BMW 328i SE 4dr manual

If it's got to have four seats, the most complete drivers car ever made.

The best driver's car I have ever driven, let alone owned. I've driven a Porsche 944, a Mustang V8, a Mercedes SL, a Golf VR6, and now I own a Renaultsport Clio 182. But this old beemer was more satisfying to drive than any of them. This E36 model was the first one to cure the dangerous tail happy handling of the previous E30, but came out before the massive weight gain of more recent models. It was therefore the pinnacle of BMW 3 series driver satisfaction. This was an era when BMW's advertising slogan 'The ultimate driving machine' was actually true. Great steering feel and feedback, great seat of the pants feel and great body control. Placing the car accurately on the road is effortless, and the car can be driven intuitively without really having to think, "How much lock should I be dialling into this bend?" Brakes are jaw droppingly good. In 1995, Autocar Magazine roadtested an estate, getting it to do the 0-60 sprint in 6.1 seconds. Group 16 insurance, 205/60 15 tyres and brake discs costing peanuts. Suspension parts, however, and there are lots of them, are very expensive, and seem to wear out rapidly around 80-120k, meaning really big bills. That's about the only down side though; that and the incredible thirst.....

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