e30, e36, e46, e9x. Fun

[persianbmw91]

Which was the most fun drive ever? not the best or the nicest or w/e. just which one delivered the greatest sheer amount of joy. i was inspired by the multi generational pics uploaded.

[MVF4Rrider]

Well if there were all brand new examples in front of me and I could take only one at no cost, it would be the E30 M3. It would be the most rewarding to drive. Rewarding = fun to me.

[smmmurf]

I dunno, I have only driven an E36 (US 240 hp, 5-speed), E46, and E90/92/93. My favorite for the fun factor was definitely the E46. The E90 is much, much more refined though.

[Trier Germany]

E-30 M3 for the win. BMW needs to make a retro E-30 M3 i would definitely buy one

[Green///Hell]

Only driven the E46 and E92. I liked the E46 more for highway stints and around town, but at the track the E92

It's balanced handling and improved power make it really fast and easy to drive like a complete hooligan. It just feels very light on its feet for being such a heavy car. In stock form, power on out of corners, the tail is controllable to a point only my super modded E46 could touch

[joseph328]

E30 M3 EVO (only as a passanger)
E36 M3 (Euro Spec)
E46 M3 MT

I think these 3 , then you have plenty of electronics... but still want to drive and later on own E92 .

[albert1028]

Originally Posted by Trier Germany

E-30 M3 for the win. BMW needs to make a retro E-30 M3 i would definitely buy one

I don't recall at the moment, but has any company ever done this? with an outdate but "classic" car?

[NewM3driver]

Originally Posted by albert1028

I don't recall at the moment, but has any company ever done this? with an outdate but "classic" car?

Imagine the price Porsche could charge if they built and sold just a couple thousand of the 993C2S?

[persianbmw91]

iv only been a passenger in an e92 m3 but for me it was the most exciting ride of my life
e92
e36 (i can only imagine how much greater the euro spec is)
to a degree i actually like the lack of refinement which is found in the older Ms i feel like it allows the car to give more feed back
e30 (never ridden in but just assume it is great)
e46 (all the tech of the e92 without the excitment imo) only favorable thing is the I6 even that is a lard of an engine tho considering the V8s lighter

[kmarei]

E30 M3 110%
seriously the most fun car i've driven
if someone could find me a brand new E30 M3 (i.e. newly built, fresh rubber etc)
i would trade my E92 for it, in a heartbeat
a henna M3 with black leather, i used to own one, but had to sell it to afford the E92 M3

the engine is amazing, it really is a race engine
if you ever get the chance, try to test drive it once in your life
it really is a classic
if i ever won the lottery that would be my first purchase
buy one and totally rebuild it

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by persianbmw91

iv only been a passenger in an e92 m3 but for me it was the most exciting ride of my life
e92
e36 (i can only imagine how much greater the euro spec is)
to a degree i actually like the lack of refinement which is found in the older Ms i feel like it allows the car to give more feed back
e30 (never ridden in but just assume it is great)
e46 (all the tech of the e92 without the excitment imo) only favorable thing is the I6 even that is a lard of an engine tho considering the V8s lighter

If you think an E46 has all the "tech of the E92 without the excitement," I begin to doubt that you have actually be in or driven an E46 M3 and that you are just quoting specs.

The E46 feels much older than the E92. Its technology is 10 years old. It has nowhere near "all the tech of the e92." It has no EDC, primitive nav/radio, and a much older dash cluster interface.

Second, you may call the S54 a "lard" of an engine based on its power to weight ratio but completely overlook how lively and responsive it feels. The E92 feels lazy in comparison to the rougher, sharper response and willingness to rev of the E46.

The E9x is undoubtedly smoother and faster overall in all situations (street and track), but it is not as sharp of a car as the E46. Hence, the E46 is actually more fun in many situations since its limits are lower (and more accessible on the street) and its personality is angrier.

[karussell]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

Second, you may call the S54 a "lard" of an engine based on its power to weight ratio but completely overlook how lively and responsive it feels. The E92 feels lazy in comparison to the rougher, sharper response and willingness to rev of the E46.

The E9x is undoubtedly smoother and faster overall in all situations (street and track), but it is not as sharp of a car as the E46. Hence, the E46 is actually more fun in many situations since its limits are lower (and more accessible on the street) and its personality is angrier.

Very well said. Loved the E46 and it definitely had a more raw feeling to it. Its funny because when the E46 was out, it was also too heavy. now its the lighter M3. I would place the raw fun factor of driving an M3 pretty much in the order in which they were built simply because lighter is just better.

