I've pulled stumps and pulled mustangs out of ditches; and plenty of trucks have pulled me out when I bury it. 280,000 miles and still pissing off everybody. Jeeps dont understand
@coffeeinthemorning I think these morons really do think that. Compared to marijuana, which is another thing not everyone used back in the '60's or '70's like people seem to think, cocaine use was very small.
When comparing this car to modern offerings from BMW, they seem like two different companies, and it has not been a change for the better. Also, at 3:16, "That's where the battery lives!". Love it!
Their mission has changed a bit. BMW were not reaching to make all out performance cars like they are now. They just made good BMW's. Sound coachwork and a solid road manors was more their focus. Times changed, the World as a market opened up and competition took them in to another direction.
777jones That is funny. Back in the eighties we thought of BMW and Volvo as solid but boring cars that cost too much and most Toyota's were throw away commuters that began rusting apart in a few short years.
I 100% agree! Growing up (I'm 35) I was the biggest BMW fanboy. Lusting after e30's, e28's, 2002 tii's and e39 M5's. Now I look at BMW and all I see is boringly styled, bloated X-Drive this, I-Drive that cars and SUV's. They're just so damn boring now. Are they fast? Of course they are. But you're so isolated from the road and the sensation of speed that it doesn't even matter. You're more of a passenger than a driver. I want old BMW to come back.
tn18977 Okay. I had an ‘87 325 in the early 2000s for 4 years. There were old parts that needed to be replaced. Yet with regular maintenance, it never gave me much issues.
Same sticker as my '88 535is. That's a tough call to make honestly because you know those AWD goodies are going to need maintenance. Expensive maintenance.
This would be such a fun, relatively practical (inexpensive to maintain) weekend car! I remember how popular they were in their day. Seemed like the ultimate 80's yuppie car. Whenever i see one around I'm still taken back by how tiny it is.
My '89 325iX was a lemon. Replacing the transfer case is costly on these cars. The wire harness to the computer was bad making the car run it had a mind of its own. Took BMW a while to figure that one out. I do miss my 325e though. I didn't know how they did it, making a small car drive like a big car. I hardly felt a thing while driving.
Had an 88 318i. It was so slow that Snails used to cuss me out to get out of the way. I also had a 95 325i which was pretty quick and I really loved. My 90 528 was powerful but loved to dine on gas.. I really like BMWs.. And Mercedes..
169hp might sound low, but at the time that was quite a bit. Even today, M20 E30s keep up with average family vehicles pretty handily. They might have another hundred horsepower but they've got another thousand pounds to pull around, too. 0-60 in 8.3 seconds is nothing to scoff at.
Ryan Miller Old thread, but is it 63/37 static, or variable based on settings/traction etc? Also, what type of differential is it? I bet it truly is a beast in the dirt, mud, and snow.
This car will always rock. Same for the e36. My first car was an e36 compact. Great first car. Just enough power, great practicality for a young lad, reliable, handled so well. Immense fun. I'm now driving an e90 320d; it's great but it's very "antiseptic" compared to the organic and connected feel of these old BMWs.
E30s are truly iconic. It’s so sad BMW has lost its ways. I used to be a big Bimmer fan, until about 2012, when they adapted their new “fugly” design language.
jeepthing98 And MotorWeek uses a different method to measure stopping distance compared to other magazines' test results -- this is why you always see very short 'distances' given from Motorweek.
Reaganomics artificially raised the value of the $ to make imports so expensive. This would’ve cost only about $20k converted from DM in the US 3 years earlier. I was stationed in West Germany at the time.
This is not '88 model,because IX was build from 1986 to 1987,and if you look closer you will see that this model have chrome bumpers,that's also characteristic for early models,because from 1988 they started to make plastic bumpers. I have 325ix 4 door,and i must say that there is no much room behind,I cant imagine in coupe that someone menaged to sit. It's great car.
