316i,318i,320i mpg issues....

[dark_sounds]

hi all,, im looking to get a new car,,,

preferably a touring with a large sound system to prevent me from driving fast....

just wondering,, what is roughly the mpg on each of these cars??

i know the 320 is a mega drinker... but what about the 318i and 316i ,,,

my iS done 30mpg to gallon all the time,, thrash here and there,,, or cruise,,, it always returned 30mpg,,, 35 on motor way...

any of these better???

[AndyTouring]

My 316 Touring is thirstier than that & it's quite a young engine with only 75k.

I get around 28mpg town with 33mpg @ 75mph on motorways. The lack of torque encourages you to thrash it a bit.

[Sharknose3]

Got 2 Tourers running, an '89 320i and a '93 318i.

The 320i is not thirsty at all. Does close to 40 on the motorway but has cruise control fitted & I'm sure this helps.
It has done 146k miles and has just had a head rebuild.
Around town it does about 28 and on country roads about 33. It doesn't have a catalytic converter choking it unlike the other car.

The 318i really lacks torque in comparison to the 320i, has 86k miles on the clock with FSH and has a catalytic converter fitted.
It can manage ~35 on the motorway, 30 on country roads and only does about 25 around town.

These are daily drivers and the driving is fairly laid back, nothing too spirited. Both cars have OBCs and that's where I'm getting the figures.

I'd go for a 320i Tourer if I were you, more torque, better economy, M20 sound is great when the revs are up though the handling is better in the 318i as the chassis seems better balanced without the front end weight of the M20 lump.
The best scenario might probably be a 318is Touring but you'd have to put one of those together yourself.

Sharknose

[Simon13]

i would never get a 320 pointless car. Speed of a 318i with 325i economy. 320 boys get upset but that because its the truth. They are only good for rods on a 2.7 conversion! "poor mans 325's" they were known as in they day.

318i and 318is are the best 2 e30's on petrol in general

316 not really enough power to pull its own ass along. 320 pointless, so it's back to the 1.8's in 8v or 16v in my opinion

[Zayyan]

2-door 316i will do between 40-45mpg if you're careful and won't do less than 30mpg even if you rag it everywhere.

This is in my 195,000-mile shitter so if you find a healthy one you can probably do more mileage.

Either a 316i or 318i touring is a good choice though IMO.

[stevetigger]

2-door 316i will do between 40-45mpg if you're careful and won't do less than 30mpg even if you rag it everywhere.

This is in my 195,000-mile shitter so if you find a healthy one you can probably do more mileage.

Either a 316i or 318i touring is a good choice though IMO.

Id go along with that, Also the 318i can be had on a later plate!

[Sharknose3]

Simon13,

Here in Southern Ireland, the difference in road tax per year between a 325i and a 320i is over Ԛ┚¬300 and insurance for a 325i is about double what it is on a 320i - another Ԛ┚¬500.

I've got other things to spend that ~Ԛ£500 on - what's there to get upset about?

So poor man's 325i - I've no problem with that !

Sharknose

[Zayyan]

2-door 316i will do between 40-45mpg if you're careful and won't do less than 30mpg even if you rag it everywhere.

This is in my 195,000-mile shitter so if you find a healthy one you can probably do more mileage.

Either a 316i or 318i touring is a good choice though IMO.

Id go along with that, Also the 318i can be had on a later plate!

Hmm, I'm sure it's both the 316i and 318i Tourings that can be had up to an L plate and on some cases an M.

The red M-reg tourer that people were making a fuss about a month or 2 ago is a 316i.

[316eyes]

My 316i is awaiting engine transplant. The engine that's in it has a rattly cam ( blocked oil feed pipe not noticed by her indoors for 2 weeks), the rings have gone (lots of smoke when the foot goes down) and hasn't been serviced for 12 months (cos it's going to have a new engine).

Still returns 50-60 miles to a tenner!

So you can expect a lot, lot more from one in good nick.