1. E30
2. E46 CSL
3. E36 (european model)
4. E36 US 95 lightweight
5. E46
6. E9X

I have driven all of these except the CSL but I had the ride of my life on the Nordschleife in one.

But as far as real world driving goes, the E90 is the most fun M3 I have driven. It makes mundane tasks fun and you come up with "errands" to run just to drive it. I am a track nut, but even so most of my driving is on public streets. go to work, pick up kids, go out to dinner. An E30 would be pretty hard to utilize daily. The E46 was great, but E90 is better plus I really am glad the sedan is back. The best part is I can drive my family in the M3 and have some fun too. Much harder to do this in my Porsche. There are cars that you have to be in the mood to drive and then there are cars that put you in the mood to drive. If I only could have one, it would be the latter.

[Ringmeister]

Hands down the E30.

[uae247]

I love when anyone just mentions the E30, cause its my favourite! :-)


I got my first M3 (E46 in 2002) and only a month later, I found a mint 1989 E30 M3 European Spec (I live in the UAE, so UAE Spec is standard in here.)

It was just amazing to drive the E30 after reading so much about it. The handling and the rawness of the car, plus the power for its age is just awesome. The handling was just great and I changed it to Ground Control Coilovers which just made it even nastier on track :-)

The E46 had a very nice raspy engine. It felt really live and you heard more of the car when accelerating. It still has a great feel to it, but somehow does not compare to the E90 anymore. The E90 has more technological feel to it, and is faster and better all around. Some of the rawness is gone, but still the E90 is probably the best all around car for me.

In terms of driving, it would have to be the E30, E9x, E46.....(I never had an E36...its the missing link for me now :-)

But,
Anyone you choose, an M3 is just something great

[MVF4Rrider]

With each subsequent M3, driving feel and feedback has become more insulated from the driver. With the E92 M3, electronics are doing a lot behind the scenes to control and counteract all that mass. To me that's not what an M should be about. I judge these cars by character and driver involvement. That puts the E30 M3 at the top of the list and the E92 M3 at the bottom (at least until the next generation promotes it).

[spyderco10]

Originally Posted by albert1028

I don't recall at the moment, but has any company ever done this? with an outdate but "classic" car?

don't car companies do this all the time? VW Beetle, Mini Cooper, Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang, etc...

Or did you mean reproduce the EXACT same car of a discontinued model?

If you meant the latter, even if they did, they wouldn't sell well because only a handful of enthusiasts would be interested. Nobody but an extreme enthusiast would really want to buy a brand new car in today's dollars, that has technology from 2 or more decades ago.

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by MVF4Rrider

With each subsequent M3, driving feel and feedback has become more insulated from the driver. With the E92 M3, electronics are doing a lot behind the scenes to control and counteract all that mass. To me that's not what an M should be about. I judge these cars by character and driver involvement. That puts the E30 M3 at the top of the list and the E92 M3 at the bottom (at least until the next generation promotes it).

Hmm, it's true that the E9x is more insulated than the E46. However, the E9x does not control the car in a fundamentally different way from the E46 M3/Z4M. The tuning may be different and the systems may be more advanced (MDM, etc.).

EDC on Comfort/Normal modes can be argued to "control" the suspension actively, but I see it more as a plus and you can turn off the adaptive nature of EDC by switching it to Sport where it is fully stiff. It's not like it has active steering, 4-wheel steering, active spring rates, or variable geometry.

Clearly, there are companies that do a better job of integrating technologies like TCS/stability control/active suspensions/active engine mounts (i.e. Porsche and Ferrari). However, I think BMW has done a pretty good job on making the E9x a very satisfying and tactile car to drive given its price, practicality, and capabilities.

The beauty is that the E9x will smoke an E46 M3/Z4 M/E36 while being more practical, refined, reliable, and requiring less maintenance (i.e. valve adjustments, SMG pumps breaking vs. DCT just lagging but not catastrophically failing in most instances). That is the "fun" part of driving an E90; it's just such a capable automobile. The flip side is that you have to go that much faster to enjoy it because the limits are so high... it's an extremely boring car to drive slowly. In other words, if I had to choose a getaway car, it would definitely be the E90 M3.

P.S. Factory forced induction would ruin this car.

[smmmurf]

.

[DiVinci]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

.... In other words, if I had to choose a getaway car, it would definitely be the E90 M3....

[///Monster]

e30