Another Vs Thread.. E36 328i Sport Vs Classic Impreza turbo?

[SamE30]

As per title really.....

Looking at buying a new car after coming back from a round the world trip.
Looking to spend between 3k & 4k..

Have always been a fan of Bmw's and have had an E30 325i in the past and have also enjoyed RWD
Since living in NZ for a while however I have taken a bit more fancy to the humble Impreza ( either a turbo or WRX )as every other car out there is a legacy or impreza.
I think its the sound of that boxer engine that does it for me.

Obviously there is a noticeable difference in Interior quality and to be honest the impreza is pretty bland.

However from a day to day point of view, as well as some B road blasting on the weekends with the Occasional track day and trip to europe alps/ Nordschleife etc what would be the better option in your eyes....

Anyway that is the scenario .... what are your thoughts / experiences
Other credible options in that price bracket?

Cheers

Sam

[RJDM3]

Having owned both a can say i would have the bmw over the scoob.

The scoob is a great a-b b road blaster, but the interior feels very cheap, although the seats are great (unless you have a few lbs on you i cant imagine them being that comfortable), driving position is nice. The car feels very small and quite cramped inside. Relatively quick. Reasonably reliable, but drinks fuel like no other car i have owned, if pressing on. Long journey are not that nice in the car, to much engine/exhaust noise.


The BMW is more refined, more comfortable and can be more engaging if driven hard. Interior is better quality, in fact the whole car is of much better quality. Great for short and long trips. Lovely handling. Just fa supior to the scoob in almost every way apart from on the wet if driven hard.

[soad]

Not owned either myself - mate had a classic Impreza approx. 10 years ago - lovely noise, liked it a lot. But interior even back then felt quite cheap.

Depends whether you can live with it, I suppose.

[SamE30]

Unfortunately also most of the Impreza's I see driving about these days have lexus lights and stupid bodykits and therefore carry a certain stigma

If I was to get one It would have to be in that dark Green or dark blue to try and blend in with the crowd in a traffic jam.

Edited by SamE30 on Tuesday 20th April 15:37

[Bill]

I had a classic turbo for 4 years or so and they're a very good car, however they're not the most involving drive and you need to be doing silly speeds to feel that your pushing the limits at all. That's great on a wet trip home cross country but ultimately a bit unsatisfying.

[Renn Sport]

I had a 2000 model WRX bugeye. I also currently own a 328 Coupe, which is my work hack. Its in good condition though.

If I was to choose a car for everyday with limited budget, I would go for the BMW. It does it all, especially on a budget.

However if I wanted more raw excitement and a hooning car for shopping and work now and then I would go for the Subaru.

Wind it up and feel it fly! Still running costs felt higher.

[RobM77]

Gosh. Both very capable cars. I think it would purely come down to one's preference for 4WD or RWD. If image is a concern, both cars have their issues, so that may be a consideration. Oh, and fuel economy is better on the 328i.

[garycat]

Personally I'd get a well cared for WRX like this one...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1529966.htm

and spend a bit on a remap, decat down pipe, Prodrive spring kit and you have a very decent and quick car for just over £4K.

I agree the build quality of the classic is dodgy, but the bug-eye/blob-eye really improved things.

[richardxjr]

Neither.

Get a 156.


(runs away)

[RobM77]

richardxjr said:

Neither.

Get a 156.


(runs away)

Good call. "Dynamically superior" to either

[300bhp/ton]

SamE30 said:

As per title really.....

Looking at buying a new car after coming back from a round the world trip.
Looking to spend between 3k & 4k..

Have always been a fan of Bmw's and have had an E30 325i in the past and have also enjoyed RWD
Since living in NZ for a while however I have taken a bit more fancy to the humble Impreza ( either a turbo or WRX )as every other car out there is a legacy or impreza.
I think its the sound of that boxer engine that does it for me.

Obviously there is a noticeable difference in Interior quality and to be honest the impreza is pretty bland.

However from a day to day point of view, as well as some B road blasting on the weekends with the Occasional track day and trip to europe alps/ Nordschleife etc what would be the better option in your eyes....

