E30 Zone

hi peeps,

i am on the look out for a e30 325i auto convertible possibly motorsport and was wondering if any one knows how economical these cars are ?

is there a big difference between these and manual 325i's?

your help would be appreciated !

17 - 35 mpg, depends if you have a lead foot,
autos are generally more economical but doesnt make too much difference
cabs are more heavy and less aerodynamic than coupes, so they drink alot more, and there were only 150 or 250 motorsport cabs made, good luck finding one

Mines an auto.

I'm getting a great 15mpg on a good day. Has dropped to 12.5mpg after hard driving.

So it does cost a bit in fuel! But its worth every penny.

My Motorsport used to do about 18mpg in mostly town/short distance driving.

But on longer journeys with stable speeds of around 60-70mph, I could get about 23mpg !

auto's are worse on fuel by a longshot. My manual sport the light has just come on on 328 miles most of this tank was used in central london! bet u auto boys don't get that milege out of a tank!

with my 535i sport auto i get about 12mpg!

325 autos don't do economy, full stop. Only four gears and a low ratio diff.

My 2.7 Sport is an auto and I normally expect to get about 28mpg average in current tune. Used to get well over 30. I am not light-footed either, not much point having the power if you don't use it when you can!

I agree with Monsport, i can get around 25-28 if driven nice. Some people seem to rev the nuts out of an auto, driving everywhere with a heavy foot. No need to over rev them, once you've got your speed you just lay off the throttle a bit. i seem to realistically average around 23 mpg though.
They have 5 gears really, using the economy selection and in Drive only that is. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Drive(4th) and an additional overdrive which comes in at around 60mph.
I can compare with the 325i manual sports i've owned (lighter non Cab models) unlike my only 325i auto (a heavier cab).
I regularly got around 28mpg from the 325i manuals, therefore a realistic difference of around 5mpg to my 325i auto convert, .
BMW quote less (around 1mpg difference i think) but in real combined driving conditions i found it a bit worse than that.
Probably save yourself about 3-4p a mile with a manual.........!

i always say 2.5 12v, auto....anymore questions, these cars you just can't drive slowly!!

out of Ԛ£20 fuel, i get about 100 miles or so! round town forget about it!

Round town in my 325i Auto Cab, I seem to get 21.9 round town, not had a decent drive yet to get a good figure, perhaps for the Lakeside meet!

I have been lead footing it a bit though, just can't beat the hood down and the straight six sound!

21.9 around town

On my ex manual 325i touring i only got around 16mpg indicated (not overly accurate i know!) on the obc and my mate in hes auto sport vert only gets 14mpg and i reckon my figure of 16mpg wasnt far off from the true figure,it did cost a small fortune to run.

BTW town driving for me is london traffic which is most of the time a bloody big traffic jam

My town driving is fairly clear, 9 miles to work, some on 50 MPH road and about 2 miles on motorway. A few round abouts on the dual carriageway and traffic lights to it. The 21.9 figure was based solely on repeats of the 9 mile journey.

the touring auto I had used to return 31mpg on a gentle run, about 23mpg if driven normally, and about 18mpg if you enjoy it.

My manual saloon is slightly better, however if you like the sound of the stright six then you are reluctant to change gear!

cheers everyone,

i think i am gonna go for a motorsport cab, finding one in a manual is a bit of a mission!

i have seen two calypsi red examples both auto and one blue in a manual!

but love the calypso red so might be the auto!

cheers everyone for you views, as soon as it arrives i will post some pics

Nothing wrong with an auto, can be really enjoyable just cruising around in the sun. Once moving either the kickdown or using the gear selector in sports mode is really entertaining.
Motorsports in Calypso are really nice, i guess it has the 'Lotus' white leather too, as with most of the Calypso red and Mauritius blue versions.
Andy

send me a pm with your tel number, i know of a J plate motorsport auto in Calypso, totally standard and excellent going for very little money.