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Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:34 pm

current newest member and will be asking a question thats no doubt been asked a million times beofre!
situation is this- need a touring for dogs, kit etc and will be making regular 300 mile round trip journeys from blackburn to selkirk. used to have 318i saloon few years ago and loved it- should i hang on for 318 i touring or will 316 suffice- cant go six cylinder based on fuel economy reasons- in a nutshell 316 or 318?

Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:46 pm

1.8 easy choice

Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:49 pm

isn't the 316 a carbed 1.8 litre engine though? in which case go for the 1.8 injection (better mpg) 318i

Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:27 pm

With the weight of a touring doesnt really matter, either 1.6 or 1.8..No!!!
Depends on what condition and colour you would like because theres hardly a lot of good one to choose from and if its MPG thats the most important then I suppose the smaller the engine the better.
But if it was me id go on condition and price of the car rather than engine size.

Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:17 am

I had a 1.8 touring and it was quite happy on country roads and motorways. It would definitely slow down with a heavy load, but you'd expect that. Tourings have shorter diff ratios so you lose top end and gain acceleration. I doubt you'll miss the lost top end in the UK. They'll do 100mph without any drama.

Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:24 am

Is the 320 so much worse than a 318?? I alway thought they were pretty similar due to asthmatic 318 struggling to pull the weight?