Is a 325 enough?

[vtecyo]

I'm 99% settled on a 3 series convertible for my next car (8-11k). Stories of 335s melting has put me right off them, and it seems as though hardly anybody bought a 330 new... I guess why would you when the 335 is available?

325s seem slightly more available, but I can't help but think I'd be frustrated with it all the time as it's 50bhp (ish) down on the 330. Coming from a Chavcic Type R which is quite nippy I wonder if it'll become dull. I'm not expecting it to drive like a hot hatch, but I drove a GT86 a little while ago and the feeling of constant "hurry up" when you applied some fun pedal was so irritating.

Admittedly, the instances where this would actually happen in the real world are very very minimal, but then why not have a 320? Hopefully you can understand the scenario here..

TL;DR: Should I buy a 325, or hold out and find a 330. Anyone with first hand experience?

ETA: petrol. In case there was any doubt.

Edited by vtecyo on Tuesday 28th June 15:25

[vtecyo]

Realistically I very rarely drive my EP3 in anger - living in Bristol there's never the chance to. The only longer drives I do are to Dorset, Cornwall, and very very rarely some work mileage to and from a hotel.

In all honesty I'm swaying towards an auto as well... at 26. PH card on the way out?

[vtecyo]

toon10 said:

I ran a Le Man blue E90 325i mSport for 4 years. My intention was to get a 330 (the 335's were just out of budget at the time.) After a lot of searching, not much came up in my area. I tested a bog standard poverty spec 330 which was quick in a straight line but didn't do anything for me. I also looked at a 325 SE which was lovely but the salesman couldn't be bothered so I walked out. In the end, I tried the 325 mSport. It was the colour and spec I wanted but just not the 330 I had my heart set on. It handled so much better than the SE so I decided I'd been looking long enough and bought it.

I loved the car and never felt bad when I saw a 330 out and about as I thought I might. I can understand that it's a comprimise and as such, some might regret that it's not the 330. It wasn't slow but wasn't a rocket ship either. Performance wise, it certainly kept up with the CTR's, Focus ST's, etc. but obviously they are not hot hatches and feel different to drive.

In the end I did crave a bit more performance so went for an M135i but the 325 certainly wasn't a bad choice. In some ways, I enjoyed driving it more than my current car. The manual gearbox and NA straight 6 delivery made it a bit more fun than my automatic any gear hit the loud pedal turbo delivery of the 1 series.

Good post, thanks.

[vtecyo]

AMGJocky said:

Woah, I drive an auto, shh.

It's allowed on 8 cylinders +

[vtecyo]

dcb said:

The 325 has the same 3.0 engine block as the 330, just detuned for more mpg &
reduced insurance group.

The 325 is coming in at a whole £9 more expensive to insure. How weird.