Tourings - Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy for a First car?

[Joshy]

Hello everyone, I know this might seem like a bit of a silly question, but I just got my Touring today and haven't had a chance to drive it myself, but my mother has taken it around the block and she didn't think it was too fantastic, saying (and I quote) " Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car"

She's no stranger to barges either, Her last car was a E34 530 which she loved (She'd still be loving it if it didn't get single MPG figures around town) and she's had a E30 2 dr a couple of years back, but she claims that the the touring feels like a different animal.

I'm probably just letting her words get to me a bit too much she's never been keen on the touring idea and I've heard nothing but good things about Touring owners, but it's still a bit discouraging.

That said, some words from some Kind touring owners might be enough to get me some faith in the old thanks

Here's the car By the way - My £120 bargain bucket (Thanks again PeterS)



Thanks

Josh

[Pad]

its a matter of a inches difference in size to any other E30...

Cracking choice for a first car mate, dont listen to parents - they dont know what they are on about! (speaking as a parent...)

[pacerpete]

its a matter of a inches difference in size to any other E30...

Cracking choice for a first car mate, dont listen to parents - they dont know what they are on about! (speaking as a parent...)

An E30 touring is the same length,height and width as any other E30 !

[aceraf]

The touring is the same length as a saloon, and the only difference is that you know exactly where the rear end, ends!

If the touring is 'Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car', then that applies to all e30's

I personally think a touring would be a great 1st car.

[aceraf]

The bargain bucket looks pretty good by the way, what's the spec??

[shedrool83]

They are the same length aren't they.

[shane325i]

£120!!!What a bargain!I love my touring,im on my second now.If anything they are easier to park as you can see where they end,also way more practical than the 2/4 doors with the bigger boot.

Dont listen to ya mum,she'd no doupt be chuffed to bits with a Nissan Micra

[Nelly]

All Tourings came with disc breaks all round and tougher suspension, the length of the chassis is the same through the range of E30's

But if she's adiment on you not keeping it, i'll give you your money back on it

Neil.

[march109]

Keep it, I haven't met a woman yet who could drive properly, I bet she made up her mind on how it drove before she even got in it. Its what women do.

[ha22]

i thought my tourer was a bargain, your bargain beats mine, can't go wrong with tourer.

i should have bought 1 ages ago!!

[harry_p]

e30s are narrower than a lot of modern superminis, the length means very little when you're driving, but i can judge where the front end ends better on the e30 than any other car i've driven, the rear isnt so good, but should be easier on a touring.

they also have fairly light steering, good steering lock, and the old fasioned feeling of everything being mechanically connected to something, rather than the pedals feeling like switches burried beneath sponges like they do on so many new cars, yet theyre smooth and 'nice' enough not to feel too old fasioned in the way they behave.

[fastdiablo]

My mum had one from new years ago and loved it, Shame she crashed it

I often wonder if its still out there, it was an insurance write off. Reg number, G386 ALY, a red 318 touring auto

[PeterS]

No worries Joshy - hope you get some good use out of it once it's back up to scratch. FWIW the E30 touring is roughly the same size as a 1 series, but narrower, so I'd think it'd make an ideal car to learn in

Peter

[Nelly]

If you know some body with a VW Golf - get them to park it side by side with the Tourer, then your Mum will see that it's not such a boat after all.

[Joshy]

Keep it, I haven't met a woman yet who could drive properly, I bet she made up her mind on how it drove before she even got in it. Its what women do.

Come to think of it, I have a feeling is that this is exactly what happened. All she saw this morning was an unassuming white estate car that she wasn't keen on me getting, I guess their relationship was doomed before it began

Properly nothing wrong with the car, I just need to learn more about women!

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[stonesie]

i thought my tourer was a bargain, your bargain beats mine, can't go wrong with tourer.

i should have bought 1 ages ago!!

+1

I was happy with mine for just shy of £500, yours is newer and shiney'r

It looks a good first car, they drive nice, reliable, easy to work on, cheap bits and look good....... my parents made me have a 1.0 micra...

[StuBeeDoo]

Go and find a brand new Corsa and park alongside it. Then ask your mum if the Touring is still

Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy

BTW, £120 is just 10% of what I paid for mine 4 years ago. Good luck with it - I'd say there's nothing wrong with having an E30 as a first car. Try asking all the people here who have, Josh and Maxfield are just 2 who spring to mind.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

It's an old car, it won't feel as tight or assisted as new cars. The huge number of turns, lock to lock also makes it feel vague. Tell her to jog on and make dinner or something.

