RE: SOTW: BMW 318is
Discussion
@juniorjet..
so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
I dont understand the hatred for these, it isnt the wheezy 100 bhp 316, its the 16 valve with 140 bhp, a useful if not exactly epic ammount of power, I would take this over the 320i every day of the week, I prefer the revvy nature of the four cylinder, the six in 2.0 form hit the limiter the minute you thought it was getting going and seemed slower than it was due to the smooth nature of the engine, I would these would seem more satisfying to most enthusastic drivers until you get to the 325's and up.
rossi-328i-sport said:
@juniorjet..
so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
Agreed - there are some lovely, well kept examples of e36s still on the road.so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
I'm pleased to see the E36 getting good praise on this thread, people are always bigging up its older and more raw brother the E30 (UGLY bar the M3 IMO) whereas the E36 is usually getting slated by idiots who like to stereotype.
At this price range there is NO other RWD car that comes close to an E36 in terms of all round completeness (handling, comfort, reliabilty, solid, cheap parts). Yes a MK2 MR2 or a MK1 MX5 will be a better steer but if you need more than two seats then an E36 is surely the only way to go.
I actually thought I'd managed to tear myself away from these cars but this SOTW has made me want yet another one! I've owned a 316 Coupe (looked the part but hideously slow and uneconomical) and a 323 coupe (Fast but auto really did RUIN the fuel consumption). I think a 318IS like this would be a happy medium between the two, I like the idea of a modern 4 pot with better suspension like this and that M-Tec kit makes it look very menacing indeed!
Oh and you'll get blasted at the lights by Saxo VTR's and the like but at the end of the day you're in a well built, handsome and reliable german coupe and they are in a small, flimsy hatchback. Which one would you like to turn up in outside your new lady-friends house?
At this price range there is NO other RWD car that comes close to an E36 in terms of all round completeness (handling, comfort, reliabilty, solid, cheap parts). Yes a MK2 MR2 or a MK1 MX5 will be a better steer but if you need more than two seats then an E36 is surely the only way to go.
I actually thought I'd managed to tear myself away from these cars but this SOTW has made me want yet another one! I've owned a 316 Coupe (looked the part but hideously slow and uneconomical) and a 323 coupe (Fast but auto really did RUIN the fuel consumption). I think a 318IS like this would be a happy medium between the two, I like the idea of a modern 4 pot with better suspension like this and that M-Tec kit makes it look very menacing indeed!
Oh and you'll get blasted at the lights by Saxo VTR's and the like but at the end of the day you're in a well built, handsome and reliable german coupe and they are in a small, flimsy hatchback. Which one would you like to turn up in outside your new lady-friends house?
Edited by captain ash on Friday 3rd June 13:53
JuniorJet said:
Impreza WRX is better than this. it just is. end.
Of course the engine size matters, obviously it depends on your budget, but imagine this:
You have your lovely 318 at the lights, now Charlie Sheen pulls up next to you at the lights with his M3 and shouts "WINNING" - you wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
The only reason people buy the smaller engine is because they can't afford it/it's running costs, they also will have made a compromise that they would prefer a finer quality vehicle than a less luxurious car with more power.
So for the price and the insurance group, yes, the 318 is value for money... but the engine size IS an issue.
The WRX is faster, there's absolutely no question. Its an utterly devastatingly quick and capable vehicle. It also had ride quality that would have royally fOf course the engine size matters, obviously it depends on your budget, but imagine this:
You have your lovely 318 at the lights, now Charlie Sheen pulls up next to you at the lights with his M3 and shouts "WINNING" - you wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
The only reason people buy the smaller engine is because they can't afford it/it's running costs, they also will have made a compromise that they would prefer a finer quality vehicle than a less luxurious car with more power.
So for the price and the insurance group, yes, the 318 is value for money... but the engine size IS an issue.
ked up my back beyond repair.But better? How do you define better? For me its how much fun I got out of it on a hoon, and I always came out with a bigger smile, more of a sense of achievement - in the WRX its as much about power and electronics getting you everywhere.
Your argument holds no weight at all - bloke in his M3 at the light, fella in a Veyron turns up next to him. The M3 wouldn't see the M3.
Its not all about power - it just isn't, at least not if your prime motive is to have fun at or around the legal limit. Sure, for some people its all about power, speed, more speed, even more power, etc.