Can you explane to me than how is possible that '88 model for NA have chrome bumpers,when in Europe in that time they produced plastic? Only early models haved chrome..
God MW sure does like their oil pressure and volt gauges lol. God forbid a car doesn’t have one. I loved the E30 and sadly chose an E36 325i sport over an E30 M3 with only ten thousand miles for the same price at the dealership. Huge mistake that was
I much prefer the Audi 90 Quattro if I was buying AWD, the 325 makes more sense as a convertible or the M3. The 90's of that era were a bit slower than the e30 but built like brick shithouses, looked good in pearl white too.
It's hard to argue with success, but I really wish BMW had taken more styling risks with these cars. They looked so '70s when they were new, with those round headlights in a front panel that slanted the "wrong" way and they should've been hatchbacks.
Be careful of what you wish for. Take a look at the new F30 m3's and m4's. So many styling gimmicks in the front bumper alone makes the whole car look like it styled by a committee. Makes one appreciate the simplicity of the E30 design.
As a BMW owner I just want to say that stereotype of BMW drivers driving like jerks is because BMW's handle incredibly well - or perhaps the word is precise, you literally can drive them super fast in traffic because they handle so tight. So next time you see one of us cutting in and out of traffic and doing stuff that makes you feel insecure, just realize we're better people than you with better cars, and just tip your hat to our success instead of getting triggered and angry. God bless.
European cars of the 80s are more appealing than European cars of today. Today's cars are too big, too heavy, too technically complicated, and don't hold up as well long-term.
The looks have definitely faded, but that's okay and normal. The problem with this car is how cheaply they're made and how expensive they were. I have to laugh at John's comparison to the Audi. The ABS on the Audi is able to be turned off in bad weather to improve stopping distances. That's a good thing! And it only did that when you manually flipped the switch. The Audi was $9k cheaper. That's like $23k less in today's money!
e30s still look good today.
Amen
No its better alfa 75 for me
@@MrVideogiocatore96 Alfa 75 is garbage.
@@OhioGuy216 you are garbage
Indeed. Beautiful
I remember being a kid, seeing everybody with skis and ski rack on these cars. Amazing times to be alive. Great memories.
0:40 "German manufacturers who hate gimmicks" things have changed A LOT since the 80's
Just think of the daft sound effects in the electric cars they make.
The precursor of X-Drive!
A family friend of mine had this back in 1988. He is the reason that I got hooked to BMWs!
I've pulled stumps and pulled mustangs out of ditches; and plenty of trucks have pulled me out when I bury it. 280,000 miles and still pissing off everybody. Jeeps dont understand
@2:48 Dude was buggin out when he got in the backseat like he was chowdered out on coke. Hey, I guess it was the 80s..
Lol! I was thinking why is he rubbing the interior all over like a madman.
Hahahaha
Then his buddy, the dealer, in the drivers seat operating the sunroof! Check out that stache.
@coffeeinthemorning I think these morons really do think that. Compared to marijuana, which is another thing not everyone used back in the '60's or '70's like people seem to think, cocaine use was very small.
My grandma has one when I was a little kid. This car made me a bimmerhead haha. Now I own a e36 for several years.
Oh man, it's so funny watching these cars when they were brand new. Feels like yesterday.
My daily driver is an 87 325is with 110,000 miles. It's just warming up!
$33,000 in 1988 had the same buying power as $77,000 today.. Damn it boy, that was an expensive car!
Legendary. I never appreciated the e30 when they were new but they were incredible machines.
That starting price is equivalent to nearly $70,000 today. That's absolutely insane!
Starting price “was equivalent” to that amount back then, 3 years later today is equivalent to almost 76K 😒😞😔😟😕
When comparing this car to modern offerings from BMW, they seem like two different companies, and it has not been a change for the better.
Also, at 3:16, "That's where the battery lives!". Love it!
agreed!
Their mission has changed a bit.
BMW were not reaching to make all out performance cars like they are now. They just made good BMW's.
Sound coachwork and a solid road manors was more their focus.
