1992 BMW 3 Series 320i Coupe review from UK and Ireland
"Smooth and silky 6 cylinder, spoilt by terrible mpg a lack of power and niggly faults"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The fuel tank leaked and needed replacement - £400.
The front discs warped twice.
The water pump blew.
Balljoint failure.
The ECU turned out to be the wrong one for the car and needed replacing.
Endless idle issues.
General comments?
All in all a nice car, spoiled by niggly faults and reliability issues.
In the end, I got rid of it simply because it cost me the earth in fuel. I only managed 30mpg ever and that was driving really gently. For a 2.0 with 150bhp, it should've been much better than this. Apparently the 2.5 gives the same mpg and that has 192bhp. Also, considering the fuel economy, it wasn't particularly fast either. You had to thrash it to make it go and that made the mpg terrible. I think the weight of it has something to do with this as it comes in at 1450kg. Not light.
Otherwise the engine is extremely smooth and silky with a gorgeous sound to die for. It also looks lovely under the bonnet.
Quite comfortable and I never had backache from long journeys, and the rear seats on the coupe fold down making them quite practical.
Handling is pretty good for a car this size. Not 100% chuckable, but confident in the bends. RWD means it can be a bit hairy in the wet/ snow, but light years ahead of the E30 in terms of grip and stability. I never lost it once. The Coupe comes with Mtec suspension as standard, and to be honest I'd say it needs it.
Otherwise they're lovely to drive. Very involving and satisfying, yet relaxed and sophisticated. BMW know what they're doing in this department it seems.
Overall, for a BMW it shouldn't have had as many niggly faults and expensive failures. Also the fuel economy was terrible considering the lack of power. A shame really. I now have a 1993 318iS. This only has 10bhp less, yet weighs about 140kg less too. It goes just as well, albeit with a tad less torque in the mid range and delivers 36mpg easily. Much better. Just a shame the engine isn't anywhere near as smooth or as good looking. And it doesn't sound as good too.
If you can afford it, get a 325i without a doubt. They have the power, and can deliver the same mpg as lesser versions.
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| 1992 - 3 Series 318is coupe 1.8 Well engineered and a pleasure to own - as long as you get a good one |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1992 |
| Year of manufacture | 1992 |
| First year of ownership | 2004 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 Straight 6 24v Manual |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 54000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 66000 miles |
| Previous car | BMW 3 Series |
| Date of Entry | 9th September, 2005 |