Recently bought a 328i Touring SE.

Spec as follows...

- Dual zone climate control

- 18-function on-board computer

- Parking sensors

- ASC

- 2.8 straight six with 193bhp/210lb.ft

- Sports seats

- Electrics all round

- Couple of dents!

Bought for a whopping 750 notes, which included an Alpine head unit, Garmin satnav and a pair of snow socks. A lot of car for the money.

First impressions:

Bloody hell, that straight six is noisy! Took ages to adjust to the pedals too, the box is smaller than the Black Hole of Calcutta. Steering well weighted, but quite... remote? Not got tonnes of feel. Let's just press the accelerat- whoa, this is quicker than I expected. It doesn't weigh that much, so it's got around 140bhp/tonne. It fits around the driver very nicely. Fascia controls (climate, computer, stereo) are angled toward the driver, the armrest is well-positioned (a world away from the Octavia's crappy one), seats have every adjustment you'd want.

Settling into the feel:

You can drive this like a diesel. The big straight six is incredibly tractable, you can pull from 800rpm cleanly with no stuttering or grumping. And when it gets going... it simply picks up its skirts, and flies. The power builds beautifully, and is very addictive. Despite that, prolonged testing reveals close to 30mpg, mixed. 37mpg on a cruise back from Kent, including a couple of 'moments'... lowest I've seen thus far has been 23mpg on the way to work when I was quite late!

It makes a wonderful companion. In town, the straight six purrs along. If you need to get into a gap quickly, then a quick jab of the throttle ensures you get where you need to be. Brakes are slightly shonky, but that I feel is more down to the actual parts than the setup. New discs and pads coming soon. On the motorway, it's so... so relaxing. Comfortable, refined, and soothing. Wind noise is surprisingly low. Tyre noise not brilliant on concrete, but I've yet to find a car that can mask that. The suspension is a very good blend of firm and soft... well damped, and nicely sprung.

Back roads... got my first proper 'go' today, as it were, and it's a peach. Not as wallowy as the Octavia, and a lot more controlled than the fast Civic I used to own. It doesn't like being thrown around, but it can be hustled very nicely indeed. Keep the steering smooth, along with brake & throttle inputs, and it's extremely enjoyable. The previously remote steering is now reassuring, beautifully weighted and pretty communicative. Suspension, whilst not exactly firm, works well with the car. It's a bit of a hooligan pulling out of junctions. Doesn't help that, although traction control is fitted, it doesn't work. Certainly good to teach a little respect!

Thus far:

I love it. It's a very strong compromise. Has the pace and feel that I want, but it's still relatively affordable to run. I bought it with a few niggles, i.e. traction control, but parts are plentiful and cheap. It helps to be handy. They are Meccano cars- easy to DIY. It's relatively practical, creamy, smooth, refined, fast and subtle. Very glad I bought it.

Anyhoo, some pictures...

Looks tidy that

Any plans for it?

Edited 13 October, 201213 yr by SNH

She's a good 6-foot car! Most of the paint is alright, couple of solid rusty patches that'll be easy to sort.

Plans thus far...

- M50 manifold (securing at the mo)

- replace fuel pump (fuel gauge shows constantly empty!)

- new rear lights (crystal)

- new side repeaters & front indicators (smoked)

- M-Tech alloys (the ones in the boot!)

- few other fixes, i.e. boot lifters, mirror glass, silly little things

- maaaaaybe a sub..?

- remap

- try not to bin it whilst driving like a numpty..!

M50 is awesome! I've got one on mine, need a remap/chip to make the most of it tho, I'll be going to these guys

http://www.endtuning.com/

Should see you 220-230bhp

If my 2.5 dies it'll be a 2.8 lump going in

Edited 14 October, 201213 yr by SNH

Yeah so I heard! Apparently these engines can also rev to 9,000rpm with little trouble... which sounds interesting...

The 2.8 really is a peach. I had to get the best I could, so that I knew I wasn't missing out! If I ever get bored, might source a manky (aesthetically) Alpina B3 and sort out some kind of evil transplant...

Out of interest, is the M50 easy to bodge on? I'd imagine it may be easier to fit it to the 2.5, unless it's all interchangeable.

Thursday will be a big ol' day. Got loads to fit, and a short time to do it in!

To further the car's reviewing, it is surprisingly capacious. Fitted in loads from the DIY store, good for rear legroom unless the driver's a Gigantor. It's such a useful package. Made my BMW-hating friend road-test it today, and he actually enjoyed it. Although my fuel tank didn't!

Mine came already converted and ready to fit, you can get the conversion kit of eBay for about £55 which is worth doing. Comes with the throttle body adapter all the pipe work and the spacers for the fuel rail.

I'd love to v8 mine but its supposed to be a right pita of a job and an expensive one at that.

Looks nice!

SNH- I've kept an eye on that stuff. It is something I'd like to do, simply because I like my engines to perform at their best.

Been contemplating getting a white 328i saloon up for grabs near me, then taking this off the road and doing a full respray & restore project. Thinking about this colour...

With this colour under the bonnet...

Babs- thanks! Very pleased with my purchase... a load of toys turned up today, and there's going to be a mass-fitting session on Thursday. Should look a million dollars by the end of the day!

A few mates drift tourings - pretty well I might add.

Sometimes wish I'd got one now but mine came up at a price I couldn't refuse so that sealed the deal.

All sorts can be had for cheaps if you know where to look

I got most of my bits off a mate who breaks cars.

I got the m50 inlet already converted for m52

328 de cat system & supersprint back box

Adj top mounts

Adj rear camber arms

Welded 325 3.15 diff standard 323 is 2.93

K&n gen2 ind kit

Few other bits n bobs

All for £40

If you look around on the various sites there's always bargains

Try

Trampdrift.co.uk

Bimmerforums.co.uk

E36coupe.com

Sometimes driftworks has a few bargains, I've just got front & rear strut braces for £30 off there

Bloody hell, ask him if he has anything else!

Was actually wondering about your centre console that you ripped out, have you still got that?

Yep still got it along with the arm rest and ashtrays

If you're looking to get rid, I have a friend who's after that for his convertible... I'll see if he's interested in yours...

They won't be going back in mine so if he wants to make an offer

Just managed 41.6mpg on a 7-mile trip between houses. So it does economy too.

That's not bad at all... might have to get one myself

might have to get one myself

Do this

That looks and sounds like a mighty fine buy there and for £750 notes it's a mighty fine super duper buy, congrats.

Do this

Agreed, not that we're biased or anything! Alkip- thanks! Although in a short period of time I'll have spent that again sorting her out good and proper!

Great cars these, lovely to drive and a bit more of a sleeper than the M3. Sounds great on full chat too, although if they could make it sing like an Alfa V6 it would be perfect

Enjoy!

Chris

It's more of a hairy-chested sound, Chris!

Looking back through some old test notes, I found my comparisons versus an E46 320i (2.2 I6, 170bhp) and an E39 528i (same engine as mine).

E46 - fluid steering, good engine. Not much slower than E36, despite extra weight and less power. However, considerably more expensive to buy and feels somewhat insulated. Cabin aesthetics much better than E36. A good touring car, but nowhere near as fun or involving.

E39 - a waftmobile of the highest order. Beautifully made, excellent aesthetics, has the 'hewn from granite' feel lacking in many modern cars. The 2.8 feels decidedly leisurely on this car.Auto box does not help matters. Steering very vague, but chassis tenacious and willing.