Man I love this car. This is my weekend warrior. Daily driving a 2015 STI and I’m really considering selling it and just keeping this car forever. For anyone looking for a RELIABLE bmw, here you go.
I found one in my area with only 37000kms. Considering pulling the trigger to get it as a daily. I live in Toronto so it'd be winter driven for half the year. Do you know how it handles isln tough conditions and have you had any problems with it since this comment?
@@waynerooney6023 man! A whole year later! Well I can say that it handles decent In the snow, they do not have traction control so it can be sketchy. Common sense (not an insult) and you’re honestly good. I will forever push people to buy these cars. (If you’re wondering) my car actually came to end sadly about 2 months after this post due to a drunk driver. Nowadays they are so expensive.
@@Clip-farmed thanks for the reply and im sorry about that drunk driver. The one I was looking at was a right hand drive imported from Japan with only 37,000kms on the clock. It was only going for 7800$ too. I messaged the guy about coming to see it but he sold it just before I messaged him. It definitely feels like the one that got away. I've been keeping my eyes out for any others in my area for sale. A man can dream
@@andreib5406 with todays market being so high for them just make sure to check for oil leaks! Also it’s still an E36 so over time if it hasn’t already the window regulators may go out causing them to obviously stay up or down. Other than that this little 4 banger is pretty reliable. Just make sure to take good care of it!
You freakin' did it!!! You made me the happiest boy that ever did live!!!! And its the same model year of my baby... god bless! And its Boston Green Metallic.. Still has the trailing arms from the E30.
Owned 4 of these. Sport package was the best. Best ac of any cars I owned. Plastic cooling system parts were curious on the 1.8 m42 and m44 engines. Great car
These 318ti Compacts with 5 Speed manual are a blast to drive, and there is actually more leg and headroom in the rear than the standard sedan or coupe. Light, tossable and excellent gas mileage of 27/32. As of 2020 prices for examples in great condition are approaching $10,000 with Club Sport and M Sport variants garnering an additional premium.
I've always wanted one of these. This is certainly my favorite BMW, and the only one I ever wanted to own. Its looks and proportions are perfect. I just can't believe those are 20 years old.
I have a low mileage 323ti with individual leather interior, this car i just perfect! It has the most fun handling of almost any car I’ve ever driven! I like it more than the new BMW M4 with the auto transmission which is stupidly powerful, but heavy and boring to drive! These 90s BMWs are peak driving pleasure!
I've owned a used 1995 318ti (m42 1.8L) for over 2 years now. it's hasn't given me any issues and its very fun to drive and cheap on gas. working on it is a breeze too, not like the newer BMW's that are less DIY friendly. If mine ever went, id defiantly look at getting another.
yeah its 5 speed. its not bad for a 4 cylinder, i put a K&N air intake, and a Tuner Motorsport Performance chip in the ECU and the car is pretty fast when you want it to be. Like most German cars you have a lot of torque after 4,000 RPM. Always fun to drive.
+daryl A How are you with tools? The car has been very reliable, but I do maintenance on a fairly regular basis. If you have to take it to someone to get worked on, it's going to be expensive, but I suppose that's true of all cars these days. With a 'ti, though, you'll most likely be buying something with at least 100,000 miles, so expect to be doing some wrenching. The only things I would be wary of, are the engine internals and the transmission. If it's not visibly burning oil, it's passed emissions recently, and it shifts reasonably well, there's not much else on it that can't be easily fixed. You might do some searching over at www.318ti.org, lots of info there.
Hey, I have a 316i '98, it has 160000km now and still works like a charm. I'm not pedantic with my maintenance, not even a bit. I kinda don't take as much case as I should, but even so still works no drama whatsoever.
Funny i never cared for these when they were new..but now really liking them. That 90's music though lol! Reminded me of Miami Vice and just about every other 90's show!
The engine displacement, horsepower, torque, 0-60mph time, and 1/4 mile time and speed are almost similar to that of a modern Honda Civic, even with the Civic's automatic transmission. A naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine with multi-port fuel injection would have more power loss with RWD or AWD, but thanks to direct injection and synthetic oil and synthetic fluids, power and power train losses are minimal, regardless of FWD, AWD, RWD, and 4WD.
