330i SE 2dr Coupe

Good ol Beemer

I've bought this in 2011 used with 68k on the clock. It served me well for 4 years.
Having the old port injected N52 engine it was 100% reliable.
Engine is powerful, smooth and sounds really, really good. You just want to rev it to make it sing.
E92s are comfortable, the seats (I had sport seats) very supportive. Interior good enough for 4 people to travel in (thanks to being just another version of 3 series). Ironically, there's more space in the back of 3 series coupe than in Audi A4 saloon/estate...
Gear change is good but the throw is a bit long. Gearing is slightly odd. 5th too close to 6th and both should be longer. 5th only really good for 40mph.
The car handles superbly. Bridgestone runflats are not as bad as people say - I found them performing superbly in all conditions (including snow). I mean if you try to take a hairpin bend at 100mph in the wet you're out but for normal fast road use they are fine - and extremely hard wearing! Rears lasted 30k!
I was shocked with economy. On a 2/3 M-way 1/3 town/b-road I was getting 32-33mpg. In town it drops like a rock to low 20s but on M-way you can do 40+. If you drive like a granny at 50mph it'll do 50+mpg!
Car is very well built and holds well even past 100k mark. Road noise is a bit loud though.
As for negatives - oddly enough driving position is off. The steering wheel (excellent in other aspects) is off center compared to the seat. I think its ever so slightly to the right. RWD means transmission protrudes into the cabin and all pedals are really close to each other. Wider shoes can press clutch and break at the same time easily.

All in all this is a coupe that sits 4, has a boot of a 3 series saloon, handles like a dream and can easily be used as a daily drive.
I've had it for 4 years and it never needed anything but service items. Oil, filters, spark plugs. That's it.

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