Yeah right. Interesting to look at this video now, a good 20 yrs after it was made. After having owned the winner, a top of the line GTV and then now owning an E36 (although not a Coupe, but a convertible), while also having experience with a 406 V6 coupe, this bimmer is just miles better than the other two. The Alfa's Busso V6 is incredible and really is the best of all of them, but once you go through a corner you feel the BMW is just superior.
@@fredrich99 Have you ever driven an E36 with a proper suspension and a 6 cylinder petrol engine? I've driven E46s and an E30, I own an E36and I can tell you you're VERY wrong. Absolute bullshit. It drives better and goes faster than the E30, and feels more involving than the E46.
@@matkirk4783 I planned to get a 328i E36 convertible to restore after selling my previous project, the Alfa GTV. Sadly even though I was looking for 6 months, I could not find a good one for a reasonable price so I went with a 20i which I have now. Got a good deal on it, it had a bad softtop bht came with the ultra rare factory hardtop as well, also in a rare Boston Grün Metallic colour. Took a lot of time and money, but now it's absolutely mint, and I can tell you it turns heads like crazy. I went with the full stock look, not even an m-packet as it came without it and I got to like it more this way, looks more elegant which goes with the colour. Also did a decat but who doesn't :) It also shoots up in value quick so the money I spent on it could actually come back if i sold it now, even better if I keep it and maintain it further. Amazing machine, with the new suspension it is absolutely great in corners despite the weight, can keep up with MX-5s if you try hard enough. Has that oldschool mechanical feel to it. I might do a 28i engine swap while keeping the old engine.
@@fredrich99 I own an E36 328i Touring M-Sport and having driven E30s, E46es, E90s, F30s (and many 5 Series and other Bimmers too) in wagons, sedans, and coupes, manuals, autos and diesels I've got to tell you that while E36 might look stale as BMW was going with that kind of a look it's far away from boring and after the E30 which feels very raw it is the purest driving experience and by far in my opinion they feel the best to drive, even though the newer cars might objectively be smoother and better around a track and what not but the E36 is still my favorite gen.
I finally tend to understand why that Cougar is so ugly : it's an American design ! I get a picture of the car now : a slow 4-speed automatic gearbox, a V6 with 4,2 liter volume and 160 BHP. And, front wheel drive, cause it's a "small car"
The Ford Cougar was better than all the other coupé cars they tried - firstly it had GENUINE space for adults front and rear, and secondly, it had a sizeable boot that you could actually use everyday.
The E36 beemer and Silvia s14 are by far the winners. Because back then that was his opinion to vote them off, but today 2014 the e36 6cyl and Silvia's are kings of the rwd car scene standing the test of time
i agrre with you.nice words. i cant say it better. e36 is a good standard car since you buy it. and the s14a is a 2Lturbo easy to overpower with few mods.
Very nice build mate, fair play to ya. Sure so long as it makes ya happy it doesn't matter what price is on it, I've a 1999 e36 m3 rep, running the 325 straight 6. 190 bhp. She had a full engine rebuild a year ago and that was costly, head skimmed, cylinders honed and ported and polished. She's still sweet as a nut to go :)
Scotty Kilmer recommends WD40 for seized locks. Just no. It'll only work to get it loose, then it'll seize again, possibly permanently. Such a basic error I unsubscribed from him after 2 episodes. Plus dark prescription sunglasses on all the time are a BIG red flag.
@@kristianTV1974 You do realize that in his videos he does NOT use WD-40, but rather a WD-40 branded lithium lubricant... right? He also said the brand doesn't matter, kinda ruins your argument.
@@virtualmidwest3394 I couldn't agree more. The bloke is a boomer that can barely string a sentence together & doesn't offer anything new in the way of content. All he does is push the alleged virtues of his 30 year old Toyota Celica, if it were up to him you wouldn't buy anything else lol.
@@phil955i There isn't much new content to be had in car mechanic channels. Also yes. The Celica or Corolla. Most reliable cars he's ever seen. Of course he's gonna recommend them he's not an JB Power idiot. And yes he does acknowledge other, faster, newer, more luxurious cars, he tells you they are quite nice and fun to drive, but not to own. Because maintaining and repairing the things, plus paying for the insurance is really expensive. And about the sunglasses some other dummy mentioned? Not sure why that would be a red flag, let alone a big one, but I digress. He is an old man, working mostly outside, living in Texas. TEXAS FFS! If you think he shouldn't protect his old eyes in that sun scorched land then I have no idea where. Why, maybe you want to make fun of him wearing rubber gloves too huh? He very nicely explained why he wears them. You should listen to his advice.
You've never driven a GTV6. But honestly, the Prelude is by far the best-looking and best to own out of the lot. The E36 really doesn't compare to either of those two in terms of driving pleasure (GTV6) or reliability (Prelude).
