1996 BMW 318is Goes for a Drive

Post me stuff for Junk in the Trunk post bag section!
Furious Driving
PO Box 477
AYLESFORD
ME6 9LE

[FuzzWoof]

The E36 went from being absolutely everywhere and being worth almost pocket change to being a rare sight seemingly almost overnight. I had a 328 that I enjoyed immensely, sold it on after an MoT fail rather than do the (rather extensive!) work and regretted it quite hugely afterwards.

[matthewgodwin]

For me, the cars BMW made in the 80s & 90s are so much more desirable than their offerings today. The E36 in particular is one of their very best. Wonderful things to drive.

[rivolinho]

Back in 2007, a couple of years after getting my licence at the ripe old age of 24, I sold my fiesta and bought a low mile, one careful owner '94 e36 coupe in hellrot red.
They weren't worth much and were still a very common sight on the roads. Over the years, I had a couple of dings and scuffs repaired, a couple of panels resprayed and changed out the interior for full black leather. I learned basic maintenance on my e36 and have religiously kept that up over the last 15 years. It looks and feels like it rolled out of the showroom in '94. Its now a summer classic that only gets driven for 3/4 months. I know I'm getting old because when it was my daily, no one gave it a second glance. Now it gets recognised as an old car and I get the odd thumbs up or smile.

[martsec]

I had an E36 328i. Loved that car. My Dad was ill and the hospital phoned to say you had better get here. I got there in time to say bye to my Dad. The 328 got me there in time, I wouldnt of asked for another car to do what it did

[anthonyredmond]

I spent a year working for a BMW dealership back in 1996-97 as a collection / delivery driver. Myself & 2 other guys would collect cars from customers for repairs, servicing etc & return them when the work was completed, would also bring up new cars from s compound to the dealership. Spent a year driving beamers new, nearly new & some rarities / classics & got paid for it, can't really call it work! We used to argue amongst ourselves over the E36 316 (the most numerous model we came across it seemed) "You take this one, I've already had 3 of these today" Lol. 😁 Good memories.

[lrs]

For some reason I just adore this generation of 3 series - just something about them I love

[tz]

I am by no means a bmw fanboy, but my boss had a 3 series back in 92. I drove it few times and despite being a 4 pot, the quality and handling was something special. It just drove so well, slick gearchange, well positioned and balanced pedals, accurate steering.Felt a real drivers car, streets ahead of the cavalier, mondeo etc of that era.

[MGR]

I got a '91 318i back in the end of November, never been in an e36 prior to that, nor wanted one that much due to the general gits that drive them, but when looking at whats available as an entry level enthusiast car, nothing else came close.
And I've got to say I adore pretty much everything about it, just feels so good, is dead easy to work and fix, parts are cheap and plentiful.
And I think I've given the e36 bug to the rest of the town I live in, before e36s were pretty rare, but now I see new ones driving around.😁

[yrasphong]

I love the older buttons and switches, they don't have that rubber coating on the buttons like the newer generation BMWs and u are right about the older manuals the clutch is like a Honda clutch..it's so easy to operate..the older BMW clutch was so smooth while the newer ones are so stiff..like u need incredible hulk legs to push down the clutch..lol

[benjaniroberts]

I had a E36 328i years ago. Best car I’ve had - so much fun to drive!

[robc]

Chap I worked for in the early 90’s turned up at the university I subsequently studied at in the mid 90’s (no idea why he was there) anyway, he said you can do me a favour I’ve parked on yellow lines can you take my car round the block a few times and chucked me the keys (he was that type of guy) anyway it was a new one of these I later found out he’d picked up that morning from bmw in Newcastle, so with about 20 miles on the clock I drove it round Newcastle for about 1/2 an hour seemed like it was made from solid rock and so responsive. I’ve never driven one since.

[paulrandomview]

I was given a brand new 318iS in 1996 as a company car. It still sticks in my mind as such a nimble, perfectly balanced car, which was huge fun to drive. I've had many considerably more expensive cars & supercars since, but none of which are as enjoyable to drive as the 318iS. It drove like a go-kart, but was comfortable and very stylish in its day too. Someone else wrote it off unfortunately, and I bought a Z3 (horrendous) and then a 728i (slow but comfy).

[hotrod]

I had a 1993 318is in black several years ago. It was an epic drive. It was used for long haul A roads and motorway runs. Reliable, engaging, peppy, stable and comfortable. Loved the low supportive seating in leather with the open sunroof.

[person.X.]

I had a 1993 318i saloon back in the early 2000s. It certainly wasn't fast but a joy to drive. That cockpit and the manual gear shift are absolute class.

[landlord]

My days I just fund one in Brazil, e36 4c. 1.8si manual transmission!
157km.
The man just drive in weekends!
I’m goin to buy.

[maxidyne]

Great example of the E36 generation! In my village there is a 1st owner 318is coupe from '95 in dark blue. Always stored in a heated garage. My dad almost bought the competitor of the 318is: Audi 80 Competition. But he didn't like rawness of the engine and bought a 80 2.6 quattro. Enjoyed the video Matt.

[jorgbo]

bought a brand new 318is Coupe in 91, dark blue. was the only car at that time that had great design. Tried out a lot of different cars in those years from the Magnum Ferrari, some Mercedes coupes, all the Japanese brands, but none of them had the fun sports car feeling like the 318 with its great fuel economy, just incredible. had kids in 94, so I switch to the 328i stationwagon, which was faster but that feeling was just not the same. Today they look so small, but even for a 6foot2 guy like me it was perfect. beautiful to see it again...

[bikeman]

I had a 320 as a company car a few years back. I remember three things about it: the rubber layer peeled off the interior door handles, two it was so slow and three it seemed worn out at 3 years/6000 miles despite regular servicing.

[G...]

I had two of these brand new in the 90's and loved them. As a complete package I honestly preferred the 318is to a 328 sport coupe I had later. The 328 sport was over tyred for it's power and as a result the chassis did not have the lightness and adjustability of the 318is.

[organiccold]

The E36 one of my last BMWs i like, and the 318is engine is a lots of fun and sounds nice. The DIN 1 box is where the on board computer will go in the most equipped versions