As mentioned they're all the same length. Though sit in a cabby and there's definitely more room side by side than in the saloon or touring. Sorry for the OT, but this thread reminded me. It's like a convertible is a little wider. I might get my tape measure out and measure all three!

[Nelly]

I'd say go for the modded package in a suttle way with out telling her, women love abit of 'Glam' - lowered a touch nice set of 16's and finally a kit of some descrip - then pledge that your MAIN interest is to have it as legal as poss ie;

It's a great car Mum but - i feel the need to have perfect tyres + brakes at all times and the seat belts work brilliantly - i fell so safe in it compared to a mates Ford Escort.

Reverse psychology works wonders on a Woman's mind.

Neil.

[d6dph]

Play on the safety aspect of a quality car over the usual first-car type vehicles.

"But Mum, If I crash a clio it will be a lot worse than if I crash a BMW, The BMW is made of superior materials and is a lot safer than most modern cheap cars"

Just don't let her catch you drifting it

[josh-hocking]

my e30's gonna be my first car in a year and 11 months and no way is it too big. its 9 inches longer than my brothers polo and 17 inches smaller than my dads chysler!!
also very strong cars so if you find your self in an accident you will have much more chance in a e30 than in a corsa ect ect.
thanks
josh

[PeterS]

Quick update: The standard issue AA Driving School car round here is a Ford Focus. A quick google search shows that the current Focus is 4337mm long (E30 Touring 4325), 1839mm wide (1645mm!!) and 1500mm high (1380!!). So an E30 is slightly shorter than a Focus, almost 200mm narrower (easy to manouvre...) and 120mm lower

Even a Corsa is wider and longer, though admittedly slightly shorter (@3999mm)

HTH

Peter

[Simon]

Had this pic in my folders for a while, good opportunity to post it...

[Brianmoooore]

One of the biggest shocks I ever had was shortly after the new Mini was introduced, and I came back to my parked touring to see a Mini parked next to it and dwarfing my car!

[GrindCulture]

I had a touring as my first car, it was actually my mums and she decided to let me buy it off of her. Excellent first car, you know where all the corners are, it's very easy to "feel" what the car is doing, they're solid, and very practical. Very esay to park too

[daimlerman]

I bought my touring with Calamity Jane in mind.I reasoned that she would be able to look over her shoulder when reversing and be able to judge the length correctly.The touring replaced a Renault Kangoo,I got fed up of replacing mirrors knocked off or broken by her struggling to get the thing into our drive.In three years all she has managed to do is scar the n/s front bumper.So,yes,I feel that a touring with a 4 pot is an ideal first car.E30's in general are easy to work on and maintain,so reasonably cheap to run as well.The way they drive is good enough to keep an experienced driver entertained as well

[suzie650]

My touring was my first car, (still is, but with no engine atm) and it's just been great! Much nicer drive than the cheap 10 year old town shopping trolleys costing you the same amount to buy. Being a 325 made it more fun than a 4 pot as well. But it probably wouldn't be possible for anybody with english insurrance.

[citizensnips]

Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy

Should have said lucky its not your car then

Its a seriously cool first car, stick with it and when you can afford the insurance stick a 3.5 litre into it

My mum wont even passenger in my 35 yr old daily driver, its horses for course's, failing that i'll have it off you

[gBenM]

If the touring is 'Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car', then that applies to all e30's

Well yeah, they are terrible as 1st cars =\

A first car needs to be cheap on petrol, cheap on insurance and small, an E30 is none of those.

[GrindCulture]

If the touring is 'Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car', then that applies to all e30's

Well yeah, they are terrible as 1st cars =\

A first car needs to be cheap on petrol, cheap on insurance and small, an E30 is none of those.

Not sure if you were joking, but my 318 touring was cheaper to insure than my mates 1.4 Fiesta. The iS I have now is (oddly) cheaper still!

[djk]

Play on the safety aspect of a quality car over the usual first-car type vehicles.

