Interesting: E46 330Ci Coupe Import

[Sankekur]

the B piller on the sedan stiffens it alot so the coupe needs extra bracing... thats why the chose the 4 door for the 320i touring car...

Coupe has a B pillar, Vert does not.

B pillar in the same place?

On the e46 coupe it is a bit further back.

 

[gconry18]

the B piller on the sedan stiffens it alot so the coupe needs extra bracing... thats why the chose the 4 door for the 320i touring car...

Coupe has a B pillar, Vert does not.

B pillar in the same place?

Tiny bit further back, not by much though

---

Found this on another forum

E36 M3 coupe vs. sedan
i had to do this... seen it too many times.

coupe is longitudinally stiffer
sedan is stiffer in torsion

coupe and sedan weigh the same

sedan is taller, and narrower

handling differences are minimal.

 

[ASH]

Pricey, I know it is an import, but I paid R130K for my 323ci with 105 000kms in 2005, nearly 7 years ago.

BMW SA where scared to bring this out locally for fear of stealing M3 sales, performance was sublime at the time........from the reviews I've read in magazines.

---

Hey Sank,

I've owned both coupe and sedan E46s, the coupe's handling is something else, with the car's lower centre of gravity, it was extremely fun to drive. Although they are very similar in terms
of handling I did notice that the sedan's body has a lower tolerance to body roll/leaning under heavy cornering over the coupe, which tends to be flat and squat through the corners.

Both are awesome drives though.

Just my 2cents......

For that kinda money I would rather buy a newer 330i individual saloon with less mileage.

But 2 doors are just better :rollsmile:

Problem is with two doors it is slightly heavier and is less rigid that the saloon.

and add not too much to that price and you can get yourself a pretty decent e46 M3, which is lightyears better than any other e46.

You are right about the saloon being stiffer. But the 2 door Coupe is lighter.

Convertibles are heavier. People often confuse the word Cabrio (AKA Cab) for Coupe.

I don't think it is very likely that I will mistake a vert for a coupe :nonono:

Just had a look and as far as I can see on the e46 the saloon and the coupe are the same weight at 1505kg.

Either way no advantage to having less doors apart from looks and on the e46 the coupe for the most part doesn't look as nice as the saloon, especially not the pre-f/l one, the e36 is however a whole different story.

 

[Sankekur]

Pricey, I know it is an import, but I paid R130K for my 323ci with 105 000kms in 2005, nearly 7 years ago.

BMW SA where scared to bring this out locally for fear of stealing M3 sales, performance was sublime at the time........from the reviews I've read in magazines.

---

Hey Sank,

I've owned both coupe and sedan E46s, the coupe's handling is something else, with the car's lower centre of gravity, it was extremely fun to drive. Although they are very similar in terms
of handling I did notice that the sedan's body has a lower tolerance to body roll/leaning under heavy cornering over the coupe, which tends to be flat and squat through the corners.

Both are awesome drives though.

Just my 2cents......

---

I don't see how the the 330Ci would have stolen M3 sales as it is on a completely different level to the 330, there is truly no comparison :dunno:

I honestly can't comment on the coupe vs saloon in terms of handling as the only e46 coupe i have driven is the M3, so there the coupe pretty much destroys the saloon.

 

[kabal]

I don't see how the the 330Ci would have stolen M3 sales as it is on a completely different level to the 330, there is truly no comparison :dunno:

yup, its not like they didnt sell the 330Ci convertable too.

It was probably an economics thing really. They possibly (not sure) didnt make coupes at rosslyn, and there is less demand for 2 doors, so they decided to do the 325 coupe, and 330 convertable.

even the e92, I see more 325's than 330's and 335s

and yes, and that price is a bit excessive IMO for a 2000 with 180000+km

 

[e46_325i]

Expensive!
Comsumption : 19.2?!?! :fencelook: Heavy foot! Is it even possible for a 330i to use that much?! :fencelook:

330i coupe is a nice thought though! :thumbs:

_______________________________

edit: ok realised the comsumption would work in "miles" ! So 19.2 litres for 100 miles is not so bad right? :rollsmile:

 

[ASH]

Some may have been tempted to buy one model down, as the M3 is focused entirely on performance, surely if BMW SA offered it, people would have bought it, so with the E46 range on the imports their was a big gap with the coupes coz you go from 325ci to M3. I've been in the 325ci and it really is a fun car to drive, comfortable, can only imagine how a 330ci would go with that awesome engine. The 330ci conv, had alot of added weight so its performance and handling was always compromised, didnt offer the same driving enjoyment of the coupes.

