**A Closer Look at the BMW 325i (E36) - A Comfortable and Quiet Companion**

As I sat behind the wheel of this 20-year-old BMW 325i, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nostalgia. The car's sleek design and sporty features had me wondering what it would be like to drive one on the Autobahn. With its comfortable ride and quiet interior, this E36 was an unexpected delight.

**Suspension and Handling**

Steering suspension and everything else is really good," I said to myself as I settled into the driver's seat. "It's comfy, but it feels pretty planted. It's easy to judge, and it's actually a very good ride. It's very compliant, which means it absorbs bumps and road irregularities with ease." I was pleased to find that the car handled well, with a planted feel that made me feel confident behind the wheel.

**Performance**

While the 325i may not be the most powerful car in its class, it still has plenty of character. With an 8.4-second zero-to-100 time and an automatic transmission, I was expecting a bit more punch from this six-cylinder engine. However, as I accelerated through the gears, I found that the car's smooth power delivery made up for its lack of speed. It may not be the fastest car out there, but it's definitely not slow – especially when cruising at speeds between 75 and 80 kilometers per hour.

**Cruising Speed**

I couldn't help but think that this car was better suited to driving at a leisurely pace, rather than pushing it to its limits. The gearbox shifts smoothly, and the car feels like a cruiser at high speeds. And with its six-cylinder engine singing along in the distance, I found myself enjoying the ride more and more as I cruised through the miles.

**The Top Speed**

As I approached the top speed of 237 kilometers per hour (147 mph), I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. Would this car be able to reach its claimed top speed? With a manual gearbox, I might have been able to coax more power out of the engine, but as an automatic driver, I had to rely on the car's electronic controls. As we approached the 200-kilometer mark, I held my breath, waiting for the speedometer to hit the magic number.

**The Manual vs. Automatic**

Speaking of manuals, I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to drive this car with a six-speed manual gearbox. The manual is quick and precise, but I had heard that shifting gears manually could make up for some of the lack of power. With an 8.4-second zero-to-100 time, the manual was indeed quicker than the automatic – 7.3 seconds to be exact. This made me wonder if having a manual gearbox would have made all the difference in this car's overall performance.

**The Verdict**

As I finished my drive and pulled over to reflect on my experience, I couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation for this car. Despite its lack of horsepower and lack of a manual transmission, the 325i has won me over with its comfort, quietness, and character. With its stunning design, smooth power delivery, and enjoyable driving experience, it's no wonder that this car remains a popular choice among enthusiasts today. Whether you're looking for a first car or simply want to add some excitement to your daily commute, the BMW 325i (E36) is definitely worth considering.

**A Rare Find**

As I continued to chat with my host, I couldn't help but wonder about the price of this car. With prices ranging from $20,000 to over $30,000 online, it's clear that there are some enthusiasts out there who are willing to pay top dollar for a rare find like this 325i. However, as my host pointed out, even at these prices, this car is still a great value – especially compared to its more powerful counterparts.