Times changed, the World as a market opened up and competition took them in to another direction.
BMW today is what Toyota was in 1993, a good, mainstream carmaker who makes boring cars.
777jones That is funny.
Back in the eighties we thought of BMW and Volvo as solid but boring cars that cost too much and most Toyota's were throw away commuters that began rusting apart in a few short years.
I 100% agree! Growing up (I'm 35) I was the biggest BMW fanboy. Lusting after e30's, e28's, 2002 tii's and e39 M5's. Now I look at BMW and all I see is boringly styled, bloated X-Drive this, I-Drive that cars and SUV's. They're just so damn boring now. Are they fast? Of course they are. But you're so isolated from the road and the sensation of speed that it doesn't even matter. You're more of a passenger than a driver. I want old BMW to come back.
E30 is a legend 3 series
$33,000 starting price back in 88, daaammnnn.....
adriancsamson That would've been reeeaaally expensive back then
$69,391.56 in today’s market value. It was also made to be more durable than today’s BMWs.
Could have had Celica and Land cruiser for the same price.
@@ricksays7133 In the mid-90s I had a mid 80s BMW, it broke down every 3 months on average. They're not as well made as your average Japanese car.
tn18977 Okay. I had an ‘87 325 in the early 2000s for 4 years. There were old parts that needed to be replaced. Yet with regular maintenance, it never gave me much issues.
Such a beautiful car till this day. Love ❤️ e30’s
Same sticker as my '88 535is. That's a tough call to make honestly because you know those AWD goodies are going to need maintenance. Expensive maintenance.
It might be just me but I think BMW sixes of that era have a beautiful exhaust note when under the whip.
Had M50 engines as well as M20 engines I have now, prefer the M20 for their sound
This would be such a fun, relatively practical (inexpensive to maintain) weekend car! I remember how popular they were in their day. Seemed like the ultimate 80's yuppie car. Whenever i see one around I'm still taken back by how tiny it is.
My '89 325iX was a lemon. Replacing the transfer case is costly on these cars. The wire harness to the computer was bad making the car run it had a mind of its own. Took BMW a while to figure that one out. I do miss my 325e though. I didn't know how they did it, making a small car drive like a big car. I hardly felt a thing while driving.
Had an 88 318i. It was so slow that Snails used to cuss me out to get out of the way. I also had a 95 325i which was pretty quick and I really loved. My 90 528 was powerful but loved to dine on gas.. I really like BMWs.. And Mercedes..
$33,000!?!? in 1988. Unbelievable, what an outrageous price.
to think nowadays 30k is nothing for a car. back then you were turning heads everywhere with a car that expensive
+geoff Yeah it's 66k in today's money.
In Germany restored one is 35 000 euro. This car doesnt know for years. I have one from end 1986 4 door. Great car.
@@duro845 $30k is expensive for a car even today, most cars are simply overpriced.
This is the best car I ever owned
taylor christensen agreed, I had a 87 and it was bulletproof
I'm considering buying one. Seems well taken care of and has had some motor work done to it. Should I buy it?
Sweet looking car that I would love to own it today.
Great cars. I remember all of the E30s I'd see back on the streets of Maryland.
Beautiful engine sound.
Must be BMW E30 nostalgia week!
This car still looks great here in 2019. Good job BMW.
Lies
This is why I love my car, 325ix ftw
+Ryan Miller awd sucks on low-power cars, sorry
+Nick Motsarsky it's a 63:37 mix, 63% of the torque goes to the rear, it's better than anything I've ever driven in the snow
169hp might sound low, but at the time that was quite a bit. Even today, M20 E30s keep up with average family vehicles pretty handily. They might have another hundred horsepower but they've got another thousand pounds to pull around, too. 0-60 in 8.3 seconds is nothing to scoff at.
Nick meant that awd has on average 5% more power loss on drivetrain than rwd.
Ryan Miller Old thread, but is it 63/37 static, or variable based on settings/traction etc?