My 95 has 130,000 miles. I’ve added a lower stiffer suspension and better shift linkage. It’s great to drive. Get the control arms replaced when you get to 100K miles. I have four other cars and probably drive my 318ti the most.
Samwise Drogod It was a sales disaster in the USA just like the BMW 318ti. Americans perceive hatchbacks as poor persons cars. The styling on the Mercedes was awful too. It looked like some kind of Kia Rio 3 door with nice paint and leather. I kind of liked the BMW ti styling though.
This is a really weird opinion from me but still, both cars are hatchbacks, both have four cylinder engine and manual transmission, both are rear wheel drive, have some sporting credentials and under 200bhp. I'm comparing the 318ti to a Toyota Corolla Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin AE86. (DIS A INITIAL D REFERENCE!!????)
Back when BMW wanted to dominate all price points and get entry level buyers in the showroom. Now they aren’t even apologetic about the client’s they solely cater to. The 1-5% ers...
Too bad BMW only made just one E36 Compact M3 where it should've been mass produced. If they can't find a market in North America, just look at somewhere else.
people that criticized the compacts look were tripping. the e36 sedan was the only ugly one! very handsome little hatchback. interesting alternative to the coupe though sadly harder riding than the sedan from what ive heard. shame the 2.0 six wasnt offered.
@@TheWolvesCurse i was thinking they can have the same problem like the e46 sedan in cracking rear subframe chassid But if you say no i am happy I have one 320td super reliable motor the M47N with 150cv
@@Aznag1980 i don't know much about the diesel engines, since i never owned or worked on a diesel, but the subframe on the e46 compacts in fact is way sturdier than on the larger models.
@@TheWolvesCurse is the same the car with diesel engine it have 150cv turbo and you can repro easy to 200hp This car was not released in america the e46 compact only the e36
HJ Farooqi I completely agree with you. I don't like LS swaps because I think they take away from the character of the car but something like a CA18 would provide a lot of performance for very little money compared to an S54 (its also more unique).
Sports comment voice, its almost completely without data. Then why make clip? In 99 we speak of here, bmw had as specific target to hav big assortment. 3series hatchback and 2door coupe, cabrio, and stationcar too. Currently not in Sortiment. Although boot isn t oversized in 1 series f today.4 cil 6 cil. A brand like this uses this car for people scaling down..elderly, former merc owners. haha Its high on luxery, low on volume m3. The dash is in part of the earlier 3 series. Also future . bmws were to become more and more expensive. And lose 6cilinders, the brand now even has 3 cilinder 1400 cc. Aaargh. By this elderly or value /money thing , you d choose either 316 or 323 6 cilinder. I don t know what school f cliches ya comment people followed, but handling wise an m3 is just a different car , an other sport, a different universe, than this one. 316 has 64kw or 75, usually hatchbacks are stern spring'ed backside, this isn t at all. Could not be further away from GTi s. Have any of commenters ever driven the car? It has a specific wheel spring setup, namely..the one that s overstocked. It stems form the earlier 3 series.Not to say it handles badly..the elderly couple begint this other showroom pet was Peugeot 306 cabrio, to give the idea.of marketing...thought Usa invented the textbooks and concepts, Marketing.
who ever says these handled link dream.. never actually drove one or at least put some Gs on those corners. This car is all fun and reliable and decently looking,BUT the handling NO way. .very unpredictable car was too short to handle like a coupe or a sedan or a hatch! . The rear trailing arm did this cars handling and it was shit! I remember messing around i an empty field in this car and i launched of the stop with the wheels slightly turned .. the car did a 180* on the spot.. NOt good NOt good. I had the same exact one in this video
All Escort GT's are garbage and handle like death. That is why there are no crap Ford Escort GT's left in the road in the US. That car almost killed me 5 times until it got totalled going around a turn 29 mph on wet roads. Total death trap POS
I guess it is Break My Wallet week on retro reviews. Get back to me when you start posting interesting cars again. Sincerely, The average Joe. P.S. nothing but BMW reviews in one week is a bigger buzzkill than Buzz Killington.