[stonesie]

i would never get a 320 pointless car. Speed of a 318i with 325i economy. 320 boys get upset but that because its the truth. They are only good for rods on a 2.7 conversion! "poor mans 325's" they were known as in they day.

318i and 318is are the best 2 e30's on petrol in general

316 not really enough power to pull its own ass along. 320 pointless, so it's back to the 1.8's in 8v or 16v in my opinion

My 320 does high 30's mpg and easely into the low 40's on the motorway (worked out the old fashoned way... no obc)

The noise when i wind her up is too addictive and its got a 'fit' engine, it's book 0-60 is the same as my scirocco gt2 but when i put the 2 cars up against eachother (mate in the bm) the bmw stormed off ahead, impressive to me considering the rocco has had a fair bit of dosh spent on the engine and beats standard GT2's ....


poor mans 325.. maby but then again i never have been rich

[Zayyan]

My 320 does high 30's mpg and easely into the low 40's on the motorway (worked out the old fashoned way... no obc)

You sure you've worked that out right?

316eyes you seem impressed by 50-60 miles to a tenner

I'm not happy if my 1.6 doesn't manage over 90

I suppose yours does sound a bit fucked though

[stonesie]

Pretty sure mate i filled her up, drove it to work and back a couple of times (30 miles each way in farely heavy traffic but 90% motorway) then topped up and worked it out from that,came out at approx 38mpg not considering some 'spirrited driving' around my area getting used to her,

The scirocco (1.8, uprated weber carb, janspeed manifold and big valve head ) averaged 32.7 mpg on the same run over a week

Then again the rocco is much happyer on country lanes

[316eyes]

Zayyan. Yes I'm impressed. The engine does mostly short, stop start local journeys and is running on 3 year old spark plugs (which have never been out even for a clean). In 5 days at work this week the furthest I travelled was 4 miles!!! And that's a LONG journey in my typical working week. Can do 7-8 trips a day and most will have a COLD start.

So if I put a tenner in the tank on Monday and get 50-60 miles out of it
that can sometimes take me through to Friday.

People spend more than that travelling to work on buses.

Once I get the replacement engine in Ԛ£20 will last me a MONTH!!!!!

BMW -

[Zayyan]

Pretty sure mate i filled her up, drove it to work and back a couple of times (30 miles each way in farely heavy traffic but 90% motorway) then topped up and worked it out from that,came out at approx 38mpg not considering some 'spirrited driving' around my area getting used to her

That's bloody impressive, you must've driven like a saint.

And I thought I was good at driving economically, could "only" manage 40mpg over 1,500 miles in the 316i (though including cold mornings stuck in traffic) and 54mpg in the 2,000 miles I drove in a Citroen ZX 1.4i.

[Zayyan]

Zayyan. Yes I'm impressed. The engine does mostly short, stop start local journeys and is running on 3 year old spark plugs (which have never been out even for a clean). In 5 days at work this week the furthest I travelled was 4 miles!!! And that's a LONG journey in my typical working week. Can do 7-8 trips a day and most will have a COLD start.

So if I put a tenner in the tank on Monday and get 50-60 miles out of it
that can sometimes take me through to Friday.

People spend more than that travelling to work on buses.

Once I get the replacement engine in Ԛ£20 will last me a MONTH!!!!!

BMW -

Ah that makes more sense

Considering the state of that engine it is reasonably impressive I must admit

[e30bmlover]

i get 260 miles to a tank(Ԛ£37) my car does not get a hard time, if i thrashed it everywhere it might be a different story.
so lets get it right simon13....ur calling me a poor man cos i own a 320? well lets get this right from the start....im 23, this is my FIRST car, the insurance on a 325i would have been over a grand! i pay Ԛ£670 fully comp. so ''just because i own a 320i it makes me poor in your eyes? well let me tell u the next bmw i WILL own is going to be a 320...but its going to have I.S on the end of it. NOT BAD FOR A SECOND CAR EH?
so...ask yourself this question simon13....why should i get a 325i when i can have s14 ////M power????

