sports steering wheel
Multi-function controls for steering wheel
Park distance control, rear
Cruise control
Sports seats
Seat heating
Five seat configuration
Folding rear head rests
Auto dimming rear-view mirror
Extended Interior Light Package
Extended Exterior Light Package
Hi-Fi speaker system
BMW Professional Radio
USB/iPod audio interface

I'll pick it up in Munich on July 12th and keep you updated on the fuel economy. Looking forward to that day ;)
 
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NRU73

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Location
N.E.
TDI
02 GOLF TDI Silver, 5 Speed
Nice loking seats.

Congrats to you.

I wish we could get the 5 door. Or the diesel for that matter.
 

Yoz

Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Location
Stockholm
TDI
Q7 2006 & Caddy-05
I have tune some off the 120D 163hp in Sweden with the ecu update tha car make arund 200 hp
 

German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
Update: Only 6 days left ;)
I just spent 7 days in Turkey with my girlfriend. We didn't rent a car in Turkey, since everybody there drives like a complete maniac, but our flight started from a small airport near Rostock, so the best way to get to the airport and home from the airport was by rental car.
For the way to the airport we booked a subcompact, diesel, with sat-nav. Examples on the rental firm's website were VW Polo/Fiat Punto. We ended up with a 1.6 gasser Golf with a cheap VDO 1-DIN sat-nav. The 1.6 is surprisingly quiet and powerful, a lot more pleasant than the 1.6 Focus in my last rental car.
For the way back from the airport we booked a premium compact, examples were BMW 118d or Volvo C30. We ended up with a black 118d 5-door with sat-nav and a moonroof, but without even a cruise control. It had the standard 16" steel wheels.

We arrived at the airport in the evening and then drove to my place. The whole trip is 150 km, basically 90% unlimited autobahn and we just wanted to get home, so we did it pedal-to-the-metal style with speeds around an indicated 210 kph most of the time. The trip computer displayed 7.2 l/100km for that trip. (33 mpg)
On the next day, we drove to my girfriend's home, which is a 120 km trip over winding b-roads with varying spped limits, lots of villages and lots of trucks to overtake. For that trip, the average was 4.7 l/100km (50 mpg).

I refueled the car (1.529 €/liter) and gave it back to the rental firm. They had a 520d sedan there, a 330d wagon, an Audi A3 2.0 TDI convertble and lots of other diesel cars.

I'm so looking forward to Saturday.
 

toastblows

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Location
minnesota
TDI
2003 jetta GLS
I rented one of these a couple months back (base model, did a write up in this section). I got about 36mpg doing 110mph for most of my trip....the jealousy is all in american dude, nice pick for a car to own :D
 

German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
It's there!

We picked up the car on Saturday in Munich.
First of all, BMW Welt is a piece of... interesting architecture. We arrived in the morning, and the people at the reception took our luggage and guided us to the "Premium Lounge", where we had a nice breakfast. Then we got picked up by a very polite guy in a black suit who took us to a room full of screens, where he gave us a tour of the car's design, technology and philosophy. All the images of the screens were real-time rendered pictures of MY car, complete with my license plates. Nice touch. He made it sound like the 118d was the pinnacle of contemporary BMWness, I guess they try to flatten every customer for picking the right model.
Then I got to test drive the ABS, stability control and traction control on a kind of simulator display.
That room was a bit too much marketing stuff, so we got bored. But...




After the full marketing assault, we got to walk down these stairs. The car sat on a rotating platform:




After the BMW guy explained the car to me, on official photographer took a picture of us in front of the car. Our luggage was then delivered to the car. We drove down the ramp and had the car valet parked, then went back to the Premium Lounge for some Weisswurst.


 
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German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
Then we had a look at the BMW museum on the other side of the street. It was abit underwhelming, especially when you know the Mercedes-Benz museum.




Then it was 12:30, and we went on the 800km trip home.






So far, the car has been very good fun.
 

4Gman

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2006
Location
ClaremOnt, CA
TDI
2000 Jetta
WOW! on a friggin spinning platform?
DROOL........I wish.:eek::eek: Could we ever get this?

-
But whats with the Check Engine Light?

-
-
 
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German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
4Gman said:
WOW! on a friggin spinning platform?
Yes...

Here you can see the empty platforms when we arrived in the morning. My car was right where you get off the stairs.





This was a bit later when more people were picking up their cars. About half of the people picking up their cars were Americans, you can see the red customs license plates on the 335i convertible and the 135i to the right.

4Gman said:
But whats with the Check Engine Light?
I took the picture right after I put the key in.
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
I have been lucky to have gotten several BMWs as rental cars, and for this lifelong VW/Audi fan, I have to say that my loyalty is shifting. The last car I drove was a black BMW 318d, and before that, a 523i and a few years back, a 320d. On a 1500+ km weekend that included mostly Autobahn driving above 180km/h whenever possible, I still got at amazing 5.6 L/100km fuel economy.