"But Mum, If I crash a clio it will be a lot worse than if I crash a BMW, The BMW is made of superior materials and is a lot safer than most modern cheap cars"

Definitely play on this if it gets you what you want, but don't go believing it yourself! Having turned over a 2001 Clio at about 70mph and got out with no injuries, I now realise things like airbags and seatbelt tensioners are there for a reason - for example my head bouncing gently off the side airbag rather than more firmly on the B-pillar.

I love my e30, but there are cars I'd far rather be in when things go pear-shaped.

But go for it, I wanted an e30 for my first car, but insurance costs and parents got in the way! As far as manouverability goes, visibility is exceptional compared with a more modern car, it's narrow, not overly long and has excellent steering lock compared to any front drive car. Can't see many drawbacks, if you can insure it and persuade your olds you'll enjoy it far more than any small engined hatch, particularly considering it has cost you next to nothing!

[Chris]

I wanted my dads touring since i was about five years old. Got it as well

Great first car, but as with all things dont be silly with it, the RWD issue will probably bug your folks, and quite rightly. They can be a bugger when its greasy. But for learning/perfecting maneuvers, learning about spacial awareness etc you really cant beat them for visibility (a car with 10 windows has gotta be good really)

I have to say i wouldn't trust it much in an accident, but hopefully that should help you with a bit of primary safety. Rather than hurtling round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road, trusting in your airbags, pretensoners, abs, esp, dtc etc to save you if theres something coming.

Oh, and you got it in the right colour

Chris_ (19)

[gBenM]

If the touring is 'Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car', then that applies to all e30's

Well yeah, they are terrible as 1st cars =\

A first car needs to be cheap on petrol, cheap on insurance and small, an E30 is none of those.

Not sure if you were joking, but my 318 touring was cheaper to insure than my mates 1.4 Fiesta. The iS I have now is (oddly) cheaper still!

I don't know how you manage that, a 1.4 fiesta will be around group 4? An E30 will be a lot higher than that.

[djk]

hopefully that should help you with a bit of primary safety. Rather than hurtling round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road, trusting in your airbags, pretensoners, abs, esp, dtc etc to save you if theres something coming.

hear hear!

Anything to temper the notion that passing your test means you are the very embodiment of Senna, but I spose it's the experience of the stupid things I did then that keeps me from doing them again now. Did anyone else regard the national speed limit sign as a challenge rather than a warning?

Going a bit off-topic now I guess, but the best bit of driving advice I ever received was that a car has more potential to hurt someone than any weapon you'll ever come into contact with, so you have to remember the responsibility you have to everyone else every time you even start it up.

Incidentally, I rolled my car once I'd grown up a bit, collected something sharp in a rear tyre, on the M4 of all places!

[aceraf]

If the touring is 'Too Big, Too Long and too clumsy to make a decent First car', then that applies to all e30's

Well yeah, they are terrible as 1st cars =\

A first car needs to be cheap on petrol, cheap on insurance and small, an E30 is none of those.

Cheap on petrol depends on how you drive. I get 23mpg out of my 325i touring (all around town), I've seen small hatch's have worse economy than that.

Insurance can be done as 2nd driver and on a 4pot can't be much more if any than hatchbacks. I was insured on a 320iSE when i was 18 (admittedly things have changed, but that's what the insurance sticky is there for). Plus once you've been driving for a few years you can stick it on classic insurance and laugh whilst others pay high premiums on their saxo's and corsa.

And as for size....

Quick update: The standard issue AA Driving School car round here is a Ford Focus. A quick google search shows that the current Focus is 4337mm long (E30 Touring 4325), 1839mm wide (1645mm!!) and 1500mm high (1380!!). So an E30 is slightly shorter than a Focus, almost 200mm narrower (easy to manouvre...) and 120mm lower

Even a Corsa is wider and longer, though admittedly slightly shorter (@3999mm)

HTH Thumbup

Peter

It all depends how you want to look at it.

I personally think e30's are great cars to learn on (about how cars run, and maintenance required etc.) for people who've just passed. You don't need to become a mechanic, but those people who care about keeping their cars running sweet, won't want it getting hit, or want to hit it anywhere.

They're very simple, and there's an abundance of knowledge and assistance on here for those who need help. I loved my 316i for what it was. It wasn't a racing car, but it got to where i wanted to go, with no fuss, and with a bit of old skool cool about it.

Not trying to pick a fight mate, just putting a point across. There's always more than one way of looking at it.