@@Tidtistsjfhzhzf I feel like here it's the other way around especially when it comes to 325is or 328is... And also there are still tons of Compacts over here but I don't really like the rear and I hate that they've changed the interior compared to the other models...
Almost impossible here too my wife hates my 96 328is says its too low wants me to sell and buy another but impossible to find or asking price out the roof
yes.i recall my old man looking at an e36 318is and a 200sx but he ultimately chose the nissan just over 21 years ago.i was disappointed he chose a 200sx as he was more of a european car man.
I had a e36 328i and it was fantastic, bought it with 147k miles 12 months MOT as a trade sale for £405 back in 2011 and it was a great car, superb in fact. I loved it and it never put a foot wrong while I owned it before I wrote it off and it saved me from dying in that crash too. Brilliant car, if I was about when they were new I’d have loved to have owned one back then as well.
Danny puffin:... problem is, BMW ownership, isn't just about the car, the owners come into play at this point, too. And, as someone with over 30 years in and around cars, (promoting, buying, selling, driving, fixing and valeting them) I can honestly say, BMW, far more so than any other make, have earned the right to be the subject of the joke: "why is a (put vehicle manufacturers name here) the opposite of a hedgehog? Because a hedgehog has all its pricks on the outside!!!" And it's BMW every time!!!
Michael Rawson So fucking daft. I can say as a 20 yr member of the bmwcca that you are so far from right on this one. Maybe since your the common denominator when dealing with bmw owners.......your the prick? Mercedes has a way worse owners problem.
Im very biased becuase my first car was a e36 328i 5sp convertible, but I really do feel it is best looking after the clk, and I know some will disagree on clk, but I like the styling, but seriously for 191hp that 2.8L engine in the bmw was amazing there was power pretty much all the way through the rpms plus the steering was bar none.
Ehhhhhh, not really. It just looks like a sedan with the back doors lazily chopped off. The Honda was the best-styled (and is better to own and more fun to drive), the Alfa is one of the best-handling FWD chassis's of all time, and the Nissan is cheaper to maintain and easier to work on. Honestly, the E36 isn't even good enough to make the shortlist out of these choices.
Niko Yochum the E36 wasn't outdated in the early 90's, but mere months before the launch of the E46 it would have been a daft purchase. If nothing else, you could wait until the E46 was launched and get it for cheap! As for the vanos, mine didn't hsve that. I had a '92 320, with the M50 engine. Vanos didn't appear until a couple of years later. Still loved that car though, I still think it was a helluva lot more fun than my current E60 525i :p
Clarkson got it wrong , 200sx looks better than that fugly Alfa. In later years he rubbishes them and the way they devalue like a falling stone or words to that affect.
The Volvo C70 is sleek, flashy yet beautifully discreet, fast enough to scare little boys with old Bimmers at the crosswalk. That old 1998 C70 was the best car I've ever owned. Well, wait... It's because after 512.000km I still have it and it still kicks some serious arse! André Borges from Curitiba/Brazil
I ran many 200sx back in the day, all the way from an '89 version with the popup headlights to the version shown here (mine was 99) - I believe the actual BHP was around 220 on my model. Best little cars I've ever driven and the most fun I've had.
You are right! I have a CLK mkII and it is the perfect car for me, I may never sell it. The Peugeot, Alfa and Fiat are achingly beautiful; we will never see their like again. All of these coupes are still considered stand out cars among their respective marques.
Looking back on all these old videos, it always strikes me how well BMWs have aged compared with the others (and I'm no BMW fan - I think they're overpriced and not that great to look at, but that's just my opinion). Could it be that BMW have simply been less daring with their design iterations and the result is a more obvious and appealing lineage to every model in their current range?
The Preludes final generation design is timeless, looks years younger than the competition. I love the Celica as well but I could be a bit partial with a 96 GT4 in the garage lol
Dominik Kus I was gonna agree with rims but you lost credibility with lowering it. Lowering your car is terrible for your tires and alters handling. Not to mention not very practical for driving unless you want to scrape your bumber. lowering or lifting your car is lame nuff said
booboo4459 it's not lame, it's not terrible for your tires, it does not alter the handling in regular driving, it does, however, make the ride stiff, and, like you said, it "lowers" it, so you must be weary of your car's new ride height, but most car enthusiasts are. Plus, it offers a much nicer stance. Everybody has their own taste, just because someone convinced you of these lies doesn't make them true.
booboo4459 Lowering a cars CG is definitely good for handling but at the same time you alter the suspension geometry (wheel alignment) which if not sorted can lead to bad handling & uneven tyre wear. I guess a lot of the show guys might not bother with it but you must have the car properly aligned which a lot of the time involves getting fully adjustable suspension arms, top mounts etc. Im not personally a fan of the "hella flush" slammed to the ground thing but lowering a car can have a positive effect on body control.
