Holy smoking cigars! RM219K for a 3cylinder 1.5liter BMW?

The BMW 218i Active Tourer is on sale at RM219,000. Okay. RM219,000 for a BMW. That's nothing to shout about. RM219,000 for a three cylinder 1.5liter BMW. Now we start shaking heads and dropping our jaw a little. Then you can add RM30,000 for some luxury options in a car that is supposedly a luxury car already.

But what does it put on the table that is different from a BMW 316i which is cheaper at RM209,000. A higher roofline, a rear hatch instead of a boot and 100cc less. It still carries five as it isn't the full seven seater variant. And it's a 2 series which by BMW hierarchy sits below the 316i.

It also has a three cylinder engine. Those that own a Perodua Axia would know how is basically sounds like if there were no soundproofing in the 218i. But it does, it also has a turbocharger which silences the engine noise a little and allows 1.5liters worth of three cylinders to hit 0-100 in under 10 seconds (9.2 to be exact) and a top speed of slightly over 200kmh. Wow wow wow. You have lots of headroom and you are more expensive than a (locally assembled) BMW 316i and you can do everything that the 316i can do but you cost more and have a three cylinder engine for the sake of total efficiency and supposed fuel economy.

Its in the pricing actually. When BMW or any company applies for its sales price, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry somehow has to agree to it aside from factoring in costs and what not. I somehow do not fathom how prices are decided as this 1.5liter car should have lower taxes and other duties. It should be much cheaper than the fully imported Mercedes Benz B200 rival but it is not that much cheaper. That is what baffles me.

And that isn't the only thing that is shockingly off about the 218i Active Tourer. Well, aside from it being front wheel drive BMW that is.  Take a look at most of the side profile promotional shots taken directly from BMW Malaysia's website that I have placed in here. Is the car so pathetic that most of the shots of it are with some food in the foreground, a blade of grass blocking the car, leaves or people in front of it. If we saw the whole side profile of the car, it looks like its a tracking shot with the car quite a distance away. Why? Does the car need help covering up some ugly bits? No confidence or just trying to be over arty?

Damn. RM219,000 for a 1.5liter  three cylinder car. And look below...what are those leaves doing? Why are they there? Why? Why? Why?