In my case, I had choices of 318iS, 323 or 328. The only one in my price range at the time that wasn't a ropy mess was the 318iS. Insurance was roughly the same on all of them, fuel economy about the same with the 318iS and 328. So it definitely wasn't costs that swayed my decision.
Tyson1980 said:
whats the mpg like on a 318is? IIRC my cousin used to get around 28-30mpg around town..
Don't know on the M42, but I had the M44.Once (just once) managed to get close on 40mpg on a 500 mile round trip.
Rest of the time it was around 30mpg average, regardless of how/where it was driven.
I can top that.
I have a 323i Coupe manual, tax & tested up for less than that. In pretty good nick too! Thanks to soaring fuel prices, these cars have come down a long way in price (especially the 6 pots).
As far as the four pots go, I've only driven the 316, and that was certainly underpowered. Not sure how the 318 drives, as it has a fair bit more poke than the 16 (around 40bhp more IIRC), but I'm sure it still feels the weight of the car. My 170bhp already began to feel insufficient after about a year with it (or maybe I just grew used to it), so now I'm after a lightweight.
Nice choice of car, just not sure on the engine.
= )
I have a 323i Coupe manual, tax & tested up for less than that. In pretty good nick too! Thanks to soaring fuel prices, these cars have come down a long way in price (especially the 6 pots).
As far as the four pots go, I've only driven the 316, and that was certainly underpowered. Not sure how the 318 drives, as it has a fair bit more poke than the 16 (around 40bhp more IIRC), but I'm sure it still feels the weight of the car. My 170bhp already began to feel insufficient after about a year with it (or maybe I just grew used to it), so now I'm after a lightweight.
Nice choice of car, just not sure on the engine.
= )
Have to agree with a 318 being somewhat underpowered, I currently have a 328 Sport and with the driving position, coupe shape etc I really can't imagine anything other than a 6-pot in front of me. Especially in a BMW. Just wouldn't feel 'right'.
They are quite cheap though, I paid £1650 for FSH, full MOT, 102k, minimal rust blah blah. Definitely prefer the driving experience to my E46 although the interior is a bit naff. Plus I get 37mpg! Which is good because I'm a student too.
They are quite cheap though, I paid £1650 for FSH, full MOT, 102k, minimal rust blah blah. Definitely prefer the driving experience to my E46 although the interior is a bit naff. Plus I get 37mpg! Which is good because I'm a student too.
I had 1 1996 P reg 318iS from new as my company car. I was a rep at the time selling very high value blood clotting factors and regularly travelling from Manchester to Swansea, Cardiff, Birmingham, Carlisle etc. I totted up a gentle 50,000 miles in 2 years (after doing 78,000 miles in the 2 years prior in a 318i saloon).
The car looked the absolute business with colour coded skirts and bumpers, front fogs and even an electric sunroof. Coming out of a boggo 318i to a 318iS felt like 'I had arrived'! It was green with green interior like the car pictured towards the top of the thread (Morea green maybe?).
The car was a fabulous car to drive and felt like the fastest thing on the road. I went everywhere 'fast' and it ate up the motorway miles. With frameless windows and the open sunroof, it looked as good as it drove. I then had a test drive in a 450 Chimaera, and recalibrated what 'fast' meant. After the BMW lease was over, I bought a Chimaera and dropped down to a 1.8 VW Passat to save tax as I had my fast car at home.
The only problem with the car I had in all the two years were the horns. At any one time, one of them didn't work. They were constantly being replaced by the dealer under warranty. It was not as if I drove with my hand on the horn wearing it out or anything either!
My car had no air con / climate control. On one very hot day driving cross country back from Swansea to Manchester, I had my shirt off, sunroof open, and popped open the rear triangular windows so I could stay alive.
The temperature inside the car did cause me some worry once when delivering £150,000 of product to a patient's house in Southport. The product is normally refrigerated, so I had to make a mercy dash to get it there ASAP. The car made a great all round 'van'.
Big downside was when the car was broken into and the radio stolen. I won't say how, but it was so easy to defeat the locks on that car, I may as well have just left it open and not suffered the (minimal) damage and inconvenience of having to go the dealers again. At least it wasn't for another horn!
