I spotted these three BMW 3-Serieses in an underground car park and something really struck me. I never thought I would say this but for once I think a Chris Bangle-designed Bimmer has aged better than its predecessor and successor. The E46 may look positively tiny next to its larger successors, and I remember really liking its styling at launch, but its jellybean lines are very much a product of their era.
As for the Bangle-designed E90, it adds a few creases but retains the right proportions. Coming after the Bangle 5 and 7, the 3-Series was notable for being his most subtle design yet, relatively devoid of flame-surfacing and surface tension and all that other jazz. That being said, for all the criticism he received, many were quick to draw inspiration from his designs. After Bangle left, BMW was very quick to clean up its designs but ended up following the Audi design school of “same sausage, different lengths”; personally, I find the current 5-Series and outgoing 7-Series classically handsome but far too similar to each other visually. And now, the F30 3-Series has ushered in a new design element I don’t much care for: the conjoined headlights/grille, also present on the latest 7-Series. Not to mention, reviews of the F30 have indicated it’s a much less pure driving machine with inferior handling to its predecessor, although a more luxurious interior.
The E30 and E36 have always held such powerful enthusiast appeal, but what’s your favorite generation out of the E46, E90 and F30?
The Bangle BMWs were controversial at launch but given how much car design has changed since (partly because of Bangle’s designs), the 5-, 3- and 1-series don’t look dated at all today. As the newer models mostly took a step back, I’d argue that they actually look more modern than their successors. The Bangle models are unmistakably BMW, current models are a lot more anonymous. And, as a BMW should be, their handling characteristics aren’t dated at all either.
That being said, my pick still would be the E46, or the E87 1-series, which is almost the same car. Pretty much perfect weight distribution. And the E46 may be a product of the late nineties, I don’t think it looks as old, and it carries the traditional BMW lines very gracefully without being restrained by them. Something the E90 didvjust as well, but in a new design language. Don’t care for the F30 because it doesn’t do that.
E46! I am totally biased since we have a 2003 325i sedan, but these are the ‘right size’ and even the pedestrian versions like ours are really fun to drive. These are also viable curbside classics since they are not too tech-filled and can be maintained more or less reasonably. I think that the E46 will be considered one of the last BMWs of the old school and that these latter ones are much less likely to be collectible or desirable as classic cars.
I never did like the successor E90 with all of its Bangle styling quirks. The F30 is a beautiful car, but has grown into former 5-series size, which I think is a mistake. The move toward turbo and direct injection has been inevitable I guess but those engines have proven to be less reliable that the normally aspirated straight sixes.
E46 also. I agree that they are the last to have that “classic” BMW look. Not too round and not too square. Great looking and the prices are reasonable right now, but try to find one with low mileage!
My 2004 325xi has 38,000 miles, with only about 2K miles per year put on now. Perfect condition. I bought it thinking (jokingly) that I’d just keep it until my kids drive, and they’d have an older but good and timeless car to drive (I drove a 75 Mustang II in high school, and it sucked). And now my oldest is less than 2 years away from driving!
To me, a BMW is nice to LOOK at, but horrible to own due to the expensive maintenance cost. However, the driving experience is unlike any other, which I haven’t tried or had a chance to.
To this day I have no idea what the “Bangle butt” is and how it compared to earlier models in which it was heavily criticized. I never really researched it, either.
There is no doubt that our E46 requires more attention than the Toyotas that make up the rest of our fleet. There is also no doubt that the BMW is a real drivers car and a lot of the complexity of the car is in the name of performance and refinement. What I have found is that a reasonably competent mechanic can maintain an E46 reasonably–now if you were taking it to the local dealer forget it–even the local independent BMW mechanic charges would make it a fairly expensive vehicle given its relatively regular need for attention. But if you are willing to do small/medium jobs yourself it is not very difficult to work on and the parts themselves are produced by many aftermarket companies if the OEM ones are too expensive. The basic mechanical and structural components of the car seem to be nearly bulletproof–it is the electrical components in particular that keep you on your toes. I am able to diagnose pretty much everything with the internet forums and an OBD reader and have successfully diagnosed and replaced a decent number of electrical components, sensors, etc over the years.
At the same time, my (admittedly much simpler) 1997 4Runner has never needed any electrical component. It isn’t as elegantly engineered, but it is more reliable.
Thats interesting you compare them with Toyotas as drivers cars Toyotas were some of the worst handling cars ever to come from Japan one local critic was so vocal Toyota challenged him to do better, he set his benchmark as the 405 peugeot and very nearly got there, I used my Amon prepped Toyota as the bench mark when I test flew several BMWs and on all occasions came away hugely unimpressed with their mechanical grip when flung into a hard turn, yes you can flick the tail out and drift them through tight corners, but that gets you booked here and worse you have to use more than one lane to achieve it a licence loss event or death on our two lane highways, a very overated brand of car resting on laurels gained a very long time ago.
