Talk to me about E46 coupes
Discussion
Seems this thread has popped back up, I thought I'd post a quick update. Might be of interest to anyone else who's considering an E46.
I bought the car from Chepstow (mentioned a page or two back) and owned it for about 18 months. In the end, the only reason I sold it was because I was getting into motorsport and it was a bit big to use for autosolos.
As a road car it was great. Thanks to that creamy straight-six, the sloping roofline and the snug interior it always felt that little bit more special than driving a regular saloon. It was a great mile-muncher too and not that bad on fuel considering it was a fairly heavy car with a big naturally-aspirated engine.
My only slight reservation was the feeling that there was more to come from both the chassis and the engine - as if BMW had been a bit too conservative. It also felt a bit over-tyred in the dry with the staggered wheels. I kept thinking how good it'd be with a bit more power, a bit more noise, a proper mechanical LSD and a bit less weight. I've never driven an E46 M3, but it must be a wonderful thing.
That was on track at Castle Combe, where to my surprise, it seemed to give the Boxsters and Caymans quite a hard time.
But as a daily driver it was pretty hard to beat. Had my requirements not changed I'd gladly have kept it. Quite fancy trying a Z4 Coupe next.
I bought the car from Chepstow (mentioned a page or two back) and owned it for about 18 months. In the end, the only reason I sold it was because I was getting into motorsport and it was a bit big to use for autosolos.
As a road car it was great. Thanks to that creamy straight-six, the sloping roofline and the snug interior it always felt that little bit more special than driving a regular saloon. It was a great mile-muncher too and not that bad on fuel considering it was a fairly heavy car with a big naturally-aspirated engine.
My only slight reservation was the feeling that there was more to come from both the chassis and the engine - as if BMW had been a bit too conservative. It also felt a bit over-tyred in the dry with the staggered wheels. I kept thinking how good it'd be with a bit more power, a bit more noise, a proper mechanical LSD and a bit less weight. I've never driven an E46 M3, but it must be a wonderful thing.
That was on track at Castle Combe, where to my surprise, it seemed to give the Boxsters and Caymans quite a hard time.
But as a daily driver it was pretty hard to beat. Had my requirements not changed I'd gladly have kept it. Quite fancy trying a Z4 Coupe next.
Mr Tidy said:
Chris71 said:
But as a daily driver it was pretty hard to beat. Had my requirements not changed I'd gladly have kept it. Quite fancy trying a Z4 Coupe next.
That sounds very much like my old E46 325ti Compact that I bought when I couldn't find a good 330Ci. A Z4 Coupe will feel very different - more fun but not as good as a daily driver. I had a couple of those and loved them, but now have a Z4MC so an M3 engine and an LSD as standard. It's just fantastic, so you know with some budget creep and man maths in operation...….!
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