[Grantley]

Simon couldnt help but notice how on this thread you describe 320's as pointless cars and on another thread talk about the inflated prices that 325 sports are fetching. I think the 320 is far from pointless as it makes a great alternative for those who dont want to pay way over book just to say you've got a 325 but still want a six pot. In the end its a personal thing but as long as 320's are overlooked by people like yourself they continue to be a good buy for others that arent bothered by the fact that thier not as fast as 325's and are still a lovely car to own and drive

[Brianmoooore]

Simon13,

Here in Southern Ireland, the difference in road tax per year between a 325i and a 320i is over Ԛ┚¬300 and insurance for a 325i is about double what it is on a 320i - another Ԛ┚¬500.

I've got other things to spend that ~Ԛ£500 on - what's there to get upset about?

So poor man's 325i - I've no problem with that !

Sharknose

Think Sharknose3 has come up with an excellant reason for choosing a 320 over a 325 - For Eire at least!
This 320 -325 thing comes up all the time,. It's not that 320s are pointless, it's that MODIFYING 320s is pointless. (Eire excepted).
If you're going to bolt a 325 TB onto your 320, you're far better leaving it attached to the rest of the 325 engine.

[e30bmlover]

well simon13??? i suppose u have something to say about the 320is????

[Brianmoooore]

Tone it down, or the lock will be coming out!!

[dobbie82]

I have a 318i 4door, does about 32-35 mpg normal roads, about 25-30mpg on these daft winding roads in the lakes. Dont particularly take much notice thought.

The 320i TOURER that I am selling is excellent fuel economy wise, my other half got to stansted with only fumes in the tak and only had Ԛ£32.50 on him, so thats all the petrol he had to drive the 295 miles home. ok he had to stick to 65-70mph for the last 100 miles, but still good going, and I am sure there was still a teaspoon of fuel left when he got home. (have since filled her up and taken her for a nice run)

can anyone work out the mpg on that? (fuel was 92.9 a litre)

[E30Mark]

I have a 318i 4door, does about 32-35 mpg normal roads, about 25-30mpg on these daft winding roads in the lakes. Dont particularly take much notice thought.

The 320i TOURER that I am selling is excellent fuel economy wise, my other half got to stansted with only fumes in the tak and only had Ԛ£32.50 on him, so thats all the petrol he had to drive the 295 miles home. ok he had to stick to 65-70mph for the last 100 miles, but still good going, and I am sure there was still a teaspoon of fuel left when he got home. (have since filled her up and taken her for a nice run)

can anyone work out the mpg on that? (fuel was 92.9 a litre)

Ԛ£32.50 @ Ԛ£0.929 a litre = 7.7 gallons.

295 miles / 7.7 gallons = 38.3mpg

Not bad for a thirsty 6 pot

[Simon13]

every time u suckers take the bait, have your S14, oh u hero! Shall i suck your dick when u have bought it?

each to their own. It was auto journalists who branded them a poor mans 325 back in they day, i think it's quite funny. If u can't see my logic then thats fine!

[Brianmoooore]

every time u suckers take the bait, have your S14, oh u hero! Shall i suck your dick when u have bought it

See my last post!! This will not be tolerated.

[dark_sounds]

it wont be tolerated,, though is rather amuzing

i can see where simon is coming from though in all honesty, i can even insure the 325... im sure many others cant insure it or cant afford its running cost...

so it is a bit of a poor mans beemer,, though nothing to be ashamed of i dont think. still rather an iS..

though 320 doing anything more then 30mpg is prety damn good,,, my is managed this,, though still,,, and performance wise between the 320 and 318is there is little difference right?

[Grantley]

Simon it would apear from your posts that you've spat your dummy out and your the one who is in your words "trying very hard to justify" the amount of money you paid for your car. It seems as though your saying giving reasons for buying a 320 instead of a 325 is taking the bait, well maybe it is but I dont have to "try very hard" to see that I paid about 25% of the cost of a 325 sport of similar condition and while its not as fast I'm still enjoying 6 pot motoring for a fraction of the outlay. Thats what I call logic