C&D July 2020 - E9x Generation Lauded in 'Greatest of All Time' Issue

[M4_GTS]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

We miss our diesel, but we don't miss keeping it California smog legal.

They are only worth keeping if you can have the emissions crap ripped out. Even with a warranty, it becomes a pain in the ass to keep wasting time for dealer visits.

Once they are deleted and tune, they roll coal and kick ass like no other. When you combine that with a budget set of Bilstein B12 and M3 controls arms combo. You have yourself a very very capable sleeper street car.

[Bemo]

I love my E92. Picked it up 2 years ago, invested in the obligatory RBs/plugs/engine mounts, slapped tints and an Eventuri plenum on it and its loads of fun to drive. It strikes a perfect balance between modern tech weaved in a comfortable but responsive chassis and a highly configurable personality. The engine is phenomenal and it sounds sooo good. Hopefully I'll drive it for a long long time.

I also DD a 2011 328xi which I bought brand new. Between the NA inline 6, hydraulic steering rack and classic BMW styling, nobody will pry the keys out of my hands.

Newer BMW are poop, fast they are but also synthetic, transactional, awful sounding and lifeless!

As always, to each their own.

[Z K]

I have had my e90 M3 for 10 years now. Been through various track days, commuting and is now a garage queen as it is more track day car than daily driving friendly.

I bought a 328i F30 for daily use. I find it to be a great daily driver car. It is no where as direct and fun to drive but you can have some laughs in it sliding it around and the power is there when you need it. The loads of torque definitely work in its favor.

The reason I purchased the F30 is that I spent 7 days in Germany driving all over in a 2017 320d rental with a 6 speed manual. I took that all over the place - navigating narrow European streets, great mountain roads, doing top speed on the autobahn and drove many laps of the Nurburgring in my rental car. The car won me over as a do everything car. The E90 felt more focused on sporty driving but less friendly in long distance driving. The F30 felt more at home on the street. The best thing is, you can feel the BMW DNA in the car. It has a similar driving style to the E90 both on and off track - that balanced 50/50 weight, front engine, RWD with a manual transmission. And it is light weight! The E90 had a heavy feeling. The F30 feels light and nimble like a smaller car.

I love my E90 M3 and have for the last 10 years but I look forward to the progress BMW brings with the newer cars. The steering is definitely a minus in the newer BMW but everything else is pretty good.

[derbo]

safe to say, there were a few e90s in the family.

11 335d Msport, 07 328i, 11 M3

[slowdown_dan]

Originally Posted by Z K

I have had my e90 M3 for 10 years now. Been through various track days, commuting and is now a garage queen as it is more track day car than daily driving friendly.

I bought a 328i F30 for daily use. I find it to be a great daily driver car. It is no where as direct and fun to drive but you can have some laughs in it sliding it around and the power is there when you need it. The loads of torque definitely work in its favor.

The reason I purchased the F30 is that I spent 7 days in Germany driving all over in a 2017 320d rental with a 6 speed manual. I took that all over the place - navigating narrow European streets, great mountain roads, doing top speed on the autobahn and drove many laps of the Nurburgring in my rental car. The car won me over as a do everything car. The E90 felt more focused on sporty driving but less friendly in long distance driving. The F30 felt more at home on the street. The best thing is, you can feel the BMW DNA in the car. It has a similar driving style to the E90 both on and off track - that balanced 50/50 weight, front engine, RWD with a manual transmission. And it is light weight! The E90 had a heavy feeling. The F30 feels light and nimble like a smaller car.

I love my E90 M3 and have for the last 10 years but I look forward to the progress BMW brings with the newer cars. The steering is definitely a minus in the newer BMW but everything else is pretty good.

I owned a 2014 320d m sport with the 6 speed in touring/wagon guise while I lived in Europe. I miss that car as a dd. Took it everywhere across Europe (except the ring) and it left me wanting when we moved back to the states last summer. If only I could find that spec for around that price in the US, Id buy it in a heartbeat.

[Law]

Bump & update.

Article is now available online at https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...ime-the-2000s/

Screengrab posted below for posterity.

[W///]

Originally Posted by nachob

I agree the E46 was a better all around in terms of driving dynamics, timeless looks and proportions. That is the reason the e90 did not get the love back then because it was directly compared to what it replaced. The e46 M3 the 330i ZHP. I read all the press of the time. Back to back the press lamented slightly less focus, slightly more weight and slightly more girth. Now 14 years later these differences seem minuscule compared to the current generation of numb but fast machines and people appreciate them now. So love for the e90 is overdue and deserved but the e46 peaked at what bmw defined as the ultimate driving machine from the early 80s on. This reminds me of my college days where I had all of these girl buddies that I hung out with. One had nails that were too long, one weighed half a pound more than she should've. Another didn't achieve perfect facial proportions etc etc. Now 30 years later I found a picture of me surrounded by all these amazingly, smoking hot 21 year olds that just didn't meet my high standards back then. I should write an article about all their goodness and hotness 30 years later. Sometimes you just need time to put things in perspective. : )

I think now that the cars have been out for a while, I still think I'd rate the E9x over the E46, which I know is not a popular opinion. I used to own an E46 328i, and I thought the car drove great and the design was wonderful. I just don't think they're as well built as the E9x. With the E46, you had to deal with crap cooling systems, window regulators that were considered wear items, and of course subframe tears. You don't hear anything like that about the e9X (apart from the rod bearings for the S65).

