E46 coupe, saloon, touring are they much different to drive?
Discussion
There's precious little in it between saloons and Tourings, just a tiny bit of extra weight in the Touring. My understanding is that all the coupes as a little bit firmer sprung and damped than saloons / Tourings, the SE couple a tad firmer than the SE saloon, and the M-Sport coupe a little firmer than the M-Sport saloon. And of course you are a bit lower with seating position in the coupe.
The 3-door Compact is a bit of a funny looking thing but probably marginally the nicest of the lot to drive (unlike with the E36 Compact versus the rest of the E36 range) having the same suspension layout but being the lightest of the lot.
But, no, not a lot in it at all throughout the range.
The 3-door Compact is a bit of a funny looking thing but probably marginally the nicest of the lot to drive (unlike with the E36 Compact versus the rest of the E36 range) having the same suspension layout but being the lightest of the lot.
But, no, not a lot in it at all throughout the range.
Edited by Lowtimer on Sunday 25th May 23:29
That's interesting, I really like my touring but it has surprised me just how big and heavy feeling the car is, I thought it would be loads smaller than my A6 which I've always though of as a complete barge, however drivers seat in a comfortable position it has maybe 1" less legroom in the back and I threw the audi boot liner in the boot and the E46 boot is the same width and only 4" shallower. It made me think how off the mark I was thinking it was a substantially smaller car, it really isn't.
This then made me think about coupe and saloons I see getting used on track, mostly coupes admittedly but I'd say my touring would be completely inappropriate so hence the question. I thought the response would be that they are all quite different, rather than quite similar.
This then made me think about coupe and saloons I see getting used on track, mostly coupes admittedly but I'd say my touring would be completely inappropriate so hence the question. I thought the response would be that they are all quite different, rather than quite similar.
The saloon and Touring are both more rigid than the coupe. I don't have a figure for the Compact.
According to the BMW USA brochures of the time (I don't have the UK ones) the 330i and 330ci are exactly the same weight. The Touring is about 65kg heavier, about the same as the weight penalty for automatic over manual transmission. The convertible is of course the properly heavy one, as well as being the floppiest.
On the E46, all body styles share basically the same suspension (unlike on the E39 and E60/61 5-series, where the estates have air springs at the rear).
According to the BMW USA brochures of the time (I don't have the UK ones) the 330i and 330ci are exactly the same weight. The Touring is about 65kg heavier, about the same as the weight penalty for automatic over manual transmission. The convertible is of course the properly heavy one, as well as being the floppiest.
On the E46, all body styles share basically the same suspension (unlike on the E39 and E60/61 5-series, where the estates have air springs at the rear).
Edited by Lowtimer on Monday 26th May 10:01
Pentoman said:
Am I right to think the gear ratios may be shorter in the Coupes?
Compact with the manual and 2.5 in has a shorter final drive than the equivalent engined manual saloon/coupe.Suspension was 20% stiffer on Compact than saloon at intro - steering was also quicker and weightier than rest of range - changes were rolled out from Compact onto rest of range after launch of Compact.
Also over 10% lighter
Said by some journos to be the best handling of the range at the time of launch ......but they applied Krusche's chassis changes to the rest of models after anyway
Herman Toothrot said:
I thought it would be loads smaller than my A6 which I've always though of as a complete barge, however it has maybe 1" less legroom in the back and I threw the audi boot liner in the boot and the E46 boot is the same width and only 4" shallower.
I'm surprised, I went from an e46 to an a6 and I felt it was much wider, and had much more room in the boot- I went from careful packing on any trip to just chucking everything in...Mave said:
I'm surprised, I went from an e46 to an a6 and I felt it was much wider, and had much more room in the boot- I went from careful packing on any trip to just chucking everything in...
The rear passenger seats maybe a bit narrower and yes you feel a bit closer to your passenger than in the A6 but the boot I had a piece of carpet cut to fit the A6 and it drops almost flat on the boot floor of the E46 width wise, it's just about 4" too long. I think what makes the A6 feel bigger from the drivers seat is looking in the rear mirror the roof line doesn't drop so much and more glass makes it look lighter / bigger. P.s. It's a C5 Avant I'm comparing too.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff