Which engine for E46 Coupe?

[Bladefist]

Which engine would you recommend for the E46 in a coupe variant? I want it to be reliable, fast and not leave a big hole in my wallet.

[cerb4.5lee]

Bladefist said:

fast and not leave a big hole in my wallet.

Sadly the two don't go hand in hand in my experience and if I have had anything remotely fast it usually costs in fuel purely because the enjoyment of using the power takes over. I suppose a 330d is the best compromise as its relatively quick but returns pretty decent economy but the 330i is a lovely bit of kit though and that's the engine in the E46 that I would go for.

[Atmospheric]

Don't mess about with the other engines: pick the 3.0 petrol or diesel.

All sixes are sweet from that era.

[Effortless]

I had the 330Cd for 18 months and 30,000 miles. 40 mpg for that period.

I loved that car, fast, powerful and comfortable. It was great spec too.

Sadly written off by a 32 ton gravel truck in March this year.

HTH,
Effortless

[Dannbodge]

330i

It will return around 35mpg on a run and about 25 round town.

Don't bother with 4 pots or the 325i as the fuel consumption is no different and they are much slower.

[siovey]

330 , lovely car

[toasty]

Agreed with 330ci. I had mine for 70k miles with no major issues.

The M3 is a different beast entirely but you can add 50% to the cost of everything.

[VF7]

An american 5.7l LS1 V8. Have a look at this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Otherwise a petrol (mandatory IMHO) i6. Preferably the 3l but even the 2l i6 in the 320Ci is a nice engine I hear. And there is something indulging about a 2l i6 these days, isn't it.

ETA:
fast, reliable, cheap - pick any two ;-)

Edited by VF7 on Wednesday 3rd September 08:59

[Mr Ben]

The 330Ci is the default answer.

When looking for my E46 Coupe several years ago however I bought on condition.

At the same price point I found an immaculate 325Ci Sport. Still a lovely engine, in fact the M54 6 cylinder petrol is still one of my favourites.

Once the cooling system and bushes have been overhauled [especially RTAB] really was a delightful car.

I've an E93 6 cylinder petrol now [330i] and still miss the E46.

[STW2010]

Another vote for the 330. I have the M Sport version, having had an SE 323 (2.5 litre) before. The 330 is the best all-round car I've owned (close second is the 231 RX8 I had).

Mr Ben said:

I've an E93 6 cylinder petrol now [330i] and still miss the E46.

Interesting. The E90 was a potential next car (coupe though- e91?). I had an e90 330d saloon as a hire car, but something wasn't quite right with the handling of that car.

[jonah35]

M3.

The car .isnt that much worse on fuel than any other petrol six cylinder.

[MRobbins1987]

Go for the 330 I had the 330d and it was fantastic for a diesel but it had a new turbo and six injectors in the time I had it and never returned much over 33 mpg... It would of been cheaper to run the petrol and it would still be on the drive now, one of them cars that does nothing brilliantly but everything well, perfect allrounder...

[mwstewart]

320Ci - the 2.2 i6. It's not painfully slow and when driven carefully will give semi-reasonable MPG. There's more meat between the bores too so it's a slightly sweeter than the 3.0.

I had a 330Ci which I bought based on the hype around them, and I was thoroughly disappointed with it. It wasn't remotely quick and it was thirsty.

[STW2010]

jonah35 said:

M3.

The car .isnt that much worse on fuel than any other petrol six cylinder.

Insurance, servicing and tyres will be quite a bit more though. Not to mention the premium of buying one in the first place!

[Mr Ben]

STW2010 said:

Interesting. The E90 was a potential next car (coupe though- e91?). I had an e90 330d saloon as a hire car, but something wasn't quite right with the handling of that car.

I love my e93, being a convertible it loses some of the benefits of the coupe [rigidity being the most obvious] but a Sunday evening drive with the roof down and the 6 cylinder winding it self up is a delight [Tested a 335i but honestly preferred the NA engine].

Back to the E46 though, it had an honesty and solid feel to it which I think is now missing. I also loved the fact I could do most things on the E46 my self. Warranty aside, I'm not sure I want to touch the E93.

[kambites]

I'd go for a 330i. The diesels aren't enough more economical to justify the other costs and reliability issues they seem to suffer from; and the other petrols don't get good enough economy to justify having less power, IMO.

[AdamGP]

I had a 330ci M sport for two years trouble free motoring other than preventative maintenance.

Lovely car, not the quickest but a good all rounder, sounds good too!

[NotAnotherTrader]

Have you considered the alpina 3.3? If not I'd say 330cd not petrol simply because I felt the petrol was lacking a lot in the torque department and running cost wise my m3 managed better mpg and service tyres etc isn't that much more.

[mwstewart]

NotAnotherTrader said:

If not I'd say 330cd not petrol simply because I felt the petrol was lacking a lot in the torque department and running cost wise my m3 managed better mpg and service tyres etc isn't that much more.

Exactly my experience. I've owned them plus the 320Ci.

[rev-erend]

3.4 M3 straight 6 .. lovely engine