Richard Hammond and the 2002 BMW 330 Ci 

There is hardly any car that looks more timeless than the e46

The E46 coupe, especially in M pack form, is easily one of the very best and most beautiful machine ever created.... the lines are just perfect.

Pre facelift e46 330ci is one of the best looking cars BMW has ever made!

If you're watching this because you're thinking of buying one, DO! I own a 330Ci from '04 and can advise to go for the most recent year you can find (facelift) to avoid the teething problems, including the subframe issue that plagued the E46 in it's early years. Be assured that this car remains SO much fun to drive. I have had the fortune to drive many variants of Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati etc on a daily basis and I'm never disappointed to climb in my 330Ci at the end of the day! (i realise that sounds like RU-vid bullshit boasting but is actually true in this instance). For top spec (most desired) you are looking for: - M Sport variant (upgraded interior and details) - manual transmission (6 speed) - electronic seat adjustment (additional lumbar support is very rare) - heated seats (though be advised the climate control is excellent so this is not a must) - Harman Kardon audio upgrade (or better yet, replace the whole ICE system and speakers with aftermarket to bring it up to date) - bi-xenon headlights - 6-disc autochanger (although not necessary if you upgrade the ICE) Hit me up if you want any buying advice :)

I love my e46 330ci :)

I wish BMW's would be this attractive today.

What a powerful little thing....and what a nice BMW next to it.

I have this beutiful car.. 330 ci.. Very nice car... 20 years car but still can amaze the people when looking at it..

Bought a 2003 325 ci yesterday🤙🏾

And still a cracking car today! Absolutely adore mine!

Got a 325Ci. Absolutely beautiful to drive!

Had a few cars honda type r , bmw 330i, bmw 318i, currently have e60 520d and just had the chance to buy a mint 330ci e46. Amazing sound and with 86k miles mint im sure ive got a future classic !

Got my 2003 330ci m sport a week ago, lovin it

I love these cars so much I had 6 and the e46 was last real BMW.....they are timeless with their curvy headlight trim. E46 ftw

Great car. Remember when it was on the show it looked so good. Own 330Ci for past 10 years and still drive every day. The car was much more expencive than modern small BMWs. The 2 series coupe is same size as E46 and even 4 series with biggest engine costs way less than this if adjust inflation.

I love the E46, nothing else looks like them on the road these days

I have a 2001 330ci individual with the 5 speed ZF automatic transmission and it's great,especially in sport mode driving on narrow twisting country roads here in south west England,it's just brilliant.

With new BMW's with giant truck grills and all that fancy stuff, I can see these beautiful looking cars being sought after.

this is my dream car to this day, too bad they're impossible to find with low mileage and manual gearbox :c

damn, this car is still registered on the road.... beast

times when BMW was an actual good looking car... now they are just trying too hard with weird lines and angry front ends.

Love my E46 330i First and last car for sure ;)

did not know that about the gearbox and clutch, very interesting

helpful tip: debadge your M3 in order to help avoid obnoxious Subaru fanboys on all occasions

that's undoubtedly a brilliant car!!!!!

Beautiful machine. Beauty to drive too.

I have the facelift version from 2003, the 318ci one. Put it for sale because I want to save money for an n54 - and removed it from the list minutes later. Can't give up on her. Will probably do a m54b30 swap. Is it a better choice than to just sell it and completely fall into depression since I really love driving that car?

You are an absolute Millionaire! If you drive this joint

Didn't know they put the SMG in the 330

what's the sedan version of this car?

2002 BMW 330CI, the car that you settle for when your "BMW E30" gets brought up at marriage counseling.

BMW is much better than AUDI

Might be buying one are they pretty dependable?

I've got the '03 RHD 330ci M-Sport Manual Coupe in full black leather interior with 100K miles all stock and clean inside out. Is it worth keeping? is it going to hold its value knowing all the electrics will soon dominate the roads?

The time when BMW still manufactured BMW...

I owned E46 330i and it is cool car when I drive it. :D

Dad had a 1999 328ci e46 daaamn i miss it

All you need is a 6 cylinder. The sound as it goes through the rev range is beautiful. Really it's this car or the audi tt and in my biased opinion the e46 is better.

what a beast ass car

E46 touring is one of the best looking cars

I have a 330i manual and love my car

I've got a 330 2001 convertible and trust me it's as sweet as a nut you keep on top of the maintenance it will run forever and that straight six bellow wow only the Porsche flat six bellow sounds better

These cars may be money pits but the styling is timeless.

my dad has a red e46 330ci but the 2006 one !!

