318i or 320i???????????

hi all, quick question. one of my mates is looking to buy a 318i beemer convertible 96 onwards. few people have mentioned to him that he should get the 320i convertible. does anyone have any views on which car is better??? after having a look around on the net at some cars for sale, i seem to find that the 318i is more expensive, why is this????

any help would be much appreciated! cheers lads! (and ladies)

318i is better on fuel and cheaper to run generally and therefore more desirable to the masses, but i agree that the silky six is a much better bet plus it will go on for ever where as the pokey little 1.8 lump will die a horrible death much sooner.

personal opinion chaps, but i think drivin  the straight 6 is an experience all together.you cant beat that purr of an engine!

 

Well I have the advantage of owning both a 6 cylinder M30 engined car and a 4 cylinder M42 engined car, and while the two above members think that the 6 cylinder engines are the best thing with pistons I beg to differ...!  It's horses for courses in my opinion, I wouldn't attack a twisty 'B' road in a car with a lump the size of  a dish washer in it, doesn't matter what the horsepower.  Give me the M42 4 cylinder anyday, the turn-in, the balance, the buzz of the engine, sheer plesure...!  Why do you think the ultimate track car and icon of the road even today; the M3, only had four cylinders?  And don't start with the Alpina and Hartge versions, that's something else again!

When it comes to long labourious drives, then a 6 cylinder comes into it's own, yes it sounds okay, and I've got a sports box on mine too, it's just.....well heavy.  Don't get me wrong, I've driven my 5 hard on some lovely 'A' roads and loved it, but that's where it sould stay, on the not so twisty bits.

I'd still like to know Paul325's thought's on the matter of the 2L and 1.8L statement, rather sweeping for my liking!

You'll normally find a four cylinder won't last as long as a six will it, less stressed and with more torque a six will last for longer. agree with nickp on the noise i've owned lots of four cylinder cars and as soon as i jumped in a six don't wanna go back.

Four cylinders may be lighter but the extra power and torque from the six makes back roads alot more fun even if you have to slow down a little more for the bends.

All down to personal taste at the end of the day but i'd bin the six in a second for a v8.

Back to convertibles...

I once read that the 318 ragtop was the most desirable because the drive was so much better. The more powerful convertibles are plagued with scuttle shake, making the 318 the best choice. Who the hell wants to go racing in a convertible anyway?! They are for tooling up and down the local seafront, picking up chicks!

I think you have closed the subject there DaveB, exactly right on the chick part.

hello silky!

me and a friend both had the coupe, (i know you said convertible!) me with a 320i auto and him with a 318. we both agreed that mine was the better engine because although his was revvier, mine was the same in acceleration terms, (bearing in mind his was manual), and generally much smoother. It also has more power,

318is 140bhp

320i   150bhp.

Only thing is that im sure the 320i was replaced by the 323i from 96 on which has 175bhp! Go for the six, its what made BMW!!!