Nah was just playing its not bad....... Like lots of other BMW engines its made of cheese and as about as reliable as a Land Rover, but its got it charms. Would be perfect in a lighter car. My mate at work has a cracking example of a e46 M3. They still look great.
Figured this was the case
The lighter car chat has come up a few times on the internet over the years and it is largely irrelevant to be honest for a car that spends almost all of its time on the road instead of a track. The amount of usable power is absolutely right for the size and weight of the E46 in both formats and my personal experience is that after changing to a modern UHP tyre instead of sticking with SuperSport which are old tech and too slippery in British conditions then also refreshing all the suspension bushings etc transforms traction and handling.
If you are the type of person who chases only the big numbers though then that view will vary.
It could be argued they are reliable engines. The common issues don't show up until the 80k mileage mark typical at the 10-15 year age range which is fairly expected for a cast iron block revving to 8000rpm and generating an insane amount of heat. The reason they are thought to be unreliable is because in later years many examples that remained on the road are well over 80k miles and all you ever read about are things breaking and fixes being expensive. Even servicing isn't exactly cheap. An Inspection 1 is supposed to have valve clearance checks done but since it's a labour intensive job, many owners only have that done during an inspection 2 and in the long run this leads to further issues that develop.
The tighter the maintenance, the more power they also retain as the years go on. Whilst many out there are down on power due to underlying issues or poor maintenance, it's worth keeping that in mind as many used ones people end up trying feel slow or handling feels wack because of the above.
Aside from all that, my opinion after 5 years is that the S54 is a right hoot for me and my friends/family. Isn't that the main reason to have an enjoyable car whilst we still can these days?