What do you guys think of the 318ti?

[F34R]

I like men, picking them up is super easy in my Miata

ftfy ;D

[Kevinl]

I used to like them but not really anymore rather have a regular e36 coupe or sedan or if I wanted something newer with semi trailing arms a Z3 or M coupe

[Liquidity]

Not sure I've ever heard anyone refer to the ti as a perfect anything, surely not track car or turbo car. And fit and finish somehow better on a ti than any other E36 BMW? I can only assume you were comparing it the E30.

[ebox86]

Not sure I've ever heard anyone refer to the ti as a perfect anything, surely not track car or turbo car.

Well the m42 crowd seems to love to turbo those engines, i have heard the m44 makes for a decent canidate as well. But the main thing i was thinking is that its such a small car and uses many of the rear suspension components as the e30

And fit and finish somehow better on a ti than any other E36 BMW? I can only assume you were comparing it the E30.

Yea i actually was comparing it to an e30, i've never owned a regular e36 before

[z31maniac]

ftfy ;D

I think it's my hairy, portly physique more so than the Miata.

[ebox86]

This /DRIVE video on youtube talks about a 318ti rally car behind them when they talk about rwd cars. The car itself when they show it looks really awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PBDxpLjAoY#t=580

[Liquidity]

Yea i actually was comparing it to an e30, i've never owned a regular e36 before

The E36 in general is worlds apart from the E30 in fit and finish, not just the hatchback(ti). The hatchback only exists to satisfy the small car/small engine regulations in Europe and to better fit their streets. MOT over there is substantially higher for a normal sized car with a large motor. We don't have to worry about that here in the states - the large taxes nor the small streets - so there's really no logical reason to buy one - and that's why BMW never brought the E46 hatch over here.

[M-technik-3]

I like mine but the back seat needs to come out for hauling 4 17x8 with tires.

[ebox86]

The E36 in general is worlds apart from the E30 in fit and finish, not just the hatchback(ti). The hatchback only exists to satisfy the small car/small engine regulations in Europe and to better fit their streets. MOT over there is substantially higher for a normal sized car with a large motor. We don't have to worry about that here in the states - the large taxes nor the small streets - so there's really no logical reason to buy one - and that's why BMW never brought the E46 hatch over here.

Well i can't see an argument saying that logically, the only reason to buy a small car is if the city/region you live in has small streets. Should we all be driving as large of vehicles as our roads allow? Or as large and as inefficient of engines as our regulations allow? This is a nonsense. There are plenty of reasons to buy a small engine, efficient, hatchback car, plenty of companies sell a hatchback with tiny 4bangers.

I think the thing with bmw and the ti was timing, they released it in the states in the late 90's right in the middle of the SUV craze, everyone and there mother ran out to buy as large of an SUV as they could (hence the X series around this time). In Europe, the ti was quite popular, which is why they made a next generation incarnation of it in the e46. The e46 ti spawned the 1 series in 2004 and bmw then brought that over to the states in 2008 to pretty good sales numbers. We never got the 1 series hatchback in the states, but we are getting the new i3 which is a hatchback.

[anabolice30]

I hope I never become such a BMW fanboy that I stop thinking the ti is ugly.

[ST1G]

I find them quite ugly, and would rather drive a sedan/coupe/wagon/vert e36.

So freaking ugly.

[word is bond]

I hope I never become such a BMW fanboy that I stop thinking the ti is ugly.

Kinda why I like em. Just weird and ugly enough. I always thought it looked like they just chopped the back off the car. I dunno - it's just cool that BMW made the weird little car. I'd love an S5x swapped one.

[jrossowvue30]

I had a 95 318ti with the m42 and LOVED it. I bought it for super cheap with a ton of miles. I put a shit-ton of miles on that little car and it just would not quit. I love the look of them, you either love them or hate them for most people it seems. I sold mine with over 250k on the clock, the seats were tattered, paint beat, windows couldn't be rolled down but damnit that car drove like a dream. Still miss it and think about buying another one every time one pops up on craigslist. Mine was a 5-speed, but like said earlier they are more common in automatic.

[M-technik-3]

Little high in price but appears nice. http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/4642663045.html

[RondoAcapriccio]

wasn't a fan of them, until my brother got one. They are pretty frickin cool. Would buy another one, but I have too many cars on my bucket list, to buy a car that I can already drive whenever I want.