BMW 318Ci

...we have all heard about BMW and their superior German technology. Pride in their build quality as much as their styling. You can always guarantee that your BMW will be as strong as an ox and as rigid as reinforced concrete on the road. It is simply second to none.

They have a great range of cars now available to the consumer. Starting with the 3 series. This is the standard car in the range and offers a variety of models. The 5 series ...
.../> The Saloon. A standard BMW tradition that dates back years. The most famous of the shapes.
The Coupe. The 2 door sporty model of the range.
The Convertible. A soft top that offers an alternative to the coupe.
The Touring. An estate for those that need a little more room.

Most Companies offer entirely different models to cater for these requests. (i.e. Ford used to offer the Mondeo,Orion,Escort) BMW simply alter ... more

Ok, Ok, so I’m spoilt aren’t I? I imagine there are those of you out there that are already company car drivers and some of you drive cars better than a Beemer but its my first and I'm very glad that I was able to opt for one.

*** Before I start to tell you about my new car, let me first send a special thanks to another member on here. Angusreid. He offered to ensure I was not getting ripped off buying the car by giving me some inside information with regard to list prices. Sadly, I did not take you up on this advice Angus and just said yes to my boss. The company is paying so I don’t care. Obviously we are working on the salary bit now!!! A big thank you anyway. ***

So we have all heard about BMW and their superior German technology. Pride in their build quality as much as their styling. You can always guarantee that your BMW will be as strong as an ox and as rigid as reinforced concrete on the road. It is simply second to none.

They have a great range of cars now available to the consumer. Starting with the 3 series. This is the standard car in the range and offers a variety of models. The 5 series is slightly big and more exclusive whereas the 7 series offers supreme levels of comfort styling and performance on a huge car. More for the MD than the workers!
Add to this their sporty Z roadster series and X series Rugged 4X4's and M series top of the range racing monsters and you have a complete repertoire.

My car is a 3 series. In fact, the 3 series is split into varying body styles to suit any customer.
There are:
The Compact. A small version with reduced boot and cabin space.
The Saloon. A standard BMW tradition that dates back years. The most famous of the shapes.
The Coupe. The 2 door sporty model of the range.
The Convertible. A soft top that offers an alternative to the coupe.
The Touring. An estate for those that need a little more room.

Most Companies offer entirely different models to cater for these requests. (i.e. Ford used to offer the Mondeo,Orion,Escort) BMW simply alter their shape slightly but rely on one standard car. It works for them and I think it is the best way to offer cars.

My 3 Series is the 318 Ci Coupe.

Let me tell you about it.

Styling.
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The appearance of the 318 Coupe is nothing if not startling. Benefiting highly from its total revamp just over 2 years ago, the coupe just oozes power. Look at it long enough and it might start growling.
One thing that BMW have done to the 3 series is round off its early 90's edges that it suffered from. This gives the coupe a touch of sheer elegance to go along with its sporty exterior.
It does appear to be a bit longer than the saloon but this is an optical illusion. The long swooping boot is made more visible and highlighted due to its smaller cabin and improved aerodynamics.
Whereas previous coupe have shared styles and universal parts from other 3 series cars, the new coupe is completely unique in that it only share 3 components with its sister cars. According to the dealership and confirmed by their website, the coupe only shares the logo, door handles and side indicator lenses!
Moving around to the rear shows that the rounded shape continues right from the bonnet to the very tip of the exhaust. You can see how the parent company of Rover have passed this new roundedness over to the new breed that is being produced in over here.

Wheels/ tyres
As always with BMW, you get some serious choice when it comes to the bits that touch the road and intend on keeping you there. As standard, it comes with a set of 16 Inch BMW Seven Star Alloys that Pack an almighty girth for the car as well as giving it a boost in sex appeal. Whoever said you don’t look at the wheels was lying.
You can also get the wheels in the following styles.
Radial
Cross-spoke
V Spoke
5 Star
Tyres are gonna be sure to give you enough grip with their low profile height of 55 while at a width of 205 they have enough contact to assure you stay on the road.

If you want a little bit more wheel and a little less tyre, you can upgrade to a 17 inch or 18 inch rim. These are also available in the 5 styles. Obviously the corresponding tyre will need to be lower profile and cost you more money to replace.

Interior.
As standard, the inside is full of gadgets that would be seen as optional extras on most cars. Finished in its cloth upholstery, it looks very fragile and easily marked. I have been told by the dealership that it is a very hard wearing but Im sure I will put it to the test. Apparently, full leather insides are liable to cracking and age much quicker in BMW’s. Anyway, My boss would not stretch to Leather so I have has the Moda design.
The dashboard is dominated by its elegant dials that show you just how fast you are going and how many revs it has taken to get you there. Following the White dial phenomenom of the 90’s. Light illumination shows the readouts very well and all mile recorder are now, of course, digital.
The stereo. Hmm. Not impressed. It is a Cassette player! All of this modern technology and no CD! You can have one fitted and the Cassette player is “prepared” for multichanger input. That can wait at these prices!

Ride quality/Comfort.
This is excellent. The seats are very hugging. In fact, I thought it was giving me a cuddle during the test drive. You know that it is going to give you a smooth ride in these. Legroom is not at a premium as much as I thought it would be with a 2 door. Its not huge inside but it will suit me! The suspension and handling is all helped by DSC Dynamic Stability control. This intelligent piece of kit changes your braking pressures and engine revs to get you around the corners smoothly and thus improving your ride quality.

Performance.
This is the bit the boy racers like.
Despite being designated a 318, it in fact packs a full 2 Litre engine under the bonnet. The new 3 series engines are caller Valvetronics and they are standard 4 cylinder. They also make a V6 but my boss won’t stretch to that. With a top speed of 135mph, it will carry me along nicely.
Its not the fastest car around. It may look quick but it takes 9.3 seconds to get me from stopped to 60 mph. When you consider the weight of these cars, that is not a bad job. The new modifications to their great engine means you get more miles to the gallon than you used to. Maintenance is also reduced due to the better longevity to components.

Pricing.
Starting at £21,250 (including tax and delivery) it is not the cheapest car on the raod but far superior to some cars of this price. Servicing costs from as little as £119 but an average service bill is more likely to be around £350-400 so I have been told. Lot of cash but it will last me. For added extras, the price of the car starts to sky rocket. This is the base model as far as the 318Ci goes and im still getting plenty of extras for my money as far as most other manufacturers are concerned. It just depends how much you value quality.

Overall.
A tremendous car. Its not the quickest 2 litre I have been in but perhaps one of the sleekest looking and one with the most street credibility. Passenger room could be a problem being a two door but it does solve the problem of child proof locks! Prices are quite expensive but you are paying for quality. A nice comfy ride that will hopefully last me a long time. Thanks boss!

 

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