Also, what type of differential is it?
I bet it truly is a beast in the dirt, mud, and snow.
89 feet from 60-0, damn.
What? That can’t be right lol
Those 2.5s sound great!
Beautiful car!
I would rock this car in 2015!
This car will always rock. Same for the e36. My first car was an e36 compact. Great first car. Just enough power, great practicality for a young lad, reliable, handled so well. Immense fun. I'm now driving an e90 320d; it's great but it's very "antiseptic" compared to the organic and connected feel of these old BMWs.
☝🏽Here, Take this L 👊🏽
3:29 John: We know they'll use this and with great relish! LOL
I think John Davis is the most eloquent presenter ever.
I like the projector headlights for 88 it's amazing
"Imagine putting all the power down at once" - I can't...Also nice of you to hire a fugitive on the loose to do the interior shots.
Low profile. Ffs those are like modern suv tires
E30s are truly iconic. It’s so sad BMW has lost its ways. I used to be a big Bimmer fan, until about 2012, when they adapted their new “fugly” design language.
Less than 90 feet to stop from 60? Never seen a MW test that low. I think some Porsche did it in 98 feet once.
jeepthing98 it said stop from 55mph, not 60mph.
jeepthing98 And MotorWeek uses a different method to measure stopping distance compared to other magazines' test results -- this is why you always see very short 'distances' given from Motorweek.
89 ft from 55 -> 106 ft from 60
Sadly it looks better than what BMW makes today. I remember this model very well and they did drive like a true BMW.
My 2008 335xi 6Spd Manual has this same Color Interior & Exterior Combo as this 1988 325ix!! It’s exactly the same exact car 30 Years Apart!🤯
I grew up in Colorado and these were quite common back in the day.
2 doors is a plus , not a minus
I have a 1988 325 Ix with Vader seats and I have 1 question what is wrong with that guy in the back seat he moves so much lol 80s
I have 325 ix end 1986 4 door. Great car,not much space back,but stil great one. I have full equipment,a really rare peace.
Thomax 2000 coke
Reaganomics artificially raised the value of the $ to make imports so expensive. This would’ve cost only about $20k converted from DM in the US 3 years earlier. I was stationed in West Germany at the time.
Surprising this wasn’t a sedan and wagon only affair.
the red interior thooo 😍
$72,000 in 2018 money with manual seats. Love it!
This is not '88 model,because IX was build from 1986 to 1987,and if you look closer you will see that this model have chrome bumpers,that's also characteristic for early models,because from 1988 they started to make plastic bumpers. I have 325ix 4 door,and i must say that there is no much room behind,I cant imagine in coupe that someone menaged to sit. It's great car.
The E30 325iX was sold in North America from 1988-91. This is an '88 model as that was the only year to have projector beam headlights.
Can you explane to me than how is possible that '88 model for NA have chrome bumpers,when in Europe in that time they produced plastic? Only early models haved chrome..
Obviously the North American spec cars differ quite a bit from the euro models. This is a 1988 325ix - NO QUESTION about that!
Whats the difference 325ix and 325i in engins
None, as far as I know.
BMW should relaunch the E30 with 6 cylinder engine as a Classic Serie. Such a wonderful compact sports sedan should not die.
Ugh, it would have been soo cool if the 325is got this body with the clean integrated bumpers.
3:07 sweet mustache!
I hear that valve tick. Hehe M20 👍.
Beautiful interior
cool. now i want an ix...
They compared the Audi!!! Lol. Where is it now? Probably died 10 years ago, meanwhile, bmw e30 drives like a regular car today. Glad I have one.
They should have tested in the snow and mud
MotorWeek | Retro Review - E30 DAY !
thinking about buying this car from a private seller...should i...??
Im a bit late.. YES YOU SHOULD!