Ashley Wolf The bigger shame is they never offered it with either the 323, 325, or 328 engines. Even the 2.5 with 170hp would have given it a kick in the butt.
joh n Actually a bigger engine was offered, but in the facelifted "E46" generation: a 2.5 with 192hp. By that time the Compact was out of the American market.
Man I love this car. This is my weekend warrior. Daily driving a 2015 STI and I’m really considering selling it and just keeping this car forever. For anyone looking for a RELIABLE bmw, here you go.
I found one in my area with only 37000kms. Considering pulling the trigger to get it as a daily. I live in Toronto so it'd be winter driven for half the year. Do you know how it handles isln tough conditions and have you had any problems with it since this comment?
@@waynerooney6023 man! A whole year later! Well I can say that it handles decent In the snow, they do not have traction control so it can be sketchy. Common sense (not an insult) and you’re honestly good. I will forever push people to buy these cars. (If you’re wondering) my car actually came to end sadly about 2 months after this post due to a drunk driver. Nowadays they are so expensive.
@@Clip-farmed thanks for the reply and im sorry about that drunk driver. The one I was looking at was a right hand drive imported from Japan with only 37,000kms on the clock. It was only going for 7800$ too. I messaged the guy about coming to see it but he sold it just before I messaged him. It definitely feels like the one that got away. I've been keeping my eyes out for any others in my area for sale. A man can dream
@@Clip-farmed potentially trading for one soon, it has 220,000 miles. You think it’s worth it?
@@andreib5406 with todays market being so high for them just make sure to check for oil leaks! Also it’s still an E36 so over time if it hasn’t already the window regulators may go out causing them to obviously stay up or down. Other than that this little 4 banger is pretty reliable. Just make sure to take good care of it!
These things could be driven forever. I had several of these. Very basic car but it handled like a dream.
Mr99Burns what were the mileage of them? They reliable nowadays?
I still drive a 1998 automatic, with 109,000 miles now.
@@GSchmitable I love this BMW, solid car. Very beautiful and luxuous
Enthusiasts scoff, but it is hard to knock this practical and efficient E36 hatch today.
Brendan A. MacWade semi-trailing was old and lame then.
Martin Espinoza Old and lame? Identical suspension to what's been called the best handling BMW of all time, the Z3 M Coupe.
C2JZ multilink is superior in every way. And who called that the best handling coupe? They lied.
318ti + M3 engine = ultimate E36
318ti + LS1 = ultimate E36 there i fixed it for you lol
My friends 99 ti just hit 340,000 miles the other day!
At THOSE prices, this car should have been a MUCH bigger seller than it was!!!!
Inflation, my friend. Inflation.
***** The price now is like 30 Grand... US dollars.
That is still FAR less than the cheapest 3-series would set you back today.
Well the 2-Series starts at 32k and the 3 Series 33k... Not to mention all extras you get compared to 20 Years ago.
How true........
Motor Week has been gifting viewers with "vintage" BMW reviews all week! Keep 'em coming! These Retro Reviews for ALL makes and models are like gold.
Ian Clancy yeah !
You freakin' did it!!! You made me the happiest boy that ever did live!!!! And its the same model year of my baby... god bless! And its Boston Green Metallic.. Still has the trailing arms from the E30.
Owned 4 of these. Sport package was the best. Best ac of any cars I owned. Plastic cooling system parts were curious on the 1.8 m42 and m44 engines. Great car
These 318ti Compacts with 5 Speed manual are a blast to drive, and there is actually more leg and headroom in the rear than the standard sedan or coupe. Light, tossable and excellent gas mileage of 27/32. As of 2020 prices for examples in great condition are approaching $10,000 with Club Sport and M Sport variants garnering an additional premium.