**Conclusion**

In the end, I found myself enjoying driving the BMW 325i despite its lack of power and manual transmission. With its comfortable ride, quiet interior, and enjoyable driving experience, it's no wonder that this car remains popular among enthusiasts today. Whether you're looking for a first car or simply want to add some excitement to your daily commute, I highly recommend giving this car a spin – just be prepared for the possibility of losing a few horses along the way!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by Elton my name is Max and today we've got another viewer score this is Dice is 2003 BMW E46 325Ci it is his first car and that is pretty amazing a six-cylinder BMW as your first car uh that is the dream that is also what Martine and I did we bought a 325i E36 soda generation before this as our first car together and we had so much fun with that thing it was just so cool so today I'm going to show you around this we regularly get like uh requests to also do affordable cars so this I think is a very very affordable car and still has some appeal you know it still has uh some presence it's a good looking car I think it's got a six cylinder so I'll show you around it and then we'll take it for a drive towards the Autobahn for an Autobahn blast now this is a 2003 car so that means it's a facelift uh you've got a bigger Grille at the front a redesigned front bumper this is also a sports line so you get a sportier front bumper that's a bit deeper with those fog lights in there as well uh of course the classic E46 headlights they also got a little update for the facelift it's a black car you see them a lot in Black I I do honestly still feel like it's a good looking car It's relatively simple straightforward but it's kind of stood the test of time because of it it's definitely a lot more subtle than BMW styling today obviously so Wheels tires brakes uh we've got these I've never heard of them or seen them these are g-slaved slaved I don't know what the what the idea is behind that ultra speed 2 they seem to be all season tires and these are 18 inch wheels behind that we've got the regular E46 325i brakes not bad I have to say brake battle feels pretty good and uh the braking performance is also not bad so not too unhappy with that the Chrome window trim around the windows there are quite like that and then at the rear we've got a 325 CI badge uh this is you know this was back in the day when BMW badging still made sense so this is a three series with a two and a half liter fuel injected uh engine and it's a coupe so it's basically everything you need to know quite a nice rear end have to say quite like that let's check out the nope let's check out the the boot space love this key so simple so what oh that's actually built bad quite a big boot that's very practical dice actually took this car all this holiday and he went to the Czech Republic I think and uh I mean yeah it's very good for that it's it's comfy it's practical apparently it's it's quite reliable still lovely little dual exit exhaust here on the left and a tow bar very practical it's called Park distance control even which is nice and then let's check out the engine foreign you get the two and a half liter M54 engine so that's basically the base of the s54 which you would find in the E46 M3 and M3 CSL and the z3m and the z4m this is one of the great BMW M engines the s54 so this is the base of that that was a 3.2 of course this is a two and a half liter there's also an M54 2.2 liter and an M54 3 liter which is the 330i so when the E46 was introduced it had the m52 engine in the 323i and the 328i but they were then replaced with this M54 325 330i but it is a very nice engine it's called an aluminum block and an aluminum head and it delivers 192 horsepower hour and 245 newton meters of torque at least that is what it used to deliver I'm not sure it has all those horses anymore so this is black sapphire metallic as you can see right there and uh well it is a gem of an engine I'm not gonna lie it is so amazing silky smooth it sounds amazing it doesn't have the power but I don't really care honestly so inside here uh we find well the only real big issue with this car uh in my opinion it's an automatic so it came with a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic or even the six-speed SMG like the robot the sized manual so the like single clutch automatic which is not great this however is also not great I mean the manual would have made this car so much better so much more exciting to drive uh but you know it is what it is it is very comfy this I have to say it is like a cruiser with this automatic gearbox quite a good seat quite supportive seating position is pretty good for a relatively old car and then we've got this quite funky steering wheel a bit retro with that silver and the spokes and yeah quite like that and I also like that this car has like electric rear windows so you don't have a door but you do have these electric windows which I think is super cool nice so quite spacious actually look at that that is that is not bad for a 3 Series uh Coupe you could actually fit four adults in there I think I mean not super spacious but relatively good so let's start it up that's lovely this thing has done 197 000 kilometers but I have to say uh engine wise drivetrain wise it actually feels pretty fresh it feels well maintained so the engine feels smooth sounds really really good yeah that's how it used to be guys just a modest 325i which just sound lovely just a lovely sound we do have a sport mode for the gearbox so we're going to see what that's like foreign so quite a slow shift I would say let's try a kick down in the tunnel if the horses out here didn't really kick down let's try that again okay that's it yeah so on the move it's it's it's pretty quiet actually but you just have that lovely six cylinder noise as you can see it does need quite some time to get up to speed that's mainly down to the fact that you've got max power 192 horsepower stock or when it was delivered at 6 000 RPM so you really need to rev it out to get like the the power from it so you can really feel that it needs to build up six thousand and then it has to shift that's a shame if it would be able to rev out a bit more it would be a little more exciting I think but anyway I have to say steering suspension and everything is really good it's it's comfy but it feels like pretty planted it's easy to judge it's it's actually a very good ride it's very compliant hey kitty cat what's up uh so yeah not really too disappointed with that and I have to say it is Miles Ahead of that E36 we used to own I think this is a much better suspension setup or much better chassis setup it's it feels a lot more grown up and a lot more comfy a lot less noisy it's very quiet in here as well it's very comfy I'm I have to