The “Bangle-butt” was a term “awarded” to the 7 series first for having a rear end that made it look like the car in question had been in an accident. The tail light design also looked poorly thought out…..being long, horizontal slabs of red or “white” plastic. To my mind, they made the rear of the car look somewhat like the “bustle-back” Chrysler Imperial that was discussed here in relation to the Cadillac and Lincoln “bustle-back” cars. The 5 series, and 3 series “Bangle-butt” cars weren’t as bad as that 1st 7 series.
BTW, I think I read somewhere, recently, that Mr Bangle worked at Ford before BMW, and also at Fiat…..though my memory may be wrong on both points.
The Bangle Butt looks like an overfilled suitcase to me.
Zackman, you should try out a BMW. I had the pleasure many years ago. There was a used car salesman on the northern periphery of Atlanta, GA. When we visited friends I stopped there and Sam, the Bimmerguy let me drive 3 different BMWs. A 528 station wagon, a 3 series Cabrio and a 330 Coupe. The steering was telepathic in all of them. The 5 series was a comfortable travel car, the cabrio was a bit run down but still showed it’s potential, and the 330 Coupe was incredible: the ultimate driving machine. I will never forget how well this car handled. I whipped it around the turning circle of a residential cul de sac, keeping my fingers crossed that nothing bad would happen. I think I was nowhere near the limit. That car just gives you confidence.
Herr Wolfgang, trying out a BMW by putting one through its paces would be extremely dangerous for me and others on the road – I am legally blind in my left eye, and as a result, not only is the restricted vision bad enough, but in my case, what that has done to my reflexes and mental processing speed is difficult to explain.
It’s a good thing I’m a cruiser rather than a driver, and my Impala is the perfect car for me and everyone else on the road around me at any time!
In a different situation, I’d love to, however!
Strangely, I have never driven a 3er. That said, I like the E46 best subjectively – truly a timeless design. I hear the E90 is better to drive than the F30, in large part due to the F30’s wonky steering. I wouldn’t turn any of them down!
Overpriced overrated junk, the trio of them. Having said that, the E46. The clear bloat and crappy unnecessary lines of the post Bangled cars are quite apparent in this photo(even after his departure, I still think the damage he did has left an open wound on all following BMW designs).
The pre-facelift E46 is my favourite, though the E90 is better inside – better switchgear.
You can’t generalise about the way modern BM’s drive as they are very option-dependant these days ( they can sell you special dampers or steering that can make it a different car)
Still think Bangle was a barbarian though. No plans to buy a BM, unless a nice E30 came along at the right money…
I like the e46 and e90. These two examples are low mileage (around 100K on the 2001 and 50K on the 2008) owned by close friends since new. I love the size of each. I am not a fan of how the current 3-Series has increased in size. I think this e90 in Montego Blue is just beautiful, particularly from this angle – and I agree with you that it has aged well. Both of these cars have been very reliable and are great fun to drive.
The e46 coupe:
The E90 would have made a dandy-looking Pontiac Grand-Am.
Hey now…. My wife and I traded our Camry in on a E90, the E90 is a great driving car, seems like it’s always friggin’ broken but that’s for another day I guess.
BTW, it takes a few minutes (about 20?) but if you want to see a good example of what an extreme “Bangle-butt” looks like….
go to YouTube and look at the episode of the BBC series One Foot In The Grave called The Exterminating Angel. What happens to 3 cars is hilarious….in that droll British humor way.
E46 for me. I don’t mind the E90 coupe, but I really don’t like the tail styling of the E90 sedan. And while the F30 is handsome, it’s lost much of the distinctiveness. Plus it’s too big for a 3-series.
However, I’d take an E39 5-series over any of them. My favorite BMW of the past 25 years, easily.
Pfft, late E28 with the galvanized body shell would be my choice…the newest BMW I have owned was an early E36, the tufted, gathered soft leather and pseudo-wood on the dash turned me off. I have driven newer BMWs (I worked in a high end body shop) but don’t care for the way they look, the way they drive, or the people who drive them, especially folks leasing stripped down 3-series cars who can’t afford the cars, and have to be reminded that their deductible is due before they can pick up the car. It’s funny when it takes 3 or 4 credit cards to come up with $500…
Here’s my list, starting with the bottom:
#3: F30. To my eyes, the F30 takes the generic “modern BMW” look from the F10 5 Series and adds odd elements like the headlights, so it just doesn’t look quite right to me. I greatly prefer the looks of the F22 2 Series for a smaller BMW.
#2: E46. I am a big fan of the E36 design, so unfortunately I always see the E46 as just a puffier version of that car–not better, just softer. E46 coupe and convertibles look the best to me, the sedans are just OK.