P.S. I couldn't agree with you more about the girls haha. I had so many female friends that I now look back and wonder why I didn't push past the friend zone

[G80indy]

Overall I think the idiosyncrasies of both the e46 and e9x are worth it.
It's important to note that both lines need to have the sport stance and decent wheels to look right

[Z K]

Originally Posted by butte2butte

I owned a 2014 320d m sport with the 6 speed in touring/wagon guise while I lived in Europe. I miss that car as a dd. Took it everywhere across Europe (except the ring) and it left me wanting when we moved back to the states last summer. If only I could find that spec for around that price in the US, Id buy it in a heartbeat.

I drive my F30 and the E90 M3 back to back on many days. The M3 just feels so much more connected and sharp. But for every day driving the F30 is much more comfortable and practical. I do like the daily driving the newer BMWs.

I liked that 320D I drove in Germany. I was blasting down the autobahn at 240kph and still getting 50mpg at fill up. It's not very powerful but it had enough grunt for daily driving. A tune would probably really wake the turbo up. It's too bad it is not available here.

[slowdown_dan]

For spirited driving there is no comparison. My e92 m3 blows the f31 m sport away. But for a practical thing hauler I want nothing else. I have a pretty cool TRD Pro 4runner for a dd and I love it, and I STILL think about that damn European bmw.

[PTRAN]

Hope the new owner is treating it well.

[G80indy]

E9x model range appeal will hold up for a while, considering what is the "new gen" 3 series :-x

[JCardsrule]

Great articles, hadn't seen these. Thanks for sharing.

I recently replaced a well loved '10 335d with an '08 M3 sedan 6MT...and am loving it. 335d was an excellent car, but the M3 is such a hot rod. Missed driving stick shift every day and the V8 rumble is incredible. Got to the point of either tune & delete the 335d or just buy an M3 while they're still affordable and I'm quite happy with the decision made.

Also my parents had a 6MT M-sport '10 328xit and my sister an '07 328i coupe 6MT...E9X chassis fantastic in my opinion, the C&D article sums it up excellently.

[kyrix1st]

Originally Posted by New2Roundel

Playing devil's advocate, but I wonder if the e46 would have been the better choice? The e9x series may have been the last of a certain approach to building cars, but there are certainly BMW enthusiasts who feel the e46 was the high point of that traditional approach in a modern package.

Having said that, I really enjoy my e92. I ran some errands in it yesterday and it was great fun. I've never owned a car for this long (5 yrs) and not gotten completely bored with it.

I heard the E46 guys are busy fixing the torn rear subframe so they couldn't read this article.

[ATLIEN]

Originally Posted by nsogiba

When the E9X series came out in the mid/late 2000s, I had my doubts as to how well they'd be able to carry the torch passed on by the legendary E46 series, which was really the first modern chassis line of the 3-series.

The E9x's seemed loaded with new electronics, fancy turbo engines, had put on weight, etc. Once they had depreciated enough to be affordable, I dipped my toe into the E90 market and fell in love with the chassis. I like my '09 335i 6MT XDrive so much that I picked up my '09 6MT E92 M3 to go along with it for summer duty.

The E90 335 has boat loads of torque down low and really doesn't need to be revved over 3,000 rpm to get down the road, whereas the M3 begs you to spin it to the moon. On the other hand, the suspension is softer and steering much slower in the 335, where the M3 is telepathic all around. Each is really great in its own respect.






The new dynamic of BMW (2014+ cars) is much faster, but not as fun. Stepping out of an E92 M3 and into an F-series M3/M4 is like getting out of your 993 911 and into a computer laden GTR.

To quote Kanye, "Damn, they don't make 'em like this anymore"

Love the rims on that 335!!

[ATLIEN]

Great post. I've got an e90 335i and an e92 M3 comp. I'll never give up either of them. The 335i was my first bmw and it's close to fbo and really needs nothing except the obligatory oil pan gasket. It's fun tuning it, etc but of course the M3 takes the show. It's rare that I don't get a compliment every time I take it out.

[CSBM5]

LeMans blue E92 M3?

[ATLIEN]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

LeMans blue E92 M3?

Yepper!!

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

LeMans blue E92 M3?

Originally Posted by ATLIEN

Yepper!!

Ha, I knew it had to be LMB and not IB. I owned an LMB E39 M5 for 15 years, so know and love that color well.

[bkfastwagon]

I owned an e92 335 coupe around 2008 as my first BMW, and loved it then. Little did I know that over a decade later I would be driving an e90 M3 (after a big disappointment with F80 M3). It speaks to both how great the e9x platform was, and how sadly BMW has lost its way since.

[G80indy]

Originally Posted by nsogiba

The new dynamic of BMW (2014+ cars) is much faster, but not as fun. Stepping out of an E92 M3 and into an F-series M3/M4 is like getting out of your 993 911 and into a computer laden GTR.

To quote Kanye, "Damn, they don't make 'em like this anymore"

nice Interlagos

[nsogiba]

Originally Posted by 330indy

nice Interlagos

Thanks, it's currently sleeping under a cover. Can't wait for the warm weather to take it out.