The car looked the absolute business with colour coded skirts and bumpers, front fogs and even an electric sunroof. Coming out of a boggo 318i to a 318iS felt like 'I had arrived'! It was green with green interior like the car pictured towards the top of the thread (Morea green maybe?).
The car was a fabulous car to drive and felt like the fastest thing on the road. I went everywhere 'fast' and it ate up the motorway miles. With frameless windows and the open sunroof, it looked as good as it drove. I then had a test drive in a 450 Chimaera, and recalibrated what 'fast' meant. After the BMW lease was over, I bought a Chimaera and dropped down to a 1.8 VW Passat to save tax as I had my fast car at home.
The only problem with the car I had in all the two years were the horns. At any one time, one of them didn't work. They were constantly being replaced by the dealer under warranty. It was not as if I drove with my hand on the horn wearing it out or anything either!
My car had no air con / climate control. On one very hot day driving cross country back from Swansea to Manchester, I had my shirt off, sunroof open, and popped open the rear triangular windows so I could stay alive.
The temperature inside the car did cause me some worry once when delivering £150,000 of product to a patient's house in Southport. The product is normally refrigerated, so I had to make a mercy dash to get it there ASAP. The car made a great all round 'van'.
Big downside was when the car was broken into and the radio stolen. I won't say how, but it was so easy to defeat the locks on that car, I may as well have just left it open and not suffered the (minimal) damage and inconvenience of having to go the dealers again. At least it wasn't for another horn!
NickXX said:
It's great on the track - a lot of the interior has been taken out, so weighs a bit less than standard.
Otherwise, it's chipped, is on Spax coilovers, has an Eisenmann exhaust and a few other bits and pieces, which makes it a lot of fun on the track. It shares brakes with the 328, so they work well out of the box (being designed for a heavier, more powerful car). It corners better and outbrakes a lot of other stuff - the only place it really gets held back is on the longer straights in speeds upwards of 80mph.
For context, I also use my e46 M3 on track.
Yup - that picture is from the Cassio Metro estate. I don't live there any more, but haven't moved very far.
I thought it was the cassio metro estate. Car sounds nicely specced, I'll keep an eye out for it on the local roads.Otherwise, it's chipped, is on Spax coilovers, has an Eisenmann exhaust and a few other bits and pieces, which makes it a lot of fun on the track. It shares brakes with the 328, so they work well out of the box (being designed for a heavier, more powerful car). It corners better and outbrakes a lot of other stuff - the only place it really gets held back is on the longer straights in speeds upwards of 80mph.
For context, I also use my e46 M3 on track.
Yup - that picture is from the Cassio Metro estate. I don't live there any more, but haven't moved very far.
jrampton said:
I currently have a E36 M3 Evo sat on my drive at home, i took it in px for my vw van and insured it for 5 days (£85 with £1500 excess) so that i drive it, it's a nice car but a bit tail happy especially in the wet !! Just need to get rid now which is proving difficult at the moment.
What's wrong with it? Or should I be asking 'What's NOT wrong with it?'NickXX said:
rossi-328i-sport said:
@juniorjet..
so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
Agreed - there are some lovely, well kept examples of e36s still on the road.so how does that create a "chav" image, i don`t understand how a cheap but as you say expensive looking car creates this image?
there is nothing "chav" about a stock looking e36 whether it be a 318 or m3.Anyway when looking for a well looked after E36 you will find although hard to come by they really are not that cheap when you compare them to the E46.
as i said before i think people get the wrong idea when they see rotten "M" plate coupes with a sound system in thats worth more than the car.
You cant confuse these two types though,for example a lot of money and care has gone into mine like many other owners i know,the well kept e36`s have a different following altogether and i think it goes to show you cant tar everyone with the same brush.
I must just add say that im also seeing some great track cars come out of the E36!!
Just seems a shame to me that the E36 has this image when really it doesn't deserve it at all.
As for the chav image, while i dont think it is a chav car i do get plenty of piss taking from mates saying it looks chavvy.
for the people saying it hasnt aged well, the GF was massively critical of me getting another old BMW (i had 2 E30 prior) and said when she saw it was pleasantly suprised and wouldnt believe me when i told her how old it actually was!
If someone does buy one though, if you want to get niggles sorted it does start to get expensive. I've spent a small fortune on mine trying to get it up to scratch.
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