They made a non M SMG?

Timeless design , awesome drive! Current marques pale!

Beautiful then, beautiful now, beautiful forever.

I swapped my 330i’s SSG trans at 80k miles to a manual trans. Now has 205k miles. No regrets.

Why do some people always need to bring the bmw is better than... bla bla bla shit. Just negative annoying comments.. why not enjoy the car itself and stoo comparing? To the Video: Just makes me proud of owning my own e46.. its such a damn beautiful, timeless car. It looks better than most of the cars out there, i love it.

Nice car

I like Like the e46. can someone tell me how easy are they to learn how to wok on ? And do you recommend them as DD ? Of course I'm getting a stick !

Just bought a 2001 e46 330ci

Sweet car

I own a e46 from 1998 and people who aren’t petrolheads think its from 2010

thank god he didn't crash it

I’m buying an 318i soon and I hopefully wanna do a full 330i conversion. Does anyone know what I’ll need? (I’m not very mechanically knowledgeable)

These are legit modern classics now, and you can see why! Has BMW ever bettered this design....? I don't think so! The straight 6 engines are divine and the interior is lovely. It's just a pity they rust so badly on UK roads. That has sent the majority of them to their grave.

Let Hammond test this ride now 18 yrs ago.....

Richard was spot on with the gearbox though.... throw it out and have a manual... what ever happened to him ???

does your mum know your out richard ...

330CI, Manuals all the way

Poor E46. Anyone check the m.o.t history (UK) on this. RX02 UXL. Seems to have had a hard life and now SORN. Don't know why I always assumed that cars on the telly made it big in life and living it up large with not a want for anything. Looks like someone who couldn't give a crap about maintenance got his or her hands on this car after Hammond was done reviewing it.

To e46 to już w Polsce dawno na części rozebrane zostało hehe

How have i never heard of this gearbox before?!

I have a sub 100.000 miles 2000 330i for sale. Hasn’t been used in a few years and would need some work, let me know if interested

richard absolutely swimming in those clothes hahah

can someone explain this gearbox

preface e46 is literally a beautiful car, no coincidence the prices are going up......preface is so much prettier than the facelift...most e46 experts know this anyway

The reason new BMWs don't look as good as the E46 is mostly because of the strict pedestrian impact regulations, they've made cars harder to look good just to save jaywalkers!

The downside is if buying one you don't know how previous owner turned engine off in gear then that's 2 grand for new one

Top Car.

BMW's design looks good up to the E90/92/93models....the E92 M3 is the most horniest of them all...

wait in the description puts that has a top speed of 155 miles an hour (287 kph) in a 230 bhp car ??????

Check out my E46 330ci ZHP convertible REVIEW. You won't be disappointed!

かっこいい〜！！！

hammond WHAT ARE THOOSE!!!!!!

Oh I didn't know they put the shitty SMG in 330s too.

e46 is the best MODEL To DATE 2021

BMWs are nice, lots of money to run them, tho.

So so common now.

31 mpg ha! thats a good one

Did Europe get the ZHP in 2002? Beacuse we didnt get it unitl 04... thats definitely a ZHP

Average MPG 31.1?!?! More like 18 if driving gently. I had one.

Glad his dress sense improved 😂

Nice motor but spend the extra and get the e46 m3 best car I've ever owned

Ugh Hamster is trying to sell us on SMG

smg gearboxes prone to early failure..go for a proper manual car..

31mpg🙈 I get 18

27,990!??,you can buy thease for 5k like i do in Germany.

Automatic transmission over manual all day for me if you know how to use it my god it's astonishing just tap it when driving and see what happens

subframe

I've heard him described as the mini Clarkson before but watching this I fully understand what people mean. He is literally trying to put a Clarkson style spin on certain words. Jeez mate, what a sell out. Shame he couldnt have brought his own original style towards his TV presentation instead of using the same JC luuuudicrously annoying Play on Wooords

Did Hammond borrow Jeremys clothes?

did the title assume my gender? triggered

31 mpg lol

Classy but boring , Trans Am, Camaro , for Mustang Cobra look much more interesting ,faster and costed much less

How the fuck is it a prefacelift, ZHP, AND SMG???? These are all contradicting

That car died sometime in 2019 most likely... Rotten subframe.

The funny part is that this car is cheaper to maintain than a ford and is as reliable as a honda ! Hah

Bullshit! The ZF autobox is much better and smoother than the SMG.