When comparing this car to modern offerings from BMW, they seem like two different companies, and it has not been a change for the better. Also, at 3:16, "That's where the battery lives!". Love it!
Their mission has changed a bit. BMW were not reaching to make all out performance cars like they are now. They just made good BMW's. Sound coachwork and a solid road manors was more their focus. Times changed, the World as a market opened up and competition took them in to another direction.
777jones That is funny. Back in the eighties we thought of BMW and Volvo as solid but boring cars that cost too much and most Toyota's were throw away commuters that began rusting apart in a few short years.
I 100% agree! Growing up (I'm 35) I was the biggest BMW fanboy. Lusting after e30's, e28's, 2002 tii's and e39 M5's. Now I look at BMW and all I see is boringly styled, bloated X-Drive this, I-Drive that cars and SUV's. They're just so damn boring now. Are they fast? Of course they are. But you're so isolated from the road and the sensation of speed that it doesn't even matter. You're more of a passenger than a driver. I want old BMW to come back.
@coffeeinthemorning I think these morons really do think that. Compared to marijuana, which is another thing not everyone used back in the '60's or '70's like people seem to think, cocaine use was very small.
I've pulled stumps and pulled mustangs out of ditches; and plenty of trucks have pulled me out when I bury it. 280,000 miles and still pissing off everybody. Jeeps dont understand
tn18977 Okay. I had an ‘87 325 in the early 2000s for 4 years. There were old parts that needed to be replaced. Yet with regular maintenance, it never gave me much issues.
I had an 05’ X5 4.4i back when I was a little younger. Also had a Nissan 350Z at the same time (one of at least a dozen performance cars I’ve owned). I am a quite capable driver; I raced competitively (semi-professionally) for roughly a decade. Anyway, I swear that 2 1/2 ton SUV (or, rather, SAV as BMW like to call it) would perform every bit as well as that 350Z would. Roughly equal acceleration (0-60: 6 sec), Top speed (155+ for both), braking, and surprisingly, handling! It blew my mind how high the limits were in that X5. With a new set of high-performance Michelin tires and a competent driver, I’m not confident the Z could’ve beaten the Beemer on a backroad. It truly shocked me. Not to mention the trick off-road electronic systems (downhill assist, differentials and whatnot). Don’t get me wrong, it’s not AM General Humvee or anything, but with a solid set of 33”-35” mud tires and maybe a modest 3” lift, I can’t imagine much outbogging it short of dedicated front, center, and rear diff. locked Jeeps and shit.
***** Older cars with the ABS that weighed less than todays cars were very good stoppers indeed. My '91 Oldsmobile full size wagon will stop in 128 feet from 60, which is as good as or better than every compact car made today.
My '89 325iX was a lemon. Replacing the transfer case is costly on these cars. The wire harness to the computer was bad making the car run it had a mind of its own. Took BMW a while to figure that one out. I do miss my 325e though. I didn't know how they did it, making a small car drive like a big car. I hardly felt a thing while driving.
Same sticker as my '88 535is. That's a tough call to make honestly because you know those AWD goodies are going to need maintenance. Expensive maintenance.
Had an 88 318i. It was so slow that Snails used to cuss me out to get out of the way. I also had a 95 325i which was pretty quick and I really loved. My 90 528 was powerful but loved to dine on gas.. I really like BMWs.. And Mercedes..
Yuriy Klimin I know, Americans, am I right? I heard that guy they put on the moon was done by accident; darn Americans and their trampolines. What idiots!
This would be such a fun, relatively practical (inexpensive to maintain) weekend car! I remember how popular they were in their day. Seemed like the ultimate 80's yuppie car. Whenever i see one around I'm still taken back by how tiny it is.
Thanks for uploading this series of e30 reviews. Since you covered the m3 a long time ago, it looks like you've got all the important model changes covered.
This car will always rock. Same for the e36. My first car was an e36 compact. Great first car. Just enough power, great practicality for a young lad, reliable, handled so well. Immense fun. I'm now driving an e90 320d; it's great but it's very "antiseptic" compared to the organic and connected feel of these old BMWs.
169hp might sound low, but at the time that was quite a bit. Even today, M20 E30s keep up with average family vehicles pretty handily. They might have another hundred horsepower but they've got another thousand pounds to pull around, too. 0-60 in 8.3 seconds is nothing to scoff at.
Ryan Miller Old thread, but is it 63/37 static, or variable based on settings/traction etc? Also, what type of differential is it? I bet it truly is a beast in the dirt, mud, and snow.
E30s are truly iconic. It’s so sad BMW has lost its ways. I used to be a big Bimmer fan, until about 2012, when they adapted their new “fugly” design language.
Except for the gas mileage, the BMW E30 325ix is still a modern masterpiece. Simple. Intuitive. Timeless styling. Built at a time when German engineering and build quality meant something. It's the anti-Tesla.
jeepthing98 And MotorWeek uses a different method to measure stopping distance compared to other magazines' test results -- this is why you always see very short 'distances' given from Motorweek.
Reaganomics artificially raised the value of the $ to make imports so expensive. This would’ve cost only about $20k converted from DM in the US 3 years earlier. I was stationed in West Germany at the time.
I have a buddy with a 4 door iX. He gutted the interior, lowered it, threw a turbo on the motor along with Megasquirt. That along with really short gearing, that fucking car hauled ass. Has over 500K km on the clock, still pulls.