Anyone else guess the song was broken wings by mr. mr. Albeit an elevator version.
kanobeez yes! or a copyright lawyer's interpretation of that song...changed enough notes so they couldn't sue LOL
100%
I've always wanted one of these. This is certainly my favorite BMW, and the only one I ever wanted to own. Its looks and proportions are perfect.
I just can't believe those are 20 years old.
Same here. I've had two and I'm planning to keep this third. I'm only 19 too! And I finally found a very clean one with a manual transmission
I'm selling mine
the handling is better than ANY hatch at that time. it is a perfect first car, and they are going up in value, too.
YaBoyJack It was my first car.
I have a low mileage 323ti with individual leather interior, this car i just perfect!
It has the most fun handling of almost any car I’ve ever driven!
I like it more than the new BMW M4 with the auto transmission which is stupidly powerful, but heavy and boring to drive!
These 90s BMWs are peak driving pleasure!
I've owned a used 1995 318ti (m42 1.8L) for over 2 years now. it's hasn't given me any issues and its very fun to drive and cheap on gas. working on it is a breeze too, not like the newer BMW's that are less DIY friendly. If mine ever went, id defiantly look at getting another.
5 speed? quick at all?
yeah its 5 speed. its not bad for a 4 cylinder, i put a K&N air intake, and a Tuner Motorsport Performance chip in the ECU and the car is pretty fast when you want it to be. Like most German cars you have a lot of torque after 4,000 RPM. Always fun to drive.
The BMW that you always reverse into your garage :-)
Well said my man !
Why?!
Because then it looks like a regular E36 from outside the garage ;-D
@@REALSlutHunter I thought it was because it looks like a regular E36 with the back smashed in haha
@nomadben
That too :)
But over the years, i started to like it :)
Still have my '96, just turned 220,000 mi.
+daryl A How are you with tools? The car has been very reliable, but I do maintenance on a fairly regular basis. If you have to take it to someone to get worked on, it's going to be expensive, but I suppose that's true of all cars these days. With a 'ti, though, you'll most likely be buying something with at least 100,000 miles, so expect to be doing some wrenching. The only things I would be wary of, are the engine internals and the transmission. If it's not visibly burning oil, it's passed emissions recently, and it shifts reasonably well, there's not much else on it that can't be easily fixed. You might do some searching over at www.318ti.org, lots of info there.
Hey, I have a 316i '98, it has 160000km now and still works like a charm. I'm not pedantic with my maintenance, not even a bit. I kinda don't take as much case as I should, but even so still works no drama whatsoever.
Funny i never cared for these when they were new..but now really liking them. That 90's music though lol! Reminded me of Miami Vice and just about every other 90's show!
Its not coupe, Its compact. Today 2020, I have this car, Its good car.
Respect from Russia.
Sorry for my English. 🙋
Your English is very good.
Greetings from Germany
The engine displacement, horsepower, torque, 0-60mph time, and 1/4 mile time and speed are almost similar to that of a modern Honda Civic, even with the Civic's automatic transmission. A naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine with multi-port fuel injection would have more power loss with RWD or AWD, but thanks to direct injection and synthetic oil and synthetic fluids, power and power train losses are minimal, regardless of FWD, AWD, RWD, and 4WD.
It is 20 years old
$20,000 in 1996 is about $30,000 today.
GT6SuzukaTimeTrials it’s $30,000 today??? My bf drives ones and I feel like it’s so ugly and idk lol I didn’t know it was this big of a deal
@@resonantresendizrogelio LOL in that case, u may just want to break up with the poor shmuck.
My teacher had this car in the 90s it was purple. NEVER realized it was damn BRAND NEW at that time lol
My 95 has 130,000 miles. I’ve added a lower stiffer suspension and better shift linkage. It’s great to drive. Get the control arms replaced when you get to 100K miles. I have four other cars and probably drive my 318ti the most.
This was my frist car I had to let her go I love that car everything is special about it RIP 2020
I am surprised they brought the compact to the states!
did not like it that much when launched, but somehow over time I have grown into it ;)
Thanks to MW and watching these as a kid I knew it was correct to say Bimmer instead of Beemer.
anyone remember the c class coup hatch from like 10 years ago?
