Quickride: 2015 BMW 218i

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 04/06/2015 at 14:29 • Filed to: Quickride

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So a friend of mine text me one of these today "hey aya, let's go check the latest BMW 2-series!" I said yes. I mean, the Latest 2-series in my mind was the M235i, since that's the only BMW 2-Series we got in Indonesia. In fact, I couldn't be more wrong..

It was a BMW 218i Active Tourer! Nooooooooooooooooo!

I mean, if you're a BMW fan, looking at this very car, you would think "BMW has sold his soul to the devil". It has a 1.5l 3-cylinder 136hp petrol engine coupled with FWD. And it looks.... weird. It looks like a fat 1-series with some 2-series styling cue, despite it's only about the similar size of that Mini Countryman.

But what if if you look at this car as a normal person? Could it be the BMW Hatchback you're all always wanted?

For starters, the price. I know, there's lot of expensive import taxes in Indonesia, but the base model 218i carries a 47 grand price tag. Keep in mind that base model BMW X1 is just a grand more, and the venerable 320i is just 3 grand away. Would you have 3 grand on your pocket but ended up with this thing, or lose that money and get a BMW 320i? Exactly.

Plus, i can't think of any upside of owning 218i Active Tourer+3000 USD than owning a regular BMW 320i or BMW X1. Yes, it has a bigger cargo space than the 320i or BMW X1 when you fold the seats all the way down. But that's pretty much it. It's not that bigger than the 320i, it has similar high-quality interior finish like a 320i..

..and it has sport button despite it only has 136hp, 14hp less than the X1 and nearly 50hp less than the 320i. You know, maybe you want to take the 218i to a race track or something.

Normally i would write a thing of two about the car's interesting feature. It got one, engine. Apparently it's the same engine that you get on the BMW i8*, at least that's the salesperson says. But other than that, hasn't got any.

*Despite i know the i8 use the engine code B38K15T0, while the Active Tourer used the engine code B38A15M0, which also used in the base Mini Cooper.

I mean, you got all the toys that you get in the similarly optioned BMW 2-series. So there's satnav, some tablet stuck in the middle of the dashboard, electric boot release, power steering, AUX Jack, everything.

Seriously, i could get why people wants the i3. It does look cool in some kind of futuristic cool. But if you get the Active Tourer, you'll look like a man who only cares about the badge and nothing about the car. Now i only can hope that this car ended up being a massive failure and BMW will stop making weird abomination like this.

Or maybe i just being pedantic just because it's an FWD BMW. Anyone has an idea why BMW made this car other than for expanding to every niche imaginable?

MultiplaOrgasms > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 14:43

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Trust me, at some point they will make a hot version of this thing and go for the Minivan lap record on the Nürburgring, forcing Ford to make a C-Max RS, Renault to make a Scenic Trophy, VW Golf Sportsvan R and so on and so forth, and therefore making Minivans fun. So STFU, this is the savior of all future minvans.

Vicente Esteve > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 14:48

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So much no

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MultiplaOrgasms 04/06/2015 at 14:50

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Well, let's hope that is the case..

On the interweb apparently there's the 228i with 228hp 2-litre turbocharger inline-4. But VW also has a Golf Sportwagen R (sort of) with 300hp AWD.

In minivan terms of power, i think the only small minivan with that much power was the Vauxhall Zafira VXR? Which was discontinued years ago.

Still, i rather had a JDM Minivan. Give me a Caldina!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Vicente Esteve 04/06/2015 at 14:52

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Nope.

Seriously, this car would be so much cooler if it's an RWD.

Svend > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 15:11

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It was bound to happen. BMW poled a number of BMW 1 Series owners and found 80% thought they were front wheel drive. For a small compact car a front wheel drive makes sense and opens the rest up for cabin space. It won't sit right for most BMW fans or owners but it's a car company. They can't rest on their laurels and just produce RWD cars if the money is in compact FWD cars. If anything it should be welcomed for allowing RWD to continue to be made.

Case in point.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Svend 04/06/2015 at 15:14

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Uh, yeah.

But..

RWD Hatchback!

MultiplaOrgasms > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 15:16

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Lol the Caldina was a Wagon. Also Golf Sportwagen =/= Golf Sportsvan

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MultiplaOrgasms 04/06/2015 at 15:18

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I don't care. That's a mpv.

Oh, i didn't know that was a thing.

We got all the golf variation in Indonesia, except the Van. Interesting.

Svend > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 15:31

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Yes. But the point is 80% who owned them thought they were FWD which made BMW think that if 80% of 1 Series owners thought it was a FWD and still bought it that maybe a FWD would actually be accepted. Which opens up a whole new area for BMW to explore.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 16:53

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Given the price of cars in Indonesia, I wonder why BMW don't sell their basic models - the rest of the 1 series range, the 316i/d and so on?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 04/06/2015 at 17:03

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They did it once, with the first gen 1-series (114i, anyone?) and the E46 318i. Nobody buys them. So why bother selling it?

Plus i don't think people in Indonesia loves diesel. There's however, some demand for 530d and 730d and that's the only german-made diesel car that you can buy here. Excluding the grey imports of course.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 17:47

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That's interesting. Virtually the only engine that BMW sell here in Ireland is the 2.0 diesel. The 1 series isn't a big seller so the most popular are the 520d and 320d in that order.

Vicente Esteve > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/06/2015 at 23:13

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So true

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 04/08/2015 at 15:25

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Well, we got the first gen 120d, but that's about it with the 2.0 diesel. Probably it's a very tough sell in here.

In fact, i kinda surprised BMW still selling diesels in here.