Help me choose m140 vs 340 vs gr yaris
Discussion
I am thinking of getting a new to me car. I have whittled it down to 3 contenders, all quite different! What are your thoughts and should I be thinking of any other options?
I do about 5-6k a year now mileage. That is mainly a 15 mile each way commute on a mix of fast b roads and a couple of miles of sometimes congested town, done 2-3 times a week now (rest is work from home).
We have another practical diesel estate car which takes care of most of the family duties. So it would only be occasionally that I would have my wife and 2 kids (2 and 6) in the car as well.
Budget is 20-35k.
My front runners are a BMW m140i ( c£20-25k for a late model ie 2018/19), a BMW 340i (seem to be available for a similar price to the 140s for similar age/spec) and a gr yaris (seem to be about 32-35k for a nearly new circuit pack model).
The 140 has the lower price going for it and seems quite good value vs the performance and practicality. It has an image problem though in it bro (along with possibility of being driven without sympathy in cheap lease deals, use of mileage blockers etc). Also handling seems to be its weak point, albeit it won't be a track car for me. Some would also say 22k ish for a 4 year old car that could be had for 28k new isn't great value (but what is these days?).
The 340i would seem to offer a bit more space and possibly better handling (?) for essentially the same price. Despite having the same engine it only seems to be rated at 322bhp vs 340 for the 140 and 450 vs 500 nm torque for some reason. Which plus 10% or so more weight all adds up to a decently worse bhp per tonne figure and 0.5 or so slower to 60, but clearly still a quick ish car.
Yaris clearly a smaller car but seems to get rave reviews and some proper driver focused tech. Also fairly rare and last of a kind so I am inclined to think it may hold its value better despite being a more expensive car and newer. From those who are lucky enough to have one, can you live with the smaller rear seats and boot with a couple of small kids for occasional use?
Thanks very much for the collective ph wisdom in advance!
I do about 5-6k a year now mileage. That is mainly a 15 mile each way commute on a mix of fast b roads and a couple of miles of sometimes congested town, done 2-3 times a week now (rest is work from home).
We have another practical diesel estate car which takes care of most of the family duties. So it would only be occasionally that I would have my wife and 2 kids (2 and 6) in the car as well.
Budget is 20-35k.
My front runners are a BMW m140i ( c£20-25k for a late model ie 2018/19), a BMW 340i (seem to be available for a similar price to the 140s for similar age/spec) and a gr yaris (seem to be about 32-35k for a nearly new circuit pack model).
The 140 has the lower price going for it and seems quite good value vs the performance and practicality. It has an image problem though in it bro (along with possibility of being driven without sympathy in cheap lease deals, use of mileage blockers etc). Also handling seems to be its weak point, albeit it won't be a track car for me. Some would also say 22k ish for a 4 year old car that could be had for 28k new isn't great value (but what is these days?).
The 340i would seem to offer a bit more space and possibly better handling (?) for essentially the same price. Despite having the same engine it only seems to be rated at 322bhp vs 340 for the 140 and 450 vs 500 nm torque for some reason. Which plus 10% or so more weight all adds up to a decently worse bhp per tonne figure and 0.5 or so slower to 60, but clearly still a quick ish car.
Yaris clearly a smaller car but seems to get rave reviews and some proper driver focused tech. Also fairly rare and last of a kind so I am inclined to think it may hold its value better despite being a more expensive car and newer. From those who are lucky enough to have one, can you live with the smaller rear seats and boot with a couple of small kids for occasional use?
Thanks very much for the collective ph wisdom in advance!
Yaris GR definitely. Lots of lovely raw goodness and a proper hoot. With the Circuit Pack it sticks to the road like a Just Stop Oil activist. Excellent gear shifts and being a Toyota it should prove to be very reliable as well. Downsides include a little more servicing required and the exhaust note is a bit pants - has piped in sounds. .
This is a bit easy for me…..GR Yaris all day long!
I’ll admit I do own the Yaris but am also a BMW fan having had a few, including 30k business miles in a year in an M135i. If you have a practical car already, it’s a no-brained as the Yaris is so much more focused and enjoyable to drive, not to mention way more special and likely to hold its value better.
I have two daughters (12 and 8, so no pushchairs!) but they have all the space they need in the back. Boot isn’t great but is pretty usable and we have all gone away for a weekend in it no trouble, packing lightly. They claim it’s better in the back than my wife’s F56 JCW. Boots are similar size too but different shapes.
The B58 is a cracking engine but the Yaris also has a very special power unit, even if it doesn’t sound like anything outside. The BMW’s would get nowhere near the Yaris on a twisty B road and neither will handle like it either. My only criticism of the Yaris is just how fast you have to go in it to make it feel like you’re even trying.
You commute sounds ideal for the Yaris and it could well end up costing you less with much slower depreciation and short service intervals won’t be an issue with your mileage.
Go and test a Yaris and I promise you will be impressed……I sold a 1M for one.
I’ll admit I do own the Yaris but am also a BMW fan having had a few, including 30k business miles in a year in an M135i. If you have a practical car already, it’s a no-brained as the Yaris is so much more focused and enjoyable to drive, not to mention way more special and likely to hold its value better.
I have two daughters (12 and 8, so no pushchairs!) but they have all the space they need in the back. Boot isn’t great but is pretty usable and we have all gone away for a weekend in it no trouble, packing lightly. They claim it’s better in the back than my wife’s F56 JCW. Boots are similar size too but different shapes.
