bmw E46: 318i or 320i - engines?

dada44

Hello,

I am looking to buy a facelifted (post 2001) E46 BMW 318i or 320i. Mileage around 90,000 miles. I shall mostly be using it for town use, with the odd motorway trip of about 40 miles, twice a week. I do about 10,000 miles a year.

1. The two 318is i have seen so far, have had a noisier engine than the 320i. I was wondering if this was normal?

2. Also, the 318i engines, upon starting, shook a lot - this was the case for both cars. I could feel the area around my feet shaking much more than the 320i, which was virtually non-existent. Could someone explain this? Or was it simply because the 318i engines were cold?

3. are the mpg likely to be different? I know the official values, but in reality, can anyone give me any indication of how different they are likely to be?

bigjl

Don't know much about the newer 3 series as they aren't my cup of tea, but in the older models the 318's tended to be four cylinder and the 320's where six cylinder.

Though I have been told that BMW have lately started to use the same engine in different models, but the only difference is that the engine is in a higher state of tune in some versions, this applies more to the diesels.

For example the 2.0d engine is in the 318d and the 320d, just different levels of power, or so I have been told.

If I was buying a 3 series I would look for a diesel as it is a solid engine, even being fitted to other cars like the Rover 75.

johnnyroper

from memory the 318 is a 4 pot built at hams hall,they are reliable enough but are not as powerful/smooth and refined as the 6 cylinders.
the 320 is a straight 6 2.2litre i think so a lot smoother.

newbie007_2

I had an E36 318IS and an E46 coupe and there was no problem with noise at start up ,E46 318i should be no different, I would say its just that car you saw.

The 320i as that is 6 cylinders 24v as others have said. It will drink more on petrol than the 318, but its more smooth and has more power.

I dont think you're getting the right car for town driving, but can certainly see perhaps the bmw as something one would like to have.

harveybobbles

The 320i will be smoother to drive and as for running - its only an extra two spark plugs and a longer fan belt to worry about.

318 should get close to 40mpg on a run and the 320i about 36mpg.

I wish BMW went back to their old numbering system where you could tell what engine a car has!

A 118 can be had with a 1.8 or 2.0. A 320i depending on age could be had as a 2.2 6cyliner or a 2.0 4 pot. A 323i was a 2.5. A 523i was a 2.5. A 535d is a 3.0, but the 530d is also a 3.0...

benham3160

I know the old four-pot engines tend to suffer from head-gasket failure fairly often. The six cylinders engines are I believe a more reliable proposition.

Neither of them offer staggering reliability.

Regards,
Andy

dada44

yes the 318i is 4 cylinder and 320i is 6 cylinder

how much more petrol does it drink? does anyone know how this would translate in price on a weekly fuel top up?

benham3160

dada44 wrote: »

yes the 318i is 4 cylinder and 320i is 6 cylinder

how much more petrol does it drink? does anyone know how this would translate in price on a weekly fuel top up?

Depends, how are you driving it? Auto, manual, towing?

Motorways, town, stop-start?

Regards,
Andy

dada44

auto, mostly town driving, motorway driving - about 60 miles a week. quite a bit of start-stop in traffic

Paul_the_Painter

Assuming 200 miles/week the difference is about £3.00/week.

Although if you are doing a lot of stop start driving, and short journeys from cold, it is almost impossible to tell. The only thing that is sure is that the manufacturers figures will be complete rubbish.

Just buy what you want, if you're after the BMW feel, get the 6 cylinder.

tomstickland

318iS engines have a very rattly sound. My E30 (very similar engine) sounded like an old Fiesta, but was deemed quiet by others with the same engine. The 320 was a 6 pot in the E30, I've no idea what the more recent cars have in them.