Used BMW M140i 2016-2019 review

The BMW M140i is essentially a facelifted 2012-2016 BMW M135i and, when that car arrived in 2012, it caused quite a sensation. Although it was based on the rather unassuming BMW 1 Series family car, the rear-wheel-drive hot hatch proved that it can go like stink and handle corners with more vigour and liveliness than than many of its rivals.

Messing up that car (during a facelift of all things) was near impossible and, fortunately, the M140i didn't let us down. Both when it arrived back in 2016 and today, it's great fun.

Engines & Performance: When creating the M140i, BMW swapped out the M135i's turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine for a newer, slightly more powerful one. Power rose from 315bhp to 335bhp, dropping the 0-62mph sprint from 4.9sec to 4.6sec. The car stuck by its rear-wheel drive setup and its two gearboxes: there's a six-speed manual and an eight-speed automatic one.

The engine pulls eagerly from low down and makes a hearty sound as the needle spins eagerly around the dial towards the 7000rpm redline. This is a very quick car, of course, with plenty of go always on tap.

Ride & Handling: Approach a bend and you'll find the steering is quite light, even in the sportier modes, but super responsive. Grip is immense and the handling eager and entertaining. Of course, being rear-wheel drive, there’s good traction off the line and the ability to be a bit playful with the car’s rear end, should you be driving on a private track, of course.

We recommend trying to find a car that’s had the optional adaptive dampers fitted, because these give the car a surprisingly forgiving ride on all but the most broken surfaces. It feels comfortable enough around town even in Sport mode, shrugging off smaller imperfections with relative impunity. As a day-to-day proposition, it’s in a different league of comfort and refinement compared with its firmer hot hatch rivals, such as the Renault Mégane RS.

Interior & Practicality: Inside, the M140i is a rather modest thing considering all that performance. The model is available in three or five-door form, but interior space is acceptable rather than immense – that goes for both. Things are fine up front, where the low-slung driving position is excellent, with plenty of electrical adjustment to the steering wheel and seat. However, while there are three rear seats, space will be tight for taller adults, especially leg room.

What is absent inside is any sort of sporting drama; there’s precious little inside to distinguish it from any run-of-the-mill 1 Series. There is, of course, a practical hatchback, and within it an average-sized boot that can be increased in size by folding the rear seats down, which in turn reveals a usefully flat floor.

Trims & Equipment: Standard kit levels are reasonable and include sat-nav, dual-zone climate control and auto lights and auto wipers. Meanwhile, there’s also a Shadow Edition to seek out that adds dark grey wheels, a black framed grille, dark headlight surrounds, tinted rear lights, rear parking sensors and cruise control.

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Around £14,000 gains you entrance to the M140i club, this relating to a 2016 car in good condition with a less than 70,000 miles on the clock.

For a 2019 model that's done less than 40,000 miles, have a budget of at least £20,000.

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MPG: On paper, the M140i's official average NEDC fuel consumption figure is 36.2mpg for the manual and 39.8 for the automatic. This was were revised down to a more realistic 32.5mpg under WLTP rules, which is still quite respectable considering the performance on offer.

CO2 emissions: Those respectable fuel economy numbers correspond to CO2 emissions of 163g/km for automatic and 179g/km for manual cars.

Road tax: Cars registered before the road tax changes of April 2017 came into force are all taxed according to their CO2 emissions, while later cars will be eligible for the current flat rate fee, but be warned – if your M140i cost over £40,000 new, it’ll attract a supplementary luxury car tax that is charged for years one to six years of the car's life. Current costs are £190 per year and £410 per year for the luxury tax.

Insurance and servicing: Insurance groups of 38 is, again, reasonable considering the car’s performance and premium badge, and means you won’t pay a fortune. Expect servicing costs to be high, though, especially if carried out at a main dealer. A trusted specialist could be another way to go if you want to save a little money, but make sure they carry out each service according to the manufacturer's schedule.

Reliability

The BMW M140i, along with this generation of 1 Series as a whole, is a mostly dependable vehicle, with significant mileage not affecting its reliability. This is according to our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey.

Minor issues include clogged windscreen washer jets unless BMW's screenwash is used and sometimes overly sensitive safety and convenience systems, leading to numerous warning messages. Feedback on BMW’s dealer network is limited but generally positive.

Discover more about used BMW M140i reliability and common problems on our dedicated reliability page.

Specification: There is only the standard version of the M140i, and the Shadow Edition. We wouldn’t go out of our way to find a Shadow Edition, because it's not especially different.

The only thing we'd advise you on here is to look for a five-door model. It's easy to do and you'll enjoy that little bit of extra practicality.

Engine: Since there's only one engine, we'll focus on the gearbox here. The manual is nice if prefer to swap gears yourself, but the eight-speed automatic is much more common and a very slick gearbox, so we'd stick to that.

Our favourite BMW M140i: M140i Auto (five-door)

The Ford Focus RS has superb handling, strong performance and is fantastically good fun to drive. Against those virtues, its ride is firm, its driving position is a tad awkward and its steering has a rather limited lock.

The 2017-2022 Honda Civic Type R handles brilliantly, goes like a rocket and, if Batman drove a hot hatch, it'd probably look like this one. It’s also surprisingly easy to live with, and although its infotainment system is as dreadful as the standard Civic’s, that, like with the Focus RS, can be overlooked when you consider how much fun the rest of it is.

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Interested in buying a used BMW M140i? Visit our Used Cars For Sale pages to find lots of cars listed at great prices.