Anyway that is the scenario .... what are your thoughts / experiences
Other credible options in that price bracket?

Cheers

Sam

I quite like both, although if I'm honest I prefer the Impreza interior to the BMW.

The 328 offers fairly good pace and a balanced RWD car. The Impreza more understeer, but more raw and brutal. Also a high HP turbo motor will punch a lot harder.

MPG on the Impreza will suck, 22-25mpg at best, pos worse and if on superunleaded (all JDM's will want this) then it'll feel more like 19-22mpg in terms of the amount of money to get from place to place.

I looked at a very nice Impreza STI last year for £3500, so would say sod WRX's and Turbo 2000's and go high performance.

Other alternatives if you fancy something different at this money might be an Lt1 powered Camaro. Similar running costs to an Impreza (in fuel terms) but cheap other wise. Quite a hoot and a fab sound track

[matt 2LT]

you could get a good E46 328 for that, much better interia ETC than the E36.

i payed £3600 for mine with heated leather, Xenon's, harmon kardon ETC.

[300bhp/ton]

Gaz. said:

SamE30 said:

Unfortunately also most of the Impreza's I see driving about these days have lexus lights and stupid bodykits and therefore carry a certain stigma

Lets be fair here, the E36 coupe doesn't have a good image either.

Or BMW in general, but always seems forgotten by most of the PH Massive.

[Renn Sport]

Wow someone who prefers the Subaru interior over the BMW E36?!? Never thought I would read that.

Also on the subject of E46's, I found the E36 to be a better drivers car then the E46, but hey thats just me. I also liked the interior more on the E36 for driver focus.


For a decent Subaru you need a decent budget and a war chest to improve and maintain.

[300bhp/ton]

Renn Sport said:

Wow someone who prefers the Subaru interior over the BMW E36?!? Never thought I would read that.

It's not the quality exactly, just the style. My e36 had a horrid horrid interior and dash layout, and plenty of cheap looking plastic too.

I admit the Impreza is no leather clad Jag inside, but the seats are good, the Momo wheel is nice if a bit bland. The rest is just plastic as it is in a BMW but laid out nicer.

[g3org3y]

328i, in Sport flavour.



(Yes I know, wrong wheels, the originals are even better, and the additional EVO lip and M3 style mirrors)

Great for day to day, nice refined drive and relaxed torquey engine. Good fun on the twisties when you're pushing on.

Looks great too in Sport trim.

[SamE30]

Renn Sport said:

.

Also on the subject of E46's, I found the E36 to be a better drivers car then the E46, but hey thats just me. I also liked the interior more on the E36 for driver focus.

A number of people have echoed this..... I havn't actually driven an E36 yet but have done a few laps of the Silverstone GP circuit in an E46 M3 and to be honest I was expecting much more, especially from an ///M car!

Edited by SamE30 on Tuesday 20th April 19:46

[RobM77]

SamE30 said:

Renn Sport said:

.

Also on the subject of E46's, I found the E36 to be a better drivers car then the E46, but hey thats just me. I also liked the interior more on the E36 for driver focus.

A number of people have echoed this..... I havn't actually driven an E36 yet but have done a few laps of the Silverstone GP circuit in an E46 M3 and to be honest I was expecting much more, especially from an ///M car!

Edited by SamE30 on Tuesday 20th April 19:46

I think the E46 chassis is actually slightly more accomplished than the E36, but the problem is that the controls got worse on the E46 (on the E46 the throttle was DBW and the steering wasn't as precise), and the E46 is of course also a bit heavier, so I guess it depends where your preferences lie.

I drove an M3 for the first time a few weeks ago - it was a 50k mile standard E46 M3. It wasn't as big a step on from the 330ci in being a driver's car as I was expecting, the only obvious highlights as noticeable improvements being the rear diff and the engine, with everything else pretty much hidden from the driver in comparison to the 330ci. I wrote a full review if anyone's interested.

I do love E36s though - they're just such good cars with everything done so well and a great duality between a driver's car and a comfortable everyday cruiser. It would be my choice over the Impreza, but as I say, that's mainly down to the fact that I prefer rear wheel drive and the way the BMW is set up.