I wanted one so badly when they first came out
***** We had a 2002 C230 coupe up until 2013. Was a solid vehicle but towards the end started having a lot of little issues
***** They made it up to 2013. In 2007 the renmaed it to CLC.
***** They made it up to 2013. In 2007 the renmaed it to CLC.
Samwise Drogod It was a sales disaster in the USA just like the BMW 318ti. Americans perceive hatchbacks as poor persons cars. The styling on the Mercedes was awful too. It looked like some kind of Kia Rio 3 door with nice paint and leather. I kind of liked the BMW ti styling though.
This is a really weird opinion from me but still, both cars are hatchbacks, both have four cylinder engine and manual transmission, both are rear wheel drive, have some sporting credentials and under 200bhp.
I'm comparing the 318ti to a Toyota Corolla Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin AE86. (DIS A INITIAL D REFERENCE!!????)
My first car.
Back when BMW wanted to dominate all price points and get entry level buyers in the showroom. Now they aren’t even apologetic about the client’s they solely cater to. The 1-5% ers...
the leather in that is better than any Bmw that's isn't a 100k spec
I still like the look of this car.. Wish it was avilable with the European M3 engine..
Too bad BMW only made just one E36 Compact M3 where it should've been mass produced. If they can't find a market in North America, just look at somewhere else.
I use to want one as a teen
I want to I6 swap one. Doesn't have to be an M engine. Just a bit more grunt and an overdrive
I like the 3 Series GT that they have now better tbh. I even think it looks better than the standard 3 series of today.
Did John Davies ever wear a blouson twice ?
They should have produced a 5-door hatchback variant as well as a production version of the M3 Compact prototype.
Had one of these in high school
Impressive.
Sold more vehicles than cabrios and tourings. Go figure? Pretty much everyone I know who bought one stayed in the marque.
Fantastic soundtrack.
I didn't know these existed until yesterday
the ultimate driving machine (UDM)
Wish BMW still offered an affordable 3 series.
people that criticized the compacts look were tripping. the e36 sedan was the only ugly one! very handsome little hatchback. interesting alternative to the coupe though sadly harder riding than the sedan from what ive heard. shame the 2.0 six wasnt offered.
Why is John Davis saying “Coupe” instead of “Hatchback”??!
Could you play show 2110
Beautiful car !
The E36 compact isn't as bad as many are making it seem. But the E46 Compact, eww, no please.
William Gson actually the e46 compact is the only e46 which doesn't disintegrate it's rearaxle. way more reliable than the other e46 models.
@@TheWolvesCurse i was thinking they can have the same problem like the e46 sedan in cracking rear subframe chassid
But if you say no i am happy
I have one 320td super reliable motor the M47N with 150cv
@@Aznag1980 i don't know much about the diesel engines, since i never owned or worked on a diesel, but the subframe on the e46 compacts in fact is way sturdier than on the larger models.
@@TheWolvesCurse is the same the car with diesel engine it have 150cv turbo and you can repro easy to 200hp
This car was not released in america the e46 compact only the e36
amazing car. I love mine.
I've always thought that the 1st-gen Compact's interior looks a lot like an E30 interior!! That's unfair!!
Super car
Thanks for reviewing this BMW, MW lol
0:48 - 1:48 and 2:54 - 3:58, nice music.. Anybody know the name?..
Anyone know what color that it?
these in the US?
This was not a very popular model for the North American market so there were not that many that were imported in the first place.
beautiful car
This is why I drove an old one. I can’t afford a new BMW. Lol
Anyone know what music is in the background?
The song that starts to play to 3:00 is Broken Wings by Mr. Mister, in melodic version..
yes, but it was gentle
XD thanks MotorWeek!
they only wanted 19,000 for the base model ? wow
Woohoo, and yet another Bimmer !
my father has the 1995 316i comact grate car.
I want that !