say I'm surprised by that the most probably it is very slow so uh it is supposed to do 8.4 seconds zero to 100 the automatic 8.4 and we did 9.8 so yeah I definitely lost some horses down uh along the way uh which is a shame but hey who cares right I also think like it's it's better suited to drive it at like 75 80 and not at 100 because then the gearbox is allowed to shift a bit earlier and it just becomes this like Cruiser and I think it's really really good at that as I said it's comfy it's quiet you've got that six cylinder singing way in the distance I quite like that and once you get up to speed and you're not expecting it to be too quick it's also quick enough if that makes any sense so if you're not expecting too much from it sometimes I look at the the speed armor like okay that's not bad I don't think that makes sense but it makes sense in my head there go the Dyers little squeal there and full throttle so this is something that you you actually have to uh take into account that you only have that power at like the top of the ref range so below that you're really missing a lot of power and torque to be able to accelerate onto the old man But Here We Go full throttle 237 kilometers an hour is the top speed of this thing or it used to be our time did 220 in the Autobahn POV so let's see if we can get close to that we are 210 on the speedo now but I have to release but again it's comfy it's it's relatively quiet for a 20 year old car it is not bad at all what's that ashtray very convenient actually was not able to do a 100 to 200 measurement because it needs a little space but it is like more than 30 seconds I think well probably closer to 40 if I'm looking at that but again I have to say at this speed it takes a while to get there but it's doing well I just really really wish that it had a manual I think that it would be you would forgive a little more because you would have like a six cylinder with a manual and you would just have fun with that right but that's close to 220 going to let all again break pretty good it's really not bad I think these cars held up really really well I mean if you would be able to find like a 330 CI M Sport with a manual gearbox I think that car would hold up still today as just a a nice performance car it it really would because you'd have that that six cylinder that just livens up the Driving Experience on every drive so it just means that you have fun on every little drive and I think this already does that for me it's it's quite slow but it's still fun to to drive I think it still has like its own right to exist especially at this price I mean these things are not that expensive anymore although I did see some uh for sale online that I think those people just are a bit Delirious asking like 20K Plus for a 325 um but there are some nice ones out there for sale by people who actually you know are reasonable you can even manually shift with that ear lever like that that's so slow so the manual actually was a lot quicker zero to 100 I think it's like 7.3 seconds so more than a second quicker zero to 100 for the manual that is quite a big difference but dice thank you so much for taking your car to us really enjoyed it uh I mean it's definitely missing quite a bit of horsepower and it should have been a manual but I still enjoy driving it and it's an amazing first car I mean it's comfy it's quiet it has a six cylinder and it looks good so congrats on your gorgeous first car so you guys thanks for watching hope you enjoyed it you can subscribe by clicking the big button in the middle you can also check out this video on the right or this playlist on the left see you at the next one byewhat's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by Elton my name is Max and today we've got another viewer score this is Dice is 2003 BMW E46 325Ci it is his first car and that is pretty amazing a six-cylinder BMW as your first car uh that is the dream that is also what Martine and I did we bought a 325i E36 soda generation before this as our first car together and we had so much fun with that thing it was just so cool so today I'm going to show you around this we regularly get like uh requests to also do affordable cars so this I think is a very very affordable car and still has some appeal you know it still has uh some presence it's a good looking car I think it's got a six cylinder so I'll show you around it and then we'll take it for a drive towards the Autobahn for an Autobahn blast now this is a 2003 car so that means it's a facelift uh you've got a bigger Grille at the front a redesigned front bumper this is also a sports line so you get a sportier front bumper that's a bit deeper with those fog lights in there as well uh of course the classic E46 headlights they also got a little update for the facelift it's a black car you see them a lot in Black I I do honestly still feel like it's a good looking car It's relatively simple straightforward but it's kind of stood the test of time because of it it's definitely a lot more subtle than BMW styling today obviously so Wheels tires brakes uh we've got these I've never heard of them or seen them these are g-slaved slaved I don't know what the what the idea is behind that ultra speed 2 they seem to be all season tires and these are 18 inch wheels behind that we've got the regular E46 325i brakes not bad I have to say brake battle feels pretty good and uh the braking performance is also not bad so not too unhappy with that the Chrome window trim around the windows there are quite like that and then at the rear we've got a 325 CI badge uh this is you know this was back in the day when BMW badging still made sense so this is a three series with a two and a half liter fuel injected uh engine and it's a coupe so it's basically everything you need to know quite a nice rear end have to say quite like that let's check out the nope let's check out the the boot space love this key so simple so what oh that's actually built bad quite a big boot that's very practical dice actually took this car all this holiday and he went to the Czech Republic I think and uh I mean yeah it's very good for that it's it's comfy it's practical apparently it's it's quite reliable still lovely little dual exit exhaust here on the left and a tow bar very practical it's called Park distance control even which is nice and then let's check out the engine foreign you get the two and a half liter M54 engine so that's basically the base of the s54 which you would find in the E46 M3 and M3 CSL and the z3m and the z4m this is one of the great BMW M engines the s54 so this is the base of that that was a 3.2 of course this is a two and a half liter there's also an M54 2.2 liter and an M54 3 liter which is the 330i so when the E46 was introduced it had the m52 engine in the 323i and the 328i but they were then replaced with this M54 