It's Time We Stopped Hailing Old Cars As The Pinnacle Of Driving Excellence
If you follow us on pretty much any form of social media, you’ll know that at the beginning of November, we gathered together every generation of BMW M3 for the biggest shoot in Car Throttle’s history. You’ll know this mostly because we spammed the hell out of every one of those social media channels with pictures of what we were up to. But hey, who wouldn’t?
There was a recurring theme when it came to the replies on these posts, though: outpourings of love for the original M3: the E30. Many assumed that it’d be crowned the ‘winner’ of the test. After all, it was made in a time before the takeover of electronic driver aids, a time before electric power steering and morbid obesity among cars. So, while it was by far the slowest car we had on the day, surely it would be the most satisfying, involving and exciting one to drive? Well no, actually.
I don’t want to drop a massive spoiler in this piece, but let’s just say when pondering our favourite car of the day, the E30 wasn’t exactly at the forefront of our minds. Why? Because it left everyone who drove it a little underwhelmed. 215bhp is a decent output for something weighing 1215kg, but the way it delivers that power isn’t exactly what you’d call urgent. Then there’s the very slow steering, and the soft, roll-tastic suspension.
In the grand scheme of things, this is not a sharp driver’s car, something we all agreed on during the day. And it’s not just us: our man Alex admitted he’d been told by countless other motoring journalists not to drive the E30 M3, as the reality would never live up to its lofty reputation.
None of this is the original M3’s fault. It’s still an exquisite thing (its classic, boxy proportions are ridiculously gorgeous), and there’s no questioning its motorsport history and how incredible a car it was in its day. But its day was a long time ago: the particular E30 we drove - a Roberto Ravaglia limited edition - is 26 years old, for Pete’s sake. And yet, people haven’t been able to move on, treating cars like the E30 - plus others from and before its time - like they’re the pinnacle of driving excellence. I even recall seeing a review of the E92 M3 in one respected motoring publication which claimed the V8-powered car wasn’t as exciting as the old E30. Are they mad?
If you drive a lot of old and new cars like we’re fortunate enough to, you’ll soon find this idea of performance cars from the early 90s and before being the superior driver’s machines to be nonsense. Steering has never been so quick and direct, while braking and suspension technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years.
There seems to be this misconception that if you step into an older car, you’ll immediately be rewarded with a pure driving experience, with go kart-like, feelsome steering. Actually, older cars usually have some of the worst steering you’ll come across, often being incredibly slow and woefully vague.
"By all means, celebrate older performance cars for what they achieved in their time. The E30 M3 and countless others deserve that"
Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, and yes, I do think there was a point where cars generally ‘peaked’ in terms of driver feedback and involvement. But I reckon that peak point is much more recent than people seem to think; something we’ll talk about in more detail when it’s time for the full M3 generations test. I also think - particularly at the faster end of the scale - there are signs that the whole feel thing is coming back onto the agenda, despite what the doom-mongers say.
I’m not saying that I dislike classic cars, quite the opposite: they’re usually better to look at, more characterful and entertaining to drive in their own quirky way. By all means, celebrate older performance cars for what they achieved in their time, for how they stood up to their contemporaries. The E30 M3 and countless others deserve that. But don’t whatever you do put them on some sort of pedestal like they’re still the benchmark for driver’s cars. They’re not, and that’s just fine.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
This still won’t deter me from wanting a late 90s Impreza WRX STi..
well,to be honest,not a lot on that has changed,the WRX STi is as old school as any new car can get..
Expect to have appalling shifter and steering. Those things are hideous to drive from factory. Restomods are going to be huge for GC8 Imprezas. Fit up a GR chassis steering rack and shifter bushings and such, and they’re great… Replace the head gaskets… And the timing belts…
It’s a lot of work to make one of those nice.
Oh, and the interior is bloody barren. You want comfort? Lock yourself in a small bathroom. It’s better than some 90s cars! And also better than my mom’s Mitsubishi Mirage (2014)
Thank god someone said it! I love old cars. My 1994 MR2 is one of my favorite things in the world but lets be fair 90s cars have had their day. Like you say once you look past the looks and spend some time with them (not forza time!) they don’t hold a candle to modern machines.
To be fair, the mr2 is one of those cars that really passed on the test of time. Sure the interior is as 90’s as you can get, but if you want anything even similar to the seat comfort, it would be a newer s-class Mercedes. Most modern cars are done for it if you don’t follow up on maintenance, while the old Toyota engines like the 3s, 5s and 2jz are bullettproof.
Same with the R34 and the Supra. People on the Internet pray to these cars, thinking that they are gods. However, many of them have not driven a car/ are 12 years old. Granted, they were great cars during the 90s; however, a stock Supra or R34 is easily beaten by modern cars today. Moreover, I do not want to spend thousands of dollars in a slow car from stock to be able to make it just as fast as the cars today
I know that this will get downvotes
Preach!
People are always in disbelief when they hear the Cobalt SS (TC) is several seconds faster than the Skyline GT-R R34 around the Nurburgring. It’s hilarious the misconceptions.
