Settle a bet please....

IrishZeus

Did the E46 BMW ever come in a 1.6l version?

EPM

Early 316i's were a 1.9 and later ones had a more powerful 1.8 afaik.

WestWing

The 316 was introduced in 1999 and has the smallest engine available in the E46, the 1.9 L BMW M43 producing 105 hp (78 kW).

In 2001, the 316 was given a smaller, yet more powerful, 1.8 L BMW N42 engine producing 116 hp (87 kW).

Manzoor14

a quick look at the wiki page says it's only came from 1.8L to 4.0L in petrol and 2.0, 2.9 and 3.0L diesel engines...

166man

There was a 1.6 in the 1-series though, were they not the same engine then?

turbojunkie

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056260624

R.O.R

166man wrote: »

There was a 1.6 in the 1-series though, were they not the same engine then?

The 1.6i (borrowed from Singer) that they put in the 116i, didn't make it to the 3 series until the E90.

IrishZeus

My thanks to you all - I have won said bet.

Were 316ti not a 1.6? And the compacts were E46s no?

L-M

Compact E46 were the same, the e36 did have a 1.6 for sure.

166man

Regardless, t'was a terrible engine! No idea why anyone bought a E90 316i ever... It's absolutely beyond me...

Anan1

166man wrote: »

Regardless, t'was a terrible engine! No idea why anyone bought a E90 316i ever... It's absolutely beyond me...

It suited a lot of drivers perfectly. Enough power for their needs, and lower purchase price, motor tax and servicing. Just because we want big engines in our cars doesn't mean that everyone else does too.

166man

Anan1 wrote: »

It suited a lot of drivers perfectly. Enough power for their needs, and lower purchase price, motor tax and servicing. Just because we want big engines in our cars doesn't mean that everyone else does too.

The list price for a bog standard 316i with cloth seats etc in 2008 was €37k for the manual and €40k for the auto.. I'm sorry but near 40k for a 1.6 petrol 3 series is absurd. There wasn't much difference between the price of the 316 and the vastly better 318. It would appear that people who bought the 316i were more interested in having a BMW badge on the front, than a faster better specced Ford or Alfa..

Nissan doctor

166man wrote: »

Regardless, t'was a terrible engine! No idea why anyone bought a E90 316i ever... It's absolutely beyond me...

To many people the purpose of a BMW is nothing more then to give the world a faux impression of success, even if they can barely afford the repayments or running costs....which is exactly the market the 316 booms in.

Anan1

166man wrote: »

The list price for a bog standard 316i with cloth seats etc in 2008 was €37k for the manual and €40k for the auto.. I'm sorry but near 40k for a 1.6 petrol 3 series is absurd. There wasn't much difference between the price of the 316 and the vastly better 318.

Absurd for who? Better for who? There are many drivers out there who would simply never use the added poke of the 318i. For them, anything more than the 316 was a waste.

166man wrote: »

It would appear that people who bought the 316i were more interested in having a BMW badge on the front, than a faster better specced Ford or Alfa..

Again, you're looking at it from your perspective rather than that of potential buyers. They mightn't want faster, and they mightn't want better-specced. And there's a world of a difference between the way an E90 handles and feels compared to a Mondeo or a 159. In some cases you might be right about the badge, in others you'd be wrong.

You'd want a decent engine in your E90, and that's fine - I would too. But not everyone out there has the same priorities, and for some buyers the 316i was simply the model that suited them best. Why are you having such trouble accepting that different people have different needs/wants?:)

For Forks Sake

166man wrote: »

Regardless, t'was a terrible engine! No idea why anyone bought a E90 316i ever... It's absolutely beyond me...

for the stupidly tiny wheels

ofcork

They are some of the worst looking alloys ever,should never have been put on that model.

VolvoMan

Anan1 wrote: »

It suited a lot of drivers perfectly. Enough power for their needs, and lower purchase price, motor tax and servicing. Just because we want big engines in our cars doesn't mean that everyone else does too.

