Man of Honour
Posted this on another board but I think this update is worth posting in this thread too 
2003 BMW 318Ci M Sport, 2 litre, 143bhp, 200Nm..
I do like:
- Handling
- Sports leather seats
- Sport bodykit makes it look like a current age car instead of a 2003 one
- Fuel economy (though this is now under question after changing jobs and being stuck in the rush getting sub 35MPG instead of low 40s)
- Xenon auto lights & wipers
- Quietness when cruising on the motorway and on town driving
I do not like:
- 17" alloys, they don't fill the arches as neatly as 18" ones but MV1s and MV2s are so common and they don't have a dish, which I like.
- M suspension's road feedback is immense at times especially on bumpy or badly worn roads, I only have 17" wheels but even still some small pot holes or dents in the road feel like you drove over a brick! Suppose the good side of this is that you can feel as the car loses grip on slippery road patches and can anticipate it beforehand.
- The stock headunit, even though business CD, was ass for sound quality
- The rear flap windows don't close with the remote, only open. No way to reconfig this at all on the E46, apparently a safety feature of the time.
- Single exit backbox looks weedy on the sport body, would have been nice to have a dual pipe on the Sport models like the 320i has.
- E46 Sport saloon/coupe is prone to suspension coil breaking/cracking. It's around £175 to fix at a main dealer though so not too expensive but if only 1 goes then 6 months later another goes it can be annoying...
- The key fob is undeniably annoying at times, it is the diamond key shape with the boot release button on the back of it EXACTLY where your thumb would rest so naturally as you open the door and begin to sit down you will find you often open the boot by accident or when you've gotten out at night, come to the house door, fumble to open the door to get into the house and another key presses the boot button and the boot opens so you have to go all the way back to shut it....
No denying though, E46 Sports handling has always been said to be one of the best of the 3 series models and I wouldn't mind getting another E46 coupe (330Ci) but I fear in a few years time even those will look dated like the E39 does now from the front and side (Sport E39 included!).
Next car?
Sport version as above of at least a 325i coupe with iDrive
2003 BMW 318Ci M Sport, 2 litre, 143bhp, 200Nm..
I do like:
- Handling
- Sports leather seats
- Sport bodykit makes it look like a current age car instead of a 2003 one
- Fuel economy (though this is now under question after changing jobs and being stuck in the rush getting sub 35MPG instead of low 40s)
- Xenon auto lights & wipers
- Quietness when cruising on the motorway and on town driving
I do not like:
- 17" alloys, they don't fill the arches as neatly as 18" ones but MV1s and MV2s are so common and they don't have a dish, which I like.
- M suspension's road feedback is immense at times especially on bumpy or badly worn roads, I only have 17" wheels but even still some small pot holes or dents in the road feel like you drove over a brick! Suppose the good side of this is that you can feel as the car loses grip on slippery road patches and can anticipate it beforehand.
- The stock headunit, even though business CD, was ass for sound quality
- The rear flap windows don't close with the remote, only open. No way to reconfig this at all on the E46, apparently a safety feature of the time.
- Single exit backbox looks weedy on the sport body, would have been nice to have a dual pipe on the Sport models like the 320i has.
- E46 Sport saloon/coupe is prone to suspension coil breaking/cracking. It's around £175 to fix at a main dealer though so not too expensive but if only 1 goes then 6 months later another goes it can be annoying...
- The key fob is undeniably annoying at times, it is the diamond key shape with the boot release button on the back of it EXACTLY where your thumb would rest so naturally as you open the door and begin to sit down you will find you often open the boot by accident or when you've gotten out at night, come to the house door, fumble to open the door to get into the house and another key presses the boot button and the boot opens so you have to go all the way back to shut it....
No denying though, E46 Sports handling has always been said to be one of the best of the 3 series models and I wouldn't mind getting another E46 coupe (330Ci) but I fear in a few years time even those will look dated like the E39 does now from the front and side (Sport E39 included!).
Next car?
Sport version as above of at least a 325i coupe with iDrive
Last edited:
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
(i replaced both)