It's like an Integra lol but a BMW
My god, it's full of BMWs. Honey, they stole the trunk
I wanted one of these but it was too small inside for me
I like it bmw320ti
In USA i've never seen a 318ti or 325i coupe from that era.
Somebody should throw a CA18DET in this...
VolkswagenGamer BMW and a famous tuner ( Forget what they were called) Anyway, they putted a V12 from a 8-series in it!
HJ Farooqi I completely agree with you. I don't like LS swaps because I think they take away from the character of the car but something like a CA18 would provide a lot of performance for very little money compared to an S54 (its also more unique).
1.8 wait I thought it was 1.9 motor 🤔
97 and newer had a updated engine that actually was a 1.9
Sports comment voice, its almost completely without data. Then why make clip? In 99 we speak of here, bmw had as specific target to hav big assortment. 3series hatchback and 2door coupe, cabrio, and stationcar too. Currently not in Sortiment. Although boot isn t oversized in 1 series f today.4 cil 6 cil. A brand like this uses this car for people scaling down..elderly, former merc owners. haha Its high on luxery, low on volume m3. The dash is in part of the earlier 3 series. Also future . bmws were to become more and more expensive. And lose 6cilinders, the brand now even has 3 cilinder 1400 cc. Aaargh. By this elderly or value /money thing , you d choose either 316 or 323 6 cilinder.
I don t know what school f cliches ya comment people followed, but handling wise an m3 is just a different car , an other sport, a different universe, than this one. 316 has 64kw or 75, usually hatchbacks are stern spring'ed backside, this isn t at all. Could not be further away from GTi s. Have any of commenters ever driven the car? It has a specific wheel spring setup, namely..the one that s overstocked. It stems form the earlier 3 series.Not to say it handles badly..the elderly couple begint this other showroom pet was Peugeot 306 cabrio, to give the idea.of marketing...thought Usa invented the textbooks and concepts, Marketing.
take...these broken wings....lol
who ever says these handled link dream.. never actually drove one or at least put some Gs on those corners. This car is all fun and reliable and decently looking,BUT the handling NO way. .very unpredictable car was too short to handle like a coupe or a sedan or a hatch! . The rear trailing arm did this cars handling and it was shit! I remember messing around i an empty field in this car and i launched of the stop with the wheels slightly turned .. the car did a 180* on the spot.. NOt good NOt good. I had the same exact one in this video
Ya same with my father
But maybe bad tyres it was wet
I cant say the same of my e46 compact
Very safe on corners and grip very good
You spun because you were in a field with a rwd car. The wheelbase is the same, and the weight balance is within 1% the problem is how you drove it.
Not to mention this is the same rear suspension from a e30....one of the best handling cars of it's era.
I'm selling mine for 4,000
What's with the porn music?
Outperformed by a Ford Escort GT, and performs similar to a base Escort.
All Escort GT's are garbage and handle like death. That is why there are no crap Ford Escort GT's left in the road in the US. That car almost killed me 5 times until it got totalled going around a turn 29 mph on wet roads. Total death trap POS
I wont rest until every bmw 318ti has been destroyed
Christ that's slow by today's standards
@Pleasantly Rusty I'm from the UK, what's a Regal GS? Don't have those here
I guess it is Break My Wallet week on retro reviews. Get back to me when you start posting interesting cars again. Sincerely, The average Joe.
P.S. nothing but BMW reviews in one week is a bigger buzzkill than Buzz Killington.
Not a coupe
Love this version, it's a shame the M3 version of this was shelved, and it's a bigger shame that it got replaced by the crappy 1-Series.
Ashley Wolf The bigger shame is they never offered it with either the 323, 325, or 328 engines. Even the 2.5 with 170hp would have given it a kick in the butt.
joh n
Actually a bigger engine was offered, but in the facelifted "E46" generation: a 2.5 with 192hp. By that time the Compact was out of the American market.
Yeah, America never gets anything nice.
joh n There was 323ti E36 and I have one currently now :)...
Don't speak ill of the 1-series. The 1M was like the spiritual child of all the other M3's crying out at once.