The B58 is a cracking engine but the Yaris also has a very special power unit, even if it doesn’t sound like anything outside. The BMW’s would get nowhere near the Yaris on a twisty B road and neither will handle like it either. My only criticism of the Yaris is just how fast you have to go in it to make it feel like you’re even trying.
You commute sounds ideal for the Yaris and it could well end up costing you less with much slower depreciation and short service intervals won’t be an issue with your mileage.
Go and test a Yaris and I promise you will be impressed……I sold a 1M for one.
I'll qualify this by saying I'm a bang average driver but I had an M140i for three years and if I had to sum it up I'd say really really easy to get on with a daily driver and absolutely insanely quick by every day standards (unless you want to lose your license you won't even make it break a sweat) but it didn't seem a drivers car to me in the same way that (for example) my Boxster did.
Rightly or wrongly it always felt like a 1 series with a nuts engine thrown in it.
Rightly or wrongly it always felt like a 1 series with a nuts engine thrown in it.
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hstewie said:
hstewie said: I'll qualify this by saying I'm a bang average driver but I had an M140i for three years and if I had to sum it up I'd say really really easy to get on with a daily driver and absolutely insanely quick by every day standards (unless you want to lose your license you won't even make it break a sweat) but it didn't seem a drivers car to me in the same way that (for example) my Boxster did.
Rightly or wrongly it always felt like a 1 series with a nuts engine thrown in it.
isn't that just what it is? Need a visit to Birds to liberate the full potential, and nothing wrong with that.Rightly or wrongly it always felt like a 1 series with a nuts engine thrown in it.
given op's low mileage I'd say the Yaris is a good call, but a well sorted 140 would be good too.
not the bus of a 340 for such short commute.
Thanks everyone - some really useful tips and feedback there!
It seems pretty clear the Yaris is the PH choice - so rare to have such consensus in these forums... The Yaris must really be that good! Interesting to hear the feedback of a couple of posters who are familiar with both and came to that conclusion too.
I've got test drives arranged for all 3 cars in the next week now. Thanks again everyone, very much appreciated.
It seems pretty clear the Yaris is the PH choice - so rare to have such consensus in these forums... The Yaris must really be that good! Interesting to hear the feedback of a couple of posters who are familiar with both and came to that conclusion too.
I've got test drives arranged for all 3 cars in the next week now. Thanks again everyone, very much appreciated.
BigShick said:
Speaking as someone with vaguely similar choices, let me know how you get on.
My usage profile is different.. More likely for stretches up the motorway with missus and dog so Yaris probably isn't ideal for me
For you the Yaris probably isn’t ideal, depending on dog size! The Yaris can do the motorway fine but it feels wasted there and certainly not as happy cruising as a B58-engined BMW. The Yaris gears are really closely stacked for ‘rally’ speeds i have found, not long-legged cruising.My usage profile is different.. More likely for stretches up the motorway with missus and dog so Yaris probably isn't ideal for me
M135i I had was a lovely cruiser, more a GT car really and absolutely a special engine in an otherwise fairly ordinary package.
Out of those three, the Yaris.
10 year warranty if you service it at Toyota.
Also, the GR86 can be had within your budget, a few will pop up under 35k I'm sure if you're patient. The second batches are just being delivered now.
Not as quick as the one's in your list, but fun, and rare, and like the Yaris has a potential 10 year warranty
10 year warranty if you service it at Toyota.
Also, the GR86 can be had within your budget, a few will pop up under 35k I'm sure if you're patient. The second batches are just being delivered now.
Not as quick as the one's in your list, but fun, and rare, and like the Yaris has a potential 10 year warranty
Trevor555 said:
Out of those three, the Yaris.
10 year warranty if you service it at Toyota.
Also, the GR86 can be had within your budget, a few will pop up under 35k I'm sure if you're patient. The second batches are just being delivered now.
Not as quick as the one's in your list, but fun, and rare, and like the Yaris has a potential 10 year warranty
The gr86 is a good wild card to add to the mix. I did test drive a gt86 when they first came out and whilst fun, I like so many others found it too slow. Whilst I had only had NA cars at the time they had all been big torquey v8s so seemed 'slow' in the real world. Whilst the engine is bigger in the gr86, more power, more torque, I'm still much more drawn to the yaris or indeed the b58 bimmers for real world performance of the turbo engines. Am I wrong? I also remember the rear seats of the gt86 were essentially unusable - is that still the case in the gr86? Whilst I don't need the back seat most days I will occasionally for my small kids (and by all accounts the yaris is acceptable)... 10 year warranty if you service it at Toyota.
Also, the GR86 can be had within your budget, a few will pop up under 35k I'm sure if you're patient. The second batches are just being delivered now.
Not as quick as the one's in your list, but fun, and rare, and like the Yaris has a potential 10 year warranty
HasToBeV8 said:
I also remember the rear seats of the gt86 were essentially unusable - is that still the case in the gr86? Whilst I don't need the back seat most days I will occasionally for my small kids (and by all accounts the yaris is acceptable)...
I'm pretty sure the GR86 is the same dimensions inside as the GT86.I'm 5' 5" and a small child could sit in the back, just.
I'd guess if you're much taller the drivers seat back will touch the back seat, so no one would sit in the back then. So yes, unusable.
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