325 330i but it is a very nice engine it's called an aluminum block and an aluminum head and it delivers 192 horsepower hour and 245 newton meters of torque at least that is what it used to deliver I'm not sure it has all those horses anymore so this is black sapphire metallic as you can see right there and uh well it is a gem of an engine I'm not gonna lie it is so amazing silky smooth it sounds amazing it doesn't have the power but I don't really care honestly so inside here uh we find well the only real big issue with this car uh in my opinion it's an automatic so it came with a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic or even the six-speed SMG like the robot the sized manual so the like single clutch automatic which is not great this however is also not great I mean the manual would have made this car so much better so much more exciting to drive uh but you know it is what it is it is very comfy this I have to say it is like a cruiser with this automatic gearbox quite a good seat quite supportive seating position is pretty good for a relatively old car and then we've got this quite funky steering wheel a bit retro with that silver and the spokes and yeah quite like that and I also like that this car has like electric rear windows so you don't have a door but you do have these electric windows which I think is super cool nice so quite spacious actually look at that that is that is not bad for a 3 Series uh Coupe you could actually fit four adults in there I think I mean not super spacious but relatively good so let's start it up that's lovely this thing has done 197 000 kilometers but I have to say uh engine wise drivetrain wise it actually feels pretty fresh it feels well maintained so the engine feels smooth sounds really really good yeah that's how it used to be guys just a modest 325i which just sound lovely just a lovely sound we do have a sport mode for the gearbox so we're going to see what that's like foreign so quite a slow shift I would say let's try a kick down in the tunnel if the horses out here didn't really kick down let's try that again okay that's it yeah so on the move it's it's it's pretty quiet actually but you just have that lovely six cylinder noise as you can see it does need quite some time to get up to speed that's mainly down to the fact that you've got max power 192 horsepower stock or when it was delivered at 6 000 RPM so you really need to rev it out to get like the the power from it so you can really feel that it needs to build up six thousand and then it has to shift that's a shame if it would be able to rev out a bit more it would be a little more exciting I think but anyway I have to say steering suspension and everything is really good it's it's comfy but it feels like pretty planted it's easy to judge it's it's actually a very good ride it's very compliant hey kitty cat what's up uh so yeah not really too disappointed with that and I have to say it is Miles Ahead of that E36 we used to own I think this is a much better suspension setup or much better chassis setup it's it feels a lot more grown up and a lot more comfy a lot less noisy it's very quiet in here as well it's very comfy I'm I have to say I'm surprised by that the most probably it is very slow so uh it is supposed to do 8.4 seconds zero to 100 the automatic 8.4 and we did 9.8 so yeah I definitely lost some horses down uh along the way uh which is a shame but hey who cares right I also think like it's it's better suited to drive it at like 75 80 and not at 100 because then the gearbox is allowed to shift a bit earlier and it just becomes this like Cruiser and I think it's really really good at that as I said it's comfy it's quiet you've got that six cylinder singing way in the distance I quite like that and once you get up to speed and you're not expecting it to be too quick it's also quick enough if that makes any sense so if you're not expecting too much from it sometimes I look at the the speed armor like okay that's not bad I don't think that makes sense but it makes sense in my head there go the Dyers little squeal there and full throttle so this is something that you you actually have to uh take into account that you only have that power at like the top of the ref range so below that you're really missing a lot of power and torque to be able to accelerate onto the old man But Here We Go full throttle 237 kilometers an hour is the top speed of this thing or it used to be our time did 220 in the Autobahn POV so let's see if we can get close to that we are 210 on the speedo now but I have to release but again it's comfy it's it's relatively quiet for a 20 year old car it is not bad at all what's that ashtray very convenient actually was not able to do a 100 to 200 measurement because it needs a little space but it is like more than 30 seconds I think well probably closer to 40 if I'm looking at that but again I have to say at this speed it takes a while to get there but it's doing well I just really really wish that it had a manual I think that it would be you would forgive a little more because you would have like a six cylinder with a manual and you would just have fun with that right but that's close to 220 going to let all again break pretty good it's really not bad I think these cars held up really really well I mean if you would be able to find like a 330 CI M Sport with a manual gearbox I think that car would hold up still today as just a a nice performance car it it really would because you'd have that that six cylinder that just livens up the Driving Experience on every drive so it just means that you have fun on every little drive and I think this already does that for me it's it's quite slow but it's still fun to to drive I think it still has like its own right to exist especially at this price I mean these things are not that expensive anymore although I did see some uh for sale online that I think those people just are a bit Delirious asking like 20K Plus for a 325 um but there are some nice ones out there for sale by people who actually you know are reasonable you can even manually shift with that ear lever like that that's so slow so the manual actually was a lot quicker zero to 100 I think it's like 7.3 seconds so more than a second quicker zero to 100 for the manual that is quite a big difference but dice thank you so much for taking your car to us really enjoyed it uh I mean it's definitely missing quite a bit of horsepower and it should have been a manual but I still enjoy driving it and it's an amazing first car I mean it's comfy it's quiet it has a six cylinder and it looks good so congrats on your gorgeous first car so you guys thanks for watching hope you enjoyed it you can subscribe by clicking the big button in the middle you can also check out this video on the right or this playlist on the left see you at the next one bye\n"