ok I was wrong! E46 interiors.....
Discussion
I have often in the past slated BMW's for their dull looking, cheap looking interiors.
I think this is still valid for some. But I must admit I have had to make a reappraisal.
A mate has just bought, for a complete bargain price an e46. It might only be a humble 318i SE, but it's seems to have been well specced and fully loaded.
But most striking is the interior. It's cream coloured and leather. Ok the binnicle housing still looks cheap and nasty and somehow so boring. But the dash, A pillars, wood trim, center console and seats. And even the rear seats and reading lamps are all superb.
Mightly impressed and surprised at how nice it is inside.
--- So I formally apologise for slating them.
That said. Having now seen how right they can get it. How on Earth do they make some interiors just look so drab and second grade crap? And more amazingly, why do so many opt for the worst looking variants of BMW interiors?
EDIT: Just to iterate further. I thought the interior was in fact lovely... almost
and certainly for the money he paid for it.
It truly amazed me, as I hated the interior of my e36m but really liked what I saw, felt and sat in. But now it's got me thinking e46 323i's...
I think this is still valid for some. But I must admit I have had to make a reappraisal.
A mate has just bought, for a complete bargain price an e46. It might only be a humble 318i SE, but it's seems to have been well specced and fully loaded.
But most striking is the interior. It's cream coloured and leather. Ok the binnicle housing still looks cheap and nasty and somehow so boring. But the dash, A pillars, wood trim, center console and seats. And even the rear seats and reading lamps are all superb.
Mightly impressed and surprised at how nice it is inside.
--- So I formally apologise for slating them.
That said. Having now seen how right they can get it. How on Earth do they make some interiors just look so drab and second grade crap? And more amazingly, why do so many opt for the worst looking variants of BMW interiors?
EDIT: Just to iterate further. I thought the interior was in fact lovely... almost
and certainly for the money he paid for it.It truly amazed me, as I hated the interior of my e36m but really liked what I saw, felt and sat in. But now it's got me thinking e46 323i's...
Edited by 300bhp/ton on Friday 8th July 12:28
Damning with faint praise 300ton/bhp?
This, from the owner of some very nice cars with some of the most s
te interiors I've ever seen? Jeep, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Camaro, Triumph TR7?
I can forgive early LandRover because they succeed in doing what is required and the Smart because they want to appeal to girls, but until the time that you actually sat in one, you thought a BMW was bad? Really? Being in front of my ZX Spectrum was a visual feast compared to that presented by most of your collection.
I'll concede the blandness though. BMW are definitely worser. I blame Crisp Angle and H&S for their decline.
This, from the owner of some very nice cars with some of the most s
te interiors I've ever seen? Jeep, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Camaro, Triumph TR7? I can forgive early LandRover because they succeed in doing what is required and the Smart because they want to appeal to girls, but until the time that you actually sat in one, you thought a BMW was bad? Really? Being in front of my ZX Spectrum was a visual feast compared to that presented by most of your collection.
I'll concede the blandness though. BMW are definitely worser. I blame Crisp Angle and H&S for their decline.
Mafioso said:
So how come you hate the e36 interior but love the e46? They're not that far apart!
Not sure. Just really didn't like my e36 318i's interior. Just looked cheap and boring, maybe a better specced one would have been better? I really wasn't expecting much from my mates e46, but I haven't been that impressed with an interior since I first sat in a Jaguar XJ6!Gaz. said:
Max_Torque said:
I personally rate the E46 interior above the current E90 version! (more "driver focused" and with better quality materials in a few key places. But, and it i admit is a big but, you just can't integrate a Sat Nav / Idrive screen in an E46 without it looking rubbish)
The E90 looks dreadful.My favourite E46 interior was on a black 330Ci, it had the normal black top of the dash, cream lower dash and seats, with piano black trim. It was lovely.
Kong said:
Because in their opinion they think they look good? I personally find cream leather disgusting in BMWs.
I thought cream looked great in mine. It also looked a lot better after 130k than my mate's black leather Touring. He's properly anal with cleaning/feeding as well. It all boils down to a preference of being in a light airy place or a coffin-like cocoon. 
doodlebug said:
Damning with faint praise 300ton/bhp?
This, from the owner of some very nice cars with some of the most ste interiors I've ever seen? Jeep, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Camaro, Triumph TR7?
I can forgive early LandRover because they succeed in doing what is required and the Smart because they want to appeal to girls, but until the time that you actually sat in one, you thought a BMW was bad? Really? Being in front of my ZX Spectrum was a visual feast compared to that presented by most of your collection.
I'll concede the blandness though. BMW are definitely worser. I blame Crisp Angle and H&S for their decline.
It wasn't without experience. I've owned an e30 and an e36 and my brother had an e46 323i for a short while, although I don't remember it looking as nice inside. Think it was cloth and lots of blackness.This, from the owner of some very nice cars with some of the most s
te interiors I've ever seen? Jeep, Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Camaro, Triumph TR7? I can forgive early LandRover because they succeed in doing what is required and the Smart because they want to appeal to girls, but until the time that you actually sat in one, you thought a BMW was bad? Really? Being in front of my ZX Spectrum was a visual feast compared to that presented by most of your collection.
I'll concede the blandness though. BMW are definitely worser. I blame Crisp Angle and H&S for their decline.
Yeh, I was also pleasently surprised with the e46 as well. I came so so close to buying one recently. It had the kinda light wood trim and gearknob in it which sounds awful but if the truth be known was much nicer than the fake carbon I saw in most other e46's I looked at.
I ended up going for a 7th Generation Accord in the end which as far as I'm concerned also has a great interior.....much more expensive feeling than you'd expect from a middle of the road saloon.
I ended up going for a 7th Generation Accord in the end which as far as I'm concerned also has a great interior.....much more expensive feeling than you'd expect from a middle of the road saloon.
doodlebug said:
I thought cream looked great in mine. It also looked a lot better after 130k than my mate's black leather Touring. He's properly anal with cleaning/feeding as well. It all boils down to a preference of being in a light airy place or a coffin-like cocoon.
Well i can't see why cream leather would look better than black after 130k, if anything the black should hide any dirt better. My black leather seats are on 115k and look like new. I'm more concerned with looking at the road than the interior, mind.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff