The BMW 3 Series E30 was always a bit special. As a worthy successor to the E21 it was the car to have during the eighties. If you were a ‘yuppie’ and had grown bored of your Ford Escort XR3i’s and you’re Volkswagen Golf GTI, it was a natural progression. Available in saloon, coupe and convertible form, it bought bold trademark BMW styling and a certain amount of class to your driveway. The magic trick the E30 had up its sleeve was that it was a real driver’s car. It had the typical BMW layout; engine at the front, power to the rear. The 325i Sport was the flagship E30 of the eighties. Sure the race-bred M3 existed but the 325i Sport was a lot cheaper. The 325i was always guaranteed to put a smile on your face. With 170 Brake Horse Power and 164 lbs ft of torque, it was more than quicker than it needed to be. With the 0-60 mph sprint out of the way after 7.2 seconds the E30 would effortlessly pull you all the way to 139 mph. In all fairness that is still quick today. Let alone 20+ years ago! At only 1209 kg (about the weight of your Renault Clio) it was light as well. Due to its lack of weight, it always felt big but acted small. It was a near perfect set-up, no weight and a big engine. Strangely no matter how small and feather light you felt, you always knew you would come off better in a crash. If you bagged yourself an SE spec model then you had all the leather and trip computers you could need. True to eighties fashion, there were no traction control or any driver aids. You just about got ABS if you spent enough money and of course airbags weren’t that popular in the joyous rein of Margaret Thatcher. Teamed with a Limited Slip Differential, the 325i was always famed for its handling. Of course when I say ‘handling’, I mean always famed for trying to kill novice drivers. You see when you opened the taps on a completely dry day, the E30 gripped and gripped and gripped. If you showed it a little too much accelerator through a corner, the back end would give you a warning that you were taking the ‘Michael’ and then, if you carried on the back would let go and you would over-steer everywhere with a big smile on your face. This was great. When you drove an E30 in the dry you felt totally safe. You somehow felt you were in a vehicle of pure savagery. You somehow felt that you were in something that was completely predictable if not a little bit aggressive.
This feeling of greatness was cut short, however, whenever the road got a little bit moist. In the wet the E30 is a complete nightmare. It has a mind of its own. It will never tell you when the back end wanted to overtake the front. It just simply will. You had to pay complete attention when driving an E30 in the wet, if not, to put it simply, you would die. Don’t get me wrong; this wasn’t a car in the Porsche 911 GT2 axe murderer territory. Think of it like the GT2’s pyromaniac cousin. This was the problem with the E30, only the hairy chested could really get to grips with it. Faults aside, the E30 was the pinnacle of BMW. Please don’t think I’m-picking holes, because BMW is one of the best car manufacturers in the business, but when the 80’s died so did the E30. And that was it, it was kind of downhill from there. The replacement for the E30 was launched in 1991. Named the E36 it was a swift move for BMW into the 90s. It was a more surefooted drive for the inexperienced; although, it did still possess some of the E30 claim your life tendencies. It was a lot softer and so turning in on a tight bend was never really as sharp as an E30. Also, the E36 had been on a McDonald’s only diet, and the weight was more than noticeable. The 328i claimed the all singing and dancing title, but drank far too much petrol to be taken serious. The model that replaced the E36 was the eagerly awaited E46. The shining star of the range was the 330i. Packed with toys and safety devices, it was a great car but still far too heavy to really impress. The E30 was the only one that really had any presence. BMW have never really made a bad car, but with the exception of the M3, the M5 and the M6, the cars have never really made you feel the way you did in an E30.
In the current climate, with everyone downsizing because Gordon Brown told them so, everyone is nothing short of depressed. You have got people who worked rather hard, and paid rather a lot of taxes, only to now be told that their lovely 5-bedroom house is far too big… They could just live in their front room-that would be the government’s solution. As if the homeowners weren’t getting it in the neck enough… They have even started to target motorists-BIG TIME. They are telling you that your big 4X4 is too big unless you live in The North. They are even telling you that if you bring your clapped out motor to the showroom, they will give you some lovely money in exchange. Sort like Part Exchange-Just not so tight fisted. They are even making you aware, of the ‘damage’ your car will do to an already doomed planet. I then have a solution. Buy a 1980’s BMW E30. There are 5 engines to choose from, with 4 specs to combine them with. You can qualify for classic car insurance, a flat road fund license rate and everyone at every bus stop will watch as you float by. Most importantly, it will put a smile on your face and maybe even hairs on your chest…
Go on… Bring the eighties back to your driveway… I did…
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