As an engine engineer, BMW's Efficient Dynamics initiative and engine philosophy appeal more to me more than offerings from VAG.

I'm several years out from being able to afford a brand new car, but when the time comes, VW/Audi really needs to do some work to win my business.
 

jkp1187

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TDI
none yet
4Gman said:
WOW! on a friggin spinning platform?
DROOL........I wish.:eek::eek: Could we ever get this?
-
BMW European Delivery option for the win! ;) I've looked into it, and it'll save at least 7% off MSRP, and they take care of insurance while you're driving in Europe (as long as it's only for a couple of weeks), and the cost of shipping (plus shipping insurance). Then after you get back to the States, pick it up at the dealer from which you purchased. The savings comes from the fact that when it's shipped to the US, it is technically a used car, so there is no import tariff.

Unfortunately, BMW isn't offering the diesel in the 1-series coupes for the U.S. market (and they are not offering the hatchback at all). But the 3-series WILL have a diesel for the '09 model year. No clue about MSRP.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
jkp1187 said:
...Unfortunately, BMW isn't offering the diesel in the 1-series coupes for the U.S. market (and they are not offering the hatchback at all). But the 3-series WILL have a diesel for the '09 model year. No clue about MSRP.
BMW is offering the 1 series coupe:
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2008/1/1Explore.aspx

I've been reading everything I can on the BMW diesels, and really hope they bring the 330dT over with the manual. here is a comparison on the new 330d to the 335d (both cars in Euro form):

HP: 330d- 245@4k, 335d- 286@4400
Torque: 330d- 384 lb-ft from 1750 to 3000, 335d- 428 from 1750 to 2250
0-100kmh: 330d (manual)- 6.1 sec, 335d (auto only)- 6.0
top spd: 250kmh on both (electronically limited)
EU Fuel economy (converted to US mpg):
330d- 32.2 urban, 49 extra-urban, 41.3 combined
335d- 25.8 urban, 44.4 extra-urban, 35.1 combined

the new 330d also outperforms the 325d on fuel economy in the city, and matches its combined numbers, while outperforming it by a considerable margin.

Yeah- ED program seems like the way to go if you buy a BMW. Last time I looked into it Lufthansa was offering two for the price of one as a promotion with this program! :D
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
You are still only limited to domestic-spec models in EDP. Meaning you can only do EDP for models available in the US.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
right-o, 'Meister. I'm thinking that by the time I can think about affording one of these, they'll have more choices than the twin-turbo version ;)
 

German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
tditom said:
BMW is offering the 1 series coupe:
the new 330d also outperforms the 325d on fuel economy in the city, and matches its combined numbers, while outperforming it by a considerable margin.
Because the 325d still uses the older engine, just the 330d got the recent upgrade. The new engine should appear as a silent upgrade to the 325d soon. Alternatively I wouldn't be too surprised if they replace the 325d with the twin-turbo 4-cylinder from the 123d.
 

jkp1187

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TDI
none yet
tditom said:
Yes, but not with diesel. They are only available with the N52 2996 cc six cylinder, or the N54 2979 cc turborcharged six cylinder. And they are not offering the hatch at all in the U.S. (Of course, those are fine engines, and the naturally aspirated straight six in the 128i isn't too bad on fuel economy....heck, even the turbocharged six isn't that bad, for a gasser, when you consider how much HP and TQ you get from it!)


I agree that the 3-series diesel might be a big winner...as long as the MSRP isn't too astronomical. But I'm thinking that the 1-series would just be awesome if they could shoehorn the 3's diesel into it....
 
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tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
German_1er_diesel said:
Because the 325d still uses the older engine, just the 330d got the recent upgrade. The new engine should appear as a silent upgrade to the 325d soon. ..
:confused:
I don't get ya.

325d and 330d both have (edit) 3 liter engines, but with other differences that cause the "30d" vs "25d" designation, so if the 325d got the new engine that is in the 330d, then it would no longer be the 325d, right? :confused:
 
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tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
jkp1187 said:
Yes, but not with diesel. ...I agree that the 3-series diesel might be a big winner...as long as the MSRP isn't too astronomical. But I'm thinking that the 1-series would just be awesome if they could shoehorn the 3's diesel into it....
sorry- guilty of not reading carefully :eek:

I'm hoping they will bring the 330d touring with the manual transmission :D
 

German_1er_diesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Location
Ratzeburg
TDI
BMW 118d
tditom said:
:confused:
I don't get ya.

325d and 330d both have (edit) 3 liter engines, but with other differences that cause the "30d" vs "25d" designation, so if the 325d got the new engine that is in the 330d, then it would no longer be the 325d, right? :confused:
OK, I'll try to say what I meant with more words:

They used to be pretty much the same internally, with differences in the injection system, turbocharger and intercooler. Now the 330d got an all-new block. If the 325d gets a detuned version of the "new 330d" engine instead of the older generation block, it should be a bit more economical than the 330d again, just like it used to be when they were both based on the same generation block.

Better? ;)
 
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