#1: E90. The best Bangle. It looks surprisingly timeless to me, with the right mix of creases and curves. I feel it is aging as well as some of the milestone BMW designs like the E34 5-series. Personally, I think the car looks better after the mid-cycle facelift.
Rear view showing the E90 mid-cycle facelift. Though not perfect, I greatly prefer the more BMW-like notched taillights on the 2009. The original E90 taillights did not look like they belonged on a BMW and I thought were the weakest part of the design.
Having owned an E30 and an E36 (M3 no less), the E46 is as far as I go. If anything, BMW’s evolution from “ultimate driving machine” to “adequate driving machine with Lexus features” has me so disinterested in the brand that the later designations (E90, F30 etc.) mean absolutely nothing to me, and when one of those designations is bandied about I have as much understanding as to what car they refer to as the usual status-seeking jackass who just leased one.
My days as a BMW owner are long over, unless we’re talking antique plates.
These cars are for young people (under 55). The Cadillac ATS (which I owned one of) is better than the current BMW anyway (but is a bit firm riding).
E46 for me. I still love the looks, although the post facelift E90 has always looked good to me. And the drive of even my fairly basic 2004 325xi is still special. It may not have the power of today’s versions, but the feel, sound and smoothness of the n/a straight six is just so terrific…it is really the highlight of the car.
I like them all, but being around the current F30 on a daily basis, I must say that it is simply wonderful. Yeah it’s bigger, bulkier, pricier, and slightly softer… wait for the whining… but so is every one of its competitors and that’s why the 2-Series exists. The 3-Series still offers the driving experience that Mercedes, Lexus, et al can’t match. The available technology features are absolutely incredible, and the iDrive system is much easier to use than in the past. The E39 is often considered the best 5-Series. Well, I consider the F30 the E39’s closest successor.
I preferred the E46 over the E36, but it still doesn’t rock my world. The E90 sedan always looks a tad stumpy to me, and the headlights aren’t great; but the E92 coupe is gorgeous. The F30 looks great to me – I like the headlight-grille treatment a lot – although the F30 does look kind of ‘grown-up’ and serious now; all the previous 3s looked more sporty and fun to me!
Just drive one, and not a lease-special 320i, before you yelp about the steering. I think it’s fine. But then I have never driven E-whatever so I have no basis for comparison.
Big? Yeah, compared to prior cars, but no more than its peers. I think the headlight merge into the kidneys is brilliant and with the M-Sport kit the entire car looks much better, and you can’t compare interiors of base 320/328 to a loaded 335/340. Who else offers a snarly I-6 and a manual? Sounds even better with MPPK upgrade. Y’all can have your bent sixes and flappy-paddle nonsense.
If the M235 hadn’t been unobtanium and actually more expensive (after bank spiff and other discounts, even for a factory build) I would have preferred it at the time but I am deliriously happy with my ’14 335i RWD 6MT.
Out of the three definitely the E46 as its close to my tastes in that generation of 3 series. However our 03 530i has still been the best for the buck even as a pre-owned vehicle. It is very satisfying to drive particularly long distances when I can do so at 120 km/ph. And by reliable.
That said, I really like many of the models from the seventies large or small. The new models now on th road don’t really thrill me because of cost, technical complexity and so/so styling. The Bangle butt was an daring not styling novelty which I don’t mind too much.
As nice as the E90 is, I can’t get past the constant troubles my old boss had with his 335xi Coupe. Constant issues with the injectors failing. My pick of the litter would be an E46 325ti with a stick:
I’ve owned well north of 10 BMWs in my day, including the e30, e36, and e46.
The e46 is not a piece of junk by any means, and owning one today is one of the best deals out there if you can find a fairly decent one.
For a few grand you can get a comfortable, sporting, classy driver.
Yes they are more needy than a similar Toyota, but they really drive SOOO much better, and all the big stuff will work and an e46 will rarely leave you stranded. Also, the e46 is also very DIY-able, and there is a TON of support both from fans and the aftermarket.
Downsides are the interior room, which is horrible for tall folk, and more subjectively, the styling is not very distinctive, and is just basically a rounded jelly bean like many cars of the era. In comparison, the e36 was a radical change in appearance for BMW at the time and in the market, and so too was the e90.
So in conclusion: great driver, DIY-able, small bits WILL break, cheap to buy, affordable parts, tiny interior, un-inspired styling.
Definitely the E46. Don’t like the Bangle Butt. Also of the same era, the E39 (5-series).
Of those, the e46 is my favorite design. I’ve owned e30, e36, e46 inline-6 convertibles and now own an e90 M3 convertible. The best handling was the e46. The M3 blows them all away but it is the most advanced tech and has a sweet high revving V8.