E30 v E36

[hammoj28]

Yep, my e30 is useless in the wet at keeping up with things......or maybe its my tyres.lol. In the dry its great but in the wet its a handfull.

[Geoff]

A) Give Max a break, so he's made an error commenting on something with a small amount of experience. Big fooking deal!! The guy's 17 and exuberent about chatting cars!

B) And back on topic, the whole point about the E36 is that its an EVOLUTION of the E30. Some things may be the same, but the majority will have changed and for the better might i add. I have had both, and regularly drive my mums E36 325i. The ride is far more civilised, the engine is a corker with 146k on...still on the original clutch might i add, and it has air con, better brakes yada yada yada. My only real grip is the off centred driving position and poor allignment of the peddles...i feel like a contorionist sometimes!!

Vive la E30 though!!

[Jhonno]

having owned and driven many miles in both, i like them both alot to be fair, looks wise i think the e30 edges it, i like its boxy character. E36 is the much safer car esp on the limit and as is said bad weather, its the much much better mile muncher, engines are another league (tho not really in noise)

the e36 can be tinkered with to give it more character and make it more entertaining e30 style

Passengers prefer the e36 also.. esp back seats ones

[m-dtech]

Passengers prefer the e36 also.. esp back seats ones

gives a bit more room for a bit of

[gareth]

i personally prefer the E30 as it's got all the feel of a proper classic car but it's cheap to run, fix and tune up a bit.
a E36 lacks character compared to the E30 but i'm sure it's a better car.

a yaris could well be considered a far better car than almost all E30's but i wouldn't drive one. my old 105E anglia and the minis i've had are fundementally crap but are fun to own and drive. it's all down to personal preference.

speaking to my my local bmw specialist recently, he reckons that the best engineered / best to run on a sensible budget (ignoring fuel economy!) BMWs ever made were the E32 and E34. The E36 is not so good and the E30 a tad behind that based on nothing more than the extra age of the E30.


i'll probably own a ratty and retro E46 one day and be happy with it as my E30 will be worth £5k by then!

[Aaron191]

speakin to a friend of mine who owns a 325i e36 bm i told him i was gettin a e30 325 bm he reckon gettin rid of his e30 325i was biggest mistake he ever made and once i got mine i should go see him and do a swap. i did so when i acquired the e30 and took his e36 for test drive i could not get get back into e30 quick enough it was twice as much fun! but the e36 was probably a better long distance car so really its just personal taste but for me e30 miles better!!!!!!

[Andyboy]

And back on topic, the whole point about the E36 is that its an EVOLUTION of the E30.

I don't think it was. The E30 was an evolution of the E21 and the E36 was a total break with tradition - it's really nothing like an E30. The E46 was the evolution of the E36 and despite changing virtually every component it didn'r really move the game along. Even at the end of it's life the E36 was still considered an excellent car but it was time for a change.
The E90 was another massive step forward. It's so good it's astounding.

[bodger]

just have one of each and have done with it

[Colonel Sanders]

i had a 4 door e36 m3 and it was a hell of a better drive than the e30 i have, smoother, responsive, comfy, wish i still had it really, but i still prefer my e30,

[darkchild]

And back on topic, the whole point about the E36 is that its an EVOLUTION of the E30.

I don't think it was. The E30 was an evolution of the E21 and the E36 was a total break with tradition - it's really nothing like an E30. The E46 was the evolution of the E36 and despite changing virtually every component it didn'r really move the game along. Even at the end of it's life the E36 was still considered an excellent car but it was time for a change.
The E90 was another massive step forward. It's so good it's astounding.

An E46 is an E36 on a diet of full fat coke and McDonalds.

[B7]

Currently own the cars pictured below, an 89 325i auto and a '99 323i manual convertible and I have to say they are totally different animals.

Both 2.5's (obviously) the e30 is much more "raw" and on the edge even being Auto. The e36 is much more refined despite being manual. For info the e30 has 104k up and the e36 61k. There are areas with the e36 where I think quality was lost. The interior (although more modern) seems a lot more "mass produced" if you know what i mean. However it's when you see the hood mechanism (e30's manual and positively antiquated) you realise how far BMW moved the game on in technology. The e36 is so much more modern in how it drives and feels (and the e30 has has a fully rebuilt suspension to standard spec only last year so it drives as it should). Friends have an '51' plate e46 320i convertible and theres really very little between the e36 and their car. However the difference between the e30 and e36 is massive.