Interesting that he rates this higher than the Audi equivalent. Hmm, not sure about that
God MW sure does like their oil pressure and volt gauges lol. God forbid a car doesn’t have one. I loved the E30 and sadly chose an E36 325i sport over an E30 M3 with only ten thousand miles for the same price at the dealership. Huge mistake that was
I wish I could still find these
Power sunroof?
i like it... i wishd id had 325 e30 green and 320 e30 yellow...
its so nice
I think they re used the trip computer footage from a previous 325e review. No way a 325ix gets 28 mpg
E30 that time BMWS were realiable.
Why did we never get the 325ix in the UK I wonder?
I recall thinking at the time:I thought I was thinking about what I think I need,not what some teutonic marketing dept is thinking what I thought
voltmeter and oil gauge again!
I want one. 2020
These reviews are the business, and about a trillion times less go-grab-an-axe-and-lop-someone’s head-off irritating than Doug’s video reviews!
I much prefer the Audi 90 Quattro if I was buying AWD, the 325 makes more sense as a convertible or the M3. The 90's of that era were a bit slower than the e30 but built like brick shithouses, looked good in pearl white too.
Una joya automotriz!!!!
we'll send all the oil and volt gauges in the world to motorweek so they'll stop complaining
It's hard to argue with success, but I really wish BMW had taken more styling risks with these cars. They looked so '70s when they were new, with those round headlights in a front panel that slanted the "wrong" way and they should've been hatchbacks.
Be careful of what you wish for. Take a look at the new F30 m3's and m4's. So many styling gimmicks in the front bumper alone makes the whole car look like it styled by a committee. Makes one appreciate the simplicity of the E30 design.
4wd binding? Really?
Yeah. That's total BS.
Nathan Adkins The front axles do bind a bit when cranked hard over at slow speeds.
Literally never noticed it in the year or so I've dailied one
168hp 2.5L
Guess it's fair for a small car in '88 >:3
Did anyone notice he always says alhoy wheels instead of alloy wheels?
15'' "Low Profile" tires
As a BMW owner I just want to say that stereotype of BMW drivers driving like jerks is because BMW's handle incredibly well - or perhaps the word is precise, you literally can drive them super fast in traffic because they handle so tight. So next time you see one of us cutting in and out of traffic and doing stuff that makes you feel insecure, just realize we're better people than you with better cars, and just tip your hat to our success instead of getting triggered and angry. God bless.
Can you add some more late 80s early 90s videos
Please !
Jo Tyers It's boring see the ugly rubbish Alfa Romeo at the start of these videos
That car just ruins it .
Jo Tyers What ugly Alfa? I didn't see any...
yeh
these guys look like cops
Crafters101 Lol cops who snuck into the drug bust evidence room right before this video
Classic
$33,290 in '88= $88,234 in '24
Thirst thought was, ima buy a car born same year like meh
And now Instagram kids are paying 30 grand for these things lol
Well, hello!!!
Back when BMW actually build good desirable cars xD
ME LIKE
European cars of the 80s are more appealing than European cars of today. Today's cars are too big, too heavy, too technically complicated, and don't hold up as well long-term.
The looks have definitely faded, but that's okay and normal. The problem with this car is how cheaply they're made and how expensive they were.
I have to laugh at John's comparison to the Audi. The ABS on the Audi is able to be turned off in bad weather to improve stopping distances. That's a good thing! And it only did that when you manually flipped the switch. The Audi was $9k cheaper. That's like $23k less in today's money!
Wow this BMW really looks old and dated, So hot in the day
Still the most iconic body style BMW has ever made.
Maybe this is why these E30s are selling for crazy prices now.
Per usual this dude SLAMS the gears into place testing the shifter.
Damn, that engine sounded really good. I also have to say I really like the understated looks more and more as time goes on.
Beautiful car!!
If only BMW made anything this appealing today. But they do not.
777jones this is my favorite BMW body style. Wish they would bring it back
M2 maybe?
The guy testing out the backseat seemed to have some physiological issues 😂
Gravitationally challenged
Hahaha