Extremely underwhelmed - Are e30's not for me?

[CarsonE30]

I personally daily a '94 E34 540i just for the fact that, like it's been said already, it's super quiet, comfortable, and has no problem cruising at 90-100. The E30's though, 89 325is and 91 318i, are just an amazing driving experience. I live in Salinas CA and Laguna Seca is about 6 minutes from my house, the airport that hosts AutoX is 10 minutes away, and arguably the best driving road in CA, Laureles Grade, is 3 minutes from me. The 540 gets me to and from work but if I personally had to choose one over the other to keep forever, the E30's would definitely stay. As for 325 and 318, the 325 obviously delivers it's power a bit better and sounds heavenly where as the 318 is most happy above 3500 so you have to DRIVE that car harder in order for it to be "fun" which is no problem for myself as I love how revvy the M42 is when needed. Bottom line, if you're looking for a "comfy" DD, an E30 is a no go as they are basically a practical miata with more power and love to be pushed. I can vouch for the E34 540 as it pulls hard up to 110 and has no problem staying there for long periods of time, but if you find that you do want something more "sporty" yet still "comfy", hate to say it, but the E36 may suit you better.

EDIT: Read before posting kids, disregard everything I said, beautiful looking car, glad you found "the one!"

[varg]

I love how revvy the M42 is when needed

I don't find the M42 particularly "revvy." The stock limiter is pretty low for a 1.8L I4 with any sporting intentions and the throttle response is average at best. You have to wind it out, sure, but you don't get much reward for it and it comes to a rather abrupt end.

my limiter is set to 7,500rpm

[estoguy]

I daily an E30... 86 Eta. I know there isn't as much love for the Eta, but for a six, it is still a capable and fun machine to drive. I just did a cruise with a bunch of BMW owners this past weekend, and despite my car being the oldest and most stock of the bunch, I was able to hang in well enough with the newer models and had an absolute blast doing it.

As stated previously, try a well sorted 325i... you'll change your mind I think.

[mikebloco]

My e30 wasn't that great at first. I didn't like the seating position either. Once I changed to race seat and a different steering wheel it was way nicer.