Come on Anan, it was mostly for people who wanted the badge. They could have had a decent spec Mondeo Titanium or stump up a few extra grand and get onto the bottom rung of the 3 Series' ladder.

Our car culture is badge/registration first, car second.

Owen

I sold a few e90 1.6's. On paper people were convinced, same BHP as the outgoing larger engine, lower tax. Those were the buying motives.

Unfortunately, it was a bad bad car. I had one as a demo, going up a hill in second was a challenge. The throttle might as well have been an on off switch, didn't matter where you had it, the car ambled along at it's own pace regardless.

I don't like the e90 anyway, the interior is a huge step backwards from the better quality design and fitout of the e46. The e90's just cheap and nasty inside, and the centre stack is hideous, looks like it was designed by a child with a ruler.

Anan1

VolvoMan wrote: »

Come on Anan, it was mostly for people who wanted the badge. They could have had a decent spec Mondeo Titanium or stump up a few extra grand and get onto the bottom rung of the 3 Series' ladder.

Our car culture is badge/registration first, car second.

I've met badge snobs, sure - some of them bought a 316i, some bought a 335i. I also know many people who bought the car that they wanted, with the engine that suited their needs. This isn't aimed at you personally, but Motors full of people who can't understand how anyone could possibly have different needs/wants from themselves. Somebody posts looking for a 318i, and all of a sudden they're swamped with cries of 'but you could have an older 3.0, it's so much better!'. Better for WHO?

bazz26

For Forks Sake wrote: »

for the stupidly tiny wheels

Those wheels were standard on the E90 ES model whether it be a 316i, 318i or 320i.

166man

Anan1 wrote: »

Absurd for who? Better for who? There are many drivers out there who would simply never use the added poke of the 318i. For them, anything more than the 316 was a waste.

Again, you're looking at it from your perspective rather than that of potential buyers. They mightn't want faster, and they mightn't want better-specced. And there's a world of a difference between the way an E90 handles and feels compared to a Mondeo or a 159. In some cases you might be right about the badge, in others you'd be wrong.

You'd want a decent engine in your E90, and that's fine - I would too. But not everyone out there has the same priorities, and for some buyers the 316i was simply the model that suited them best. Why are you having such trouble accepting that different people have different needs/wants?:)

I wouldn't go so far in saying I have difficulty accepting that people have different needs and wants, but its hard to see what it is that is the main selling point of a 316i other than the badge.

If somebody only needs a car with 120 odd bhp, why spend 40k on one when you could have a 1.6 in another car that doesn't cost 40k?

Each to their own of course, but looking at the E90 3 Series in base model, I struggle to see anything good about that particular car...

L-M

The 316i was the slowest 1.6 saloon I'd ever driven until I got my paws on a Sierra.

kdevitt

IrishZeus wrote: »

My thanks to you all - I have won said bet.

Bad news - your mate is right (edit - unless you're the one who said there was a 1.6!)

316ci was sold in some countries - Portugal, Italy, Turkey.

1596 cc
116 hp / 150 Nm
205 km/h
0-100 km/h : 11,6

Anan1

166man wrote: »

I wouldn't go so far in saying I have difficulty accepting that people have different needs and wants, but its hard to see what it is that is the main selling point of a 316i other than the badge.

If somebody only needs a car with 120 odd bhp, why spend 40k on one when you could have a 1.6 in another car that doesn't cost 40k?

Each to their own of course, but looking at the E90 3 Series in base model, I struggle to see anything good about that particular car...

I'd be the first to admit that the E90 really needs a decent sprinkling of options and a good engine to shine. But - power aside - an E90 is simply in a different class in every way from a Mondeo, or even IMO an Alfa 159.

166man

Anan1 wrote: »

I'd be the first to admit that the E90 really needs a decent sprinkling of options and a good engine to shine. But - power aside - an E90 is simply in a different class in every way from a Mondeo, or even IMO an Alfa 159.

How may I ask? Other than the obvious rwd..

Anan1

166man wrote: »

How may I ask? Other than the obvious rwd..

IMO it's simply a better-engineered product, in everything from the way it goes down the road to the way it's designed and put together.