Over the years, the E30 has become legendary among car enthusiasts the world over. It is a car that has created a following all of its own, even those who are uninterested in the BMW brand will still have some fondness for this particular 3-series.
For you to understand what all the fuss is about, all you need to do is take the time (and now, for some models, money) to get behind the wheel. The boxy little underdog does not show all that much of itself on paper, with middling performance figures these days, but will deliver an unrivalled driving experience. With new BMW models creating controversy for all the wrong reasons, it is worth looking at the used market for one of the very best cars they ever made...
10 Believe The Hype
With a following that far exceeds its production run, this is one car that just needs no introduction.
So many journalists have waxed lyrical over these cars, even those of us that want to hate this machine will at some point have to admit that it is just one incredible car. Legendary build quality and uncharacteristically reliable inline 6 engines have contributed to these cars also standing the test of time.
9 Elegance Meets The Wedge
Although the car was a fair bit smaller than most of its luxury counterparts, it lacked nothing in that department. Its boxy wedge design that was an overarching theme throughout the automotive industry in the 80s is one of the few that many consider timeless. As is the case for most cars made in this era, it had the customary explosion of buttons, but everything else in the interior was pure class with only premium materials used.
8 Homologation Specials
Throughout the 80s there were a slew of homologation cars, of all these special edition cars one certainly stands out from the crowd. Group A saw a meteoric rise in public interest and that caught the attention of all the automakers, especially those focussed on the european touring car series. Launching the M3 to compete in these series turned out to be a game changer for the brand.
7 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Back in the 80s this was a really big part of the BMW mantra, pretty much all of their cars were driver focused, from the most affordable 316 to the most expensive 7-series. Most new cars include a plethora of safety nets that will kick in and save you from yourself, the old 3-series has none of that. You are an integral part of the machine, involved, in control, and if you get it wrong you will likely soil yourself.
6 Racing Roots
All of the E30 BMWs were at the very least fun to drive, only a handful were true performance cars, though. At the top of that list was the M3, which was made in limited numbers only to satisfy DTM homologation requirements. With this model, BMW stumbled upon the perfect formula for the ultimate road going performance car. It ended up becoming one of their “bread and butter” models by the 90s when the E36 was rolled out, and the Motorsport division has since become one of their most profitable assets.
5 Yuppie Mobile
BMW had secured a premium brand tag by the time the E30 was launched in the early 80s, and the relative affordability of the 3-series resonated with the young professionals of the era. For better or worse, this led to it becoming one of the most successful luxury cars of all time. One upside to this is that many cars got preserved and even though some models have become extremely valuable, the E30 largely remains an accessible classic that can be daily driven.
4 Only Slow On Paper
Performance in the real world is somewhat different to what gets written on paper, numbers only ever tell part of the story and often don’t do the machine much justice. On paper, these cars get blown away by all their modern counterparts, safety is admittedly rudimentary at best with the only real noteworthy safety feature being their seat belts. Get behind the wheel and the perspective will quickly change.
3 Naturally Aspirated Inline 6
Although the engine of choice for the M3 was actually a highly tuned inline-4, their best engines back in the 80s were their inline-6s. Coming in 2.0-liter to 2.5-liter displacements, their horsepower didn’t match the more powerful V8s of the time, but the way they put their power down was truly impressive, the 325i in particular punched well above its weight.
2 Affordable Luxury
Few luxury cars of the era could match the 3-series when it came to overall value, so much was packed into this relatively small package. It was by no stretch of the imagination the most affordable car on the market, but it offered so much more than the rivals could at this price point, fit and finish were unrivalled, performance was exemplary, and all the materials they used were of the highest quality.
1 A True Drivers' Car
All these cars came with a stiff chassis and relatively light tail, so it was important to learn the car's limits if you want to drive it fast. It is a car that will reward every type of driver, except a bad one. If you are not able to understand its limitations, it will bite back hard.