For most car guys like ourselves, some names that cause big waves these days don’t mean that much. Everyone with a camera is doing reviews these days and that leads to a strong dilution of the material posted online. That said, real legends are one in a million nowadays and on that short list you’ll find people like Jeremy Clarkson or Tiff Needell. While the former is quite the celebrity, Tiff is nowhere near as widely known and that’s truly a shame.
He’s the host of Fifth Gear and he also used to co-host Top Gear some decades ago. However, unlike even Jezza, Tiff has a strong background in racing, making him even better suited to tell us all about how a car handles or feels. While we’re patiently waiting for a new season of Fifth Gear to show up, Tiff is apparently involved in some reviews published on Youtube and I for one can only be happy about it as I love seeing the old man chucking cars around bends like it’s nothing.
In this particular review, the BMW M140i is pitted against the Volkswagen Golf R and the Audi RS3, the latter being the eternal rival of the BMW machine, even though the Bavarian isn’t a proper M car. Nevertheless, the Golf R is the one car that doesn’t belong here and it’s not because it’s the least powerful or because it’s a VW and therefore not premium. It’s because in this instance, it’s not a hatch but an Estate and that just ruins everything.
Each driver has his own take on what each car does best and the pros and cons about them but they all agree that the VW R is the least enjoyable car here. As for Tiff, he simply loved the time behind the wheel of the BMW. Being an old-school RWD car and with a simple interior that is just functional without too many complications, the M140i seems to have won him over. It’s rather long review but it might be worth your time if you’re interested in one of these cars.