That E-36 Coupe brand New looks a lot better than anything Chris Bangle put his hands on as my humble opinion of a proud owner of a deeply loved and cared for 1994 325i Sedan with 140,000 miles!
I own a Spider, they have aged extremely well in the looks department. Mine is the 2.0 twinspark. Robust engine, but the interior creaks, shakes and rattles to a point of it being unpleasant to drive. The Honda Prelude deserved better ranking
My Pelude is very reliable and still drives like new car. absolutely problem free, great handling with the 4WS and the engine have got 200BHP. I don't see this Alfa on the road anymore.
I saw one this week and it turned my head, unlike the Prelude you have. Is yours a Type SH with the ATTS diff - possibly the worlds first torque vectoring system?
omaifakingad You need to drive one before making your opinion. It is absolutely brilliant, and the E36 doesn't even approach the driving pleasure of the Alfa. Sure, you'll hate yourself for buying it during the 6 months of each year that it won't run, but when it works, there's hardly a better FWD car in existence.
2 door coupés have one big problem, tight rear legroom for adult passengers. The Ford Cougar, based on a Ford Mondeo platform, has genuine space for 4 adults and a sizeable boot you can actually use.
@@oliverattwell8013 And who doesn't? Some people do like a bit of proper 4 seat capability in a coupé and proper bootspace, that's why it was built by Ford in the first place to cater for this possibility and I agree 100% with the strategy and reasoning behind this.
alessio'r roadies if Clarckson was an authentic prick, he was a damn good one. And i don't think anyone can fill his shoes in Top Gear, or become as popular like him. :-)
Jordan Thomas No they replaced him with a ginger, but do not fret. the guys are working on a new show with amazon prime, each episode will have a 4.5 million pound budget (that's nearly 7 million dollars) They be able to buy Super Cars and smash them up for fun.
Damn right. Had my s14a 11 years now and i love them... With some pretty basic tuning I have better power to weight than a Cayman S too. I she can go sideways at a wink 😉
Oh dear! Clarkson's perennial hard on for Alfas switches his brain off (a well known male condition). "Panting with desire", Jeremy? We've all known that, but we've grown up since then.
The Nissan is the best! The Nissan is a proper coupe! It's RWD, powerful, handles well! It may not be the most eye catching to look at, but it's still a good looker
I do know why he choose the Alfa. E36 is just plain and boring. That's just like buying a Mercedes S-Class while for the same money you could buy a gorgeous Maserati Quattroporte
+Ernesto dí Terríbílé the s class won't break after a few years, and is cheaper to maintain. The e36 is more widely modified, you can get it to 600bhp for pennies and cents - and in my opinion it just looks a lot better.
+Sigma Octantis *you are stupid because you cant argue against Clarkson when he says the bmw looks like a sedan and he would be right with the new one too the 4 series looks like the 3 series sedan, this is done to sell more 3 series to those that like the coupe, this test isn't about driving characteristics and I can see how when the cougar just came out was better looking than the bmw, you lose*
I assume that this episode is around 1998 or 1999. I am 49 and bought my first new car last month. It is only the second car I have ever owned. From the time I started driving until now I have had nothing but trucks. The reason I have not owned cars in thirty years is because starting in the mid 80's they all started looking like this lot. To me the styling has been featureless curves. I know that realiability got better starting in the late 80's, but the looks of vehicles where sacrificed to improve gas milage. My father used to refer to cars like these as "Rat Turds with Windows". Seriously who would prefer one of the new cars in this episode over the Capri in opening. BTW despite having lesser performance than the Camero or Mustang, I bought a 2016 Challenger SXT Plus. After a month I still look out every morning and think "Damn that is a good looking car".
It's hard to beat the practically and reliability of a good American pickup truck but cars are way more fun to drive. I feel like a situation has happened recently that mirrors what you said. It seems like the only sedans out there are angular FWD 4-banger-driven economy boxes with no sense of style or performance. I'm a fan of cars like the Ford Crown Victoria and P2 chassis Volvos since they are somewhat unique compared to the rest of the 4-Door competition.
I worked for Honda when that Prelude came out and everyone hated the styling. The Celica in this video is the worst looking generation of Celica they made. In period it came with either a slow NA motor or a incredibly fast GT4 turbo which was rare and way too expensive. The GTV had a great reputation back in the 90s.
Steven the generation before this one was the best, with the pop up headlights. I had one as a track car that was meant to just be beaten to death till I crashed it. Had the 2.2 liter gts. It dealt with being turbocharged well until I destroyed the front end.
Steven Farrington You can say that about the E36, but the S14 was designed to be a coupé and was built on the S-platform only used for coupés and fastbacks if you don't want to call them coupés. The S14 was a 2+2 coupé whilst the two door E36 was just a two door E36 sedan with more angled back windscreen and bigger doors.