M20 or M52? Would be easy for me to say at the moment that, again a huge move on but then my current M20 has never run really right (hoping a head rebuild this weekend will sort that) but thinking back about 10 years when I moved from a 525 M20 e34 to an M50TU 525 e34, I remember thinking "what was all the fuss about, theres little in it." I have to remember as well that my current 323 e36 is the strangulated 170bhp 2.5 which of course puts power in the e30 league. Would definately say the it revs more "linear" though than the M20.

So for me.....E30 or E36?

I love the E30 due to the fact that it is an Iconic BMW that sealed BMW's success after the 2002 saved their arses and the e21 continuesd in that vain. I love it as (and this is still out with the Jury to some on here) the classic it will definately become if it has not done so already.

The e36 is the car I'd jump into if I had a meeting in say Manchester or had a driving holiday down to Spain. It has the longer legs.

Over all???? The e30 everytime. I'll never be without one. I could definately sell the e36 and goe to an e46 or e90 as thats progression. However what would I buy if I sold the e30?

[low325icab]

took my e36 m3 evo round silverstone track a month ago and scared the living shit out of my self on how fast and how well it stuck to the track, my old e30 325i cab was nothing like it in speed or handling, though it was very good for a cab, totally different cars imo. i had enough of things keep breaking like, engine mounts, rocker arms, cracked heads etc,etc. but then saying that, im sure i will find things go wrong with my m3. both great cars and would love another e30 325i, but would have to keep the e36 m3 evo for the fun factor and the sheer pull from 2000rpm to 7.500rpm in 5th upto 155mph in not alot of time and still got 6th to go hehe

[d6dph]

i had enough of things keep breaking like, engine mounts, rocker arms, cracked heads etc,etc.

I blame driver abuse for those parts failing.

[he30]

Having owned a 328i sport and liked it, i think the overall engineering of the car is far superior. As for the handling of the car, i find the e30 more controlable wlth better feedback of road condotions. But the e36 never gave me the special ooo factor that the e30 gives.
The main advantage of the e36......trouble free motoring

[wrobstar21]

I always thought e36 had more of a comfort factor than the e30. Its a bit more refined apparently! my mate loves his!

I want a 2002 turbo!!

[stevotheevo]

I have owned 4 e30s and 1 e36. Appart from the e30s looks which imo are simply the best looking bmw today the e36 definately drives better, especially in the wet/damp conditions, where the e30 can be a real be-atch.
all that said i still prefere the e30.

[baur320]

I've got a Baur (obviously), that's just been fitted with a 2.7. It's the third E30 I've had and love the thing to bits. Also got an E36 M3 Evo SMG - you know the one with the dodgy 6 speed box, VANOS that's going to go sometime and the SMG that'll cost an arm and leg to fix.

M3's efficient if a little soul-less, brilliant to drive, not a thing wrong with it, has a heater and has never gone wrong in 2 1/2 years. The Baur's 24, is basically a collection of second hand parts and has no heater, but loads of character and wins hands down.

M3 get's hit by a van last month and the insurance lend me an E46 M3 . Like a bloody playstation on wheels and compared to the E36 it's efficient if soul-less, but brilliant to drive.

Now I'm confused

[Niggy]

Let's take this argument too the track
Im sure some zoners have been to see PBMW, then you would also have seen
PRE 93 on the same day with a mix of E36 M3's E30 M3's and a 325e
So those of you that have bothered to come along knows whats best

[StuBeeDoo]

Like a bloody playstation on wheels

Mick, you crack me up!

I can't comment on the E36 as I've never driven one.
However, it's my experience that most mass-produced cars built since the early '90's - by every manufacturer - are sanitized, soulless sh**e.
That's why I chose a £1000 E30 Touring from an initial list of over a dozen different makes, models and age/mileage of estate-type car when I had a maximum budget of £3.5k.

As always, just my 2p.