The Supra and R34 are about 15-20 years old. There better be cars that beat them. If there wasn’t, there’d be something very wrong in car industry.
Anyways my dream car is still Supra Mk4. No I haven’t driven one and I know it’s not the fastest. But there’s still something I like about it so much. Sounds, the looks the engine… I’m just hoping my dreams wont be shattered when I get to drive a Supra for the first time :/
I am a r34 fan,a big one and I will admit these cars have had their days,not to say they have passed their sell by date, still brilliant cars,but they are starting to show their age
Or maybe you are the 12 year old that haven’t driven any old car because the only thing you care about is which is fastest and not about the feel of the car ;)
I’m 22 years old and i bought myself a Mercedes-Benz 190e 2.3 16v instead of some +100hp eggs that i have testdrived.
Never really driven a r34 in anger but my old r33 was 1 of the most fun cars to drive the other issue with twelvies and jap hero cars is if it isnt a gtr its crap in their mind gtrs are unreliable heavy and owned by fanboys the gtst is a much better street car but doesnt have the same following because of that reason
Quack.
It isn’t about numbers, right? does a steering wheel need to be heavy & fast to give you good feedback? or does the car needs to have hard suspension & low profile tyres for you to feel something?
The Big difference between old cars & new cars is NOT the numbers, older car demanded you to drive them, if you get it wrong into a corner, it will bite, didn’t heel & toe? you couldn’t down shift.
Newer cars understeer, no matter what you do into a corner BUT on power most of them will go sideways amazingly (RWD obviusly) but back in the day there weren’t active diffs nor stability controls, it was you & the machine.
Hmmmm. So much wrong in that comment.
It’s just people being nostalgic when they say that newer cars are bad to drive. I have driven some new cars and I did like the driving. However the reason why I do like older cars in general more is their simplicity. I love the simple interiors they have. I love the simpler technology they have (even though it’s not “better”). I also love how they are designed a lot simpler (engine bays for example). And I’m one of the people that wants to do all the maintenance by myself. Another reason why I like simpler cars more.
Older cars aren’t necessarily “better” to drive, but when I think about the whole package, the older cars are much better IMO (read: IMO before you start hating :D). Also I do have to say that I prefer cars without driving aids (generally older cars). Not because it would be better experience, but rather because it’s different. Newer cars are very advanced and stable and predictable, with their driving aids and stuff, which is nice. You can be more relaxed, or if you feel like going faster, it’s not as scary to push harder. But I like the raw un-aided driving more. I want that no driving input I make would get suppressed. I want the car to do exactly what my inputs suggest. I want to control the car all by myself. No ABS, no traction control, no nothing. That’s what I like (power steering is okay though). It might not be “best” or fastest, but it’s best IMO. Opinion-based.
this this this this. omg i wanna upvote that comment more than once.
I know I could find a good opinion about this article! Having cars from the 90’s is not a matter of performance but of the experience itself
I drove an E92 318 and my E36 318 back to back last year. Dont get me wrong, the E92 was better in every way, but I dont think it was as direct feeling as mine. Not saying anything negative, and it might just be that neither were M cars (mine had M sport suspension, whilst the E92 didnt). Weight has made modern cars a lot less direct, and fun as a result.
Also consider, since the e36 was your car you knew all the ins and out, so you can read everything the car tells you.
When I lend friends my car I can feel things they cant, it could have been the same case for you.
My experience with 90s cars is that if they have power steering it is beyond overboosted. From my limited experience best steering feel comes from mid 00s right when they dialed in speed sensitive power steering and before it went electric.
Hmmm, I drive an MX5 which is 25 years old and a E220 mercedes 2014, I’d rather drive my MX5 all day every day as its 10 times the fun and 10 times the car frankly. I’ve also had a DC2…What i’m trying to say is, have you ever gotten goosebumps when driving a newage diesel car? Nope. I remember my first time slipping into the leather interior of a 1997 NSX and I exploded with exitement, the raw 3.0 v6 engine behind me created a smile no new car can do, and i’ve been in an A45, C63 and M3, without a doubt, they are amazingly engineered cars matched with brilliantly made engines but they don’t hold a candle on the rawness of an old car. My opinion! :D
But if everybody told you, that new M3 is best and old is sh*t, you would feel this way, if they tell you otherwise - you feel that way. Not like 100%, but the influence is real. For example I’ve never really liked E30, nor those year Mercedes, but now I like them a lot, even though I do not know anything about them and I have never driven one.
When they had introduced E90 M3 everyone was saying the E46 is better. Now, they ve introduced M4, again everyone is saying E90 is better. Fck logic.
Most people are afraid of newer things, or don’t want to get the newest car to look cool, so they bash on the newer ones and simply say “see these new ones, they are all bad, but mine, yeah this is a REAL car, it is great”. To be fair I keep feeling this the older I’m (and I’m still young, maybe it is just growing tired of stuff, because of working+school…)