Pricey, I know it is an import, but I paid R130K for my 323ci with 105 000kms in 2005, nearly 7 years ago.

BMW SA where scared to bring this out locally for fear of stealing M3 sales, performance was sublime at the time........from the reviews I've read in magazines.

---

Hey Sank,

I've owned both coupe and sedan E46s, the coupe's handling is something else, with the car's lower centre of gravity, it was extremely fun to drive. Although they are very similar in terms
of handling I did notice that the sedan's body has a lower tolerance to body roll/leaning under heavy cornering over the coupe, which tends to be flat and squat through the corners.

Both are awesome drives though.

Just my 2cents......

---

I don't see how the the 330Ci would have stolen M3 sales as it is on a completely different level to the 330, there is truly no comparison :dunno:

I honestly can't comment on the coupe vs saloon in terms of handling as the only e46 coupe i have driven is the M3, so there the coupe pretty much destroys the saloon.

---

 

[gconry18]

Expensive!
Comsumption : 19.2?!?! :fencelook: Heavy foot! Is it even possible for a 330i to use that much?! :fencelook:

330i coupe is a nice thought though! :thumbs:

_______________________________

edit: ok realised the comsumption would work in "miles" ! So 19.2 litres for 100 miles is not so bad right? :rollsmile:

It will be Miles per UK Gallon. 19.2 MPG = 14.* l/100km.

No one works in litres per 100 miles.

 

[Legacy]

There doesn't exist a situation (not even in a parallel universe) where buying this car over an M3 makes any sense whatsoever...

 

[e46_325i]

Expensive!
Comsumption : 19.2?!?! :fencelook: Heavy foot! Is it even possible for a 330i to use that much?! :fencelook:

330i coupe is a nice thought though! :thumbs:

_______________________________

edit: ok realised the comsumption would work in "miles" ! So 19.2 litres for 100 miles is not so bad right? :rollsmile:

It will be Miles per UK Gallon. 19.2 MPG = 14.* l/100km.

No one works in litres per 100 miles.

Thanks for that! Blond moment! haha :fishwack:

 

[Sankekur]

Some may have been tempted to buy one model down, as the M3 is focused entirely on performance, surely if BMW SA offered it, people would have bought it, so with the E46 range on the imports their was a big gap with the coupes coz you go from 325ci to M3. I've been in the 325ci and it really is a fun car to drive, comfortable, can only imagine how a 330ci would go with that awesome engine. The 330ci conv, had alot of added weight so its performance and handling was always compromised, didnt offer the same driving enjoyment of the coupes.

Pricey, I know it is an import, but I paid R130K for my 323ci with 105 000kms in 2005, nearly 7 years ago.

BMW SA where scared to bring this out locally for fear of stealing M3 sales, performance was sublime at the time........from the reviews I've read in magazines.

---

Hey Sank,

I've owned both coupe and sedan E46s, the coupe's handling is something else, with the car's lower centre of gravity, it was extremely fun to drive. Although they are very similar in terms
of handling I did notice that the sedan's body has a lower tolerance to body roll/leaning under heavy cornering over the coupe, which tends to be flat and squat through the corners.

Both are awesome drives though.

Just my 2cents......

---

I don't see how the the 330Ci would have stolen M3 sales as it is on a completely different level to the 330, there is truly no comparison :dunno:

I honestly can't comment on the coupe vs saloon in terms of handling as the only e46 coupe i have driven is the M3, so there the coupe pretty much destroys the saloon.

---

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I thing you would have known if you wanted an M3 and the performance that goes with it, and the 330i would not be a substitute for this in any way shape or form if you compared them on paper....... (and in real the M3 performs just as the figures would suggest, it leaves the 330 for dead)

 

[gconry18]

There doesn't exist a situation (not even in a parallel universe) where buying this car over an M3 makes any sense whatsoever...

Maintenance costs?

 

[moranor@axis]

the B piller on the sedan stiffens it alot so the coupe needs extra bracing... thats why the chose the 4 door for the 320i touring car...

Coupe has a B pillar, Vert does not.

B pillar in the same place?

Tiny bit further back, not by much though

---

Found this on another forum

E36 M3 coupe vs. sedan
i had to do this... seen it too many times.

coupe is longitudinally stiffer
sedan is stiffer in torsion

coupe and sedan weigh the same

sedan is taller, and narrower

handling differences are minimal.

---

 

[Diablo Jnr]

This car was for sale at one of the Toyota dealerships last year some time

 

[Gizmo]

There doesn't exist a situation (not even in a parallel universe) where buying this car over an M3 makes any sense whatsoever...

Maintenance costs?

Bingo!!