E36/E46 318 fuel economy experience

[handgrenade 189]

Hi all

A friend is looking for a daily which is more economical than his current wrx. Can anyone here please provide any experience they have of how thirsty a 318 is? Are they safe to run on 91 fuel?

Any responses appreciated. He is thinking of a

St205 celica fwd which by online info is worse than his wrx!!!

Thanks

[BM WORLD 1283]

manual e36 318ti , run them on 95 , ,

or e36 316i or 318i manual , all the auto's suck ,make the car heavy and use lots more fuel.

e46 is heavier so probably will use more

[Palazzo 477]

My manual 328i is about 10-12% more economical than my old Legacy RS.

[Eagle 1662]

My parents E46 318i manual with M43 motor averages about 35mpg around Hamilton and low 40mpg open roads. Pretty good for a heavy car i think.

[nath 134]

I had an E46 318i sedan auto and it used piss all fuel. Very economical

[Top Secret 2]

http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/318i/1999/TopSecret/217347

My fuel economy seems to vary markedly. My car is due for a major service though. What would people recommend I check over while I do that?

I started off filling it only with 98, but the performance felt identical with 91 and the fuel economy seemed to improve.. strangely.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

If he wants economy, maybe he should be looking at a Corolla?

Sorry, couldn't resist

[Rob HB1 90]

Our e36 318 which has been converted to manual does 700 to 800 ks on a tank

[blonky 2]

My e36 318i did around 10l/100km, e46 318i 8l/100km mixed driving

[blonky 2]

Should mention I had the e36 with the soch engine in manual so that's why I'd say the e46 doch had better economy

[Driftit 2078]

manual e36 318ti , run them on 95 , ,

or e36 316i or 318i manual , all the auto's suck ,make the car heavy and use lots more fuel.

e46 is heavier so probably will use more

Yup around town they are horrid for the size of the motor.

Those Auto box's I am sure they sourced from an HQ Holden or something.

This is the closest one I could find to my driving City/Highway %.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/318ti/1997/Taku9/241046

[handgrenade 189]

Thanks guys .. Despite my efforts he won't buy a BMW as he thinks it will cost him lots in maintenance. Although a small win .. He's not buying a celica !!

[Allanw 1071]

Thanks guys .. Despite my efforts he won't buy a BMW as he thinks it will cost him lots in maintenance. Although a small win .. He's not buying a celica !!

Apparently he hasn't compared Toyota parts prices with BMW ones.

[Eagle 1662]

Genuine BMW parts from dealer vs repco branded japanese parts is the usually idiots comparision.

Parents bought their E46 at 42,000 and its done over 100,000 now. The Oonly things replaced beside usually maintenance items have been a DISA valve, heater resistor and a control arm.

[handgrenade 189]

 

Apparently he hasn't compared Toyota parts prices with BMW ones.

Are they similar?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Parents bought their E46 at 42,000 and its done over 100,000 now. The Oonly things replaced beside usually maintenance items have been a DISA valve, heater resistor and a control arm.

to be fair, those are things that shouldnt be breaking on a car thats done 100k

[Allanw 1071]

Are they similar?

Well... Dad owned one Toyota, and after the reaming he got on the required parts for it, he brought a BMW and has been raving about how little it's cost him over the last 15 years, and Dads a stickler for replacing anything that might cause him a problem.

BMW parts are surprisingly cheap in a lot of cases, especially on older cars, and there are a lot of aftermarket options too.

[Eagle 1662]

to be fair, those are things that shouldnt be breaking on a car thats done 100k

2 of them are common E46 weak points so its not really suprising, not to mention its a 14 year old car nowl so its not just km that have an influence.

[my_e36 43]

^^ agree. My e46 had DISA valve died as well as a nearby intake rubber pipe cracked. Probably due to engine bay heat over the years.

Control arm bushes were munted too. That was when the car at 8 years old at 90-100 thousand kays.

[rowans17 19]

For what its worth, last year my flatmate had a WRX and i had a e46 328cia. We found that they would use roughly the same amount of fuel on average despite me having 200kgs and 800ccs on him. His could use less fuel if he kept off that turbo though.