Saturday, June 24, 2006

An Afternoon with BMW 320i (E46)

I had the fortune to have a drive in a silver color 320i (2.2L in-line 6) for a Friday afternoon. It was a delightful car, solidly built and comfortable.

In terms of engine torque it was not too strong below 3000rpm but it was overall responsive and got the job done. Response after 3000rpm was a delight and the chassis would sing with the engine. It was more agile than C240 but yet stable at speed. For dense city traffic with lots of stop and go and fighting for spots, a bigger engine capacity like 2.5L or 3.0L would fair better. The small capacity 2.2L in-line six was not silent or vibration free at all while idling but became creamy smooth and extremely refined revving up.

Front and rear balance was top notch and I didn't feel the weight of the engine at all, unlike C240 which was slightly front heavy. But then C240 was a lighter car (1420kg) vs 320i (1500kg+). Again I must express my frustration with modern cars with excessive weight against their engine capacity. This 320i would be a great driving machine with some performance potential and fine balance if the weight could be kept below 1200kg. I knew it was a wishful thinking. This E46 would only shine if the engine capacity exceeded 3.0L but then we would be talking about a 1600kg of a small compact 4-door sedan (M3 4-door sedan?) It would be another overweight.

Seating position was not ideal in the first place but after the infinite adjustments it was okay. In terms of interior appointment it was light-years ahead of the C240 (W202). It was a much modern environment with excellent ergonomics. Mercedes also had good ergonomic of an old school design. I could not say which is better because Mercedes seemed to have very solid construction but with cheap hard plastic dashboard while BMW's was soft and luxury to touch. BMW interior had always been an eye-candy.

The 320i was a kind of dull below 50 or 60kph. After that speed it came awake. And in the twisties it came alive, especially in the left-right-lefts or right-left-rights. Shod with 225/45R16 in 4 corners, the 320i had plenty of grip and rode compliantly over broken pavement and yet the handling was responsive and decisive. I could tell the damping was excellent (much better than W202) and it had tons of wheel travel to cope with extreme road undulation. It was indeed a sweet surprise. Body lean in tight corners or at higher corner speed wasn't felt as it tended to be flat when 320i was asked to go around them.

No doubt E46 BMW 3 series was one of the greatest German daily cars. I would get one for myself as a daily car after W202. Since now I was so used to the leisurely torque of the C36, only a 330i would do the job for me now.