It's Time We Stopped Hailing Old Cars As The Pinnacle Of Driving Excellence

01 Dec 2015

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

Of course (most) classics can never compare to modern day cars in terms of statistics. I never saw them as the “pinnacle” of driving excellence. In fact I doubt there ever will be one as technology is always advancing. For me, I prefer classics because of the styling and the character. Im sorry but (most) modern day interiors cannot compare to the styling of (most) classics. As for the character, (most) classics tend to carry a sort of character with them. Some of them want to kill you, sleep with your wife and burn your house down and others just want to ease you into bed.

I think they are hailed as the pinnacle of driving because that is what most of us can afford. Not everyone can afford the newer performance cars, so we would not know how well they perform compared to the 90s heros. And there are so many choices with the older cars while now we only have the GT86/FRS/BRZ, Miata ND, Impreza STI, BMW M-series, and a few others that are performance oriented cars that are currently in production. Now I drive both a 97 miata and a 13 Fr-s and I do say the Fr-s out performs the miata in almost every way but costs about 10x more then start adding mods and you get pretty deep into the hole. So while I agree with this post, don’t count the 90s cars out just yet!

Late 90’s and early 2000’s cars are the ones they want if they were honest.

I agree that modern cars are more fun to drive, more powerful and obviously more luxurious. But i think the reason why older cars are ‘’worshiped’’ are because they haven’t lost an ounce of their magic they had back in the day. I drive a 1998 Toyota Conquest 1600 RSE. It’s 17yrs old and it’s still a giggle to chuck around a corner. My sister drives a Ford Figo (rebadged version of gen 5 Fiesta), and that is a pretty fun car to drive, though my Toyota looks a lot cooler. It’s how they make you feel, not how fast they are compared to modern cars. A 1968 Camaro SS is 50 yrs older than the brand new Camaro SS, but it’s ten times cooler and it can still hold it’s own in a drag race.

In my opinion, if it makes you feel great when driving then that’s want matters, but that’s just me.

I think the most important thing is to take into account how much tire technology has moved over the years.

I’m pretty sure a car, old or new, will be riding in 21st century rubber, but what do I know.

I think thats why ive grown very fond of my brz. Its got the classic 90s recipe, light, simple, small but its brand new!

As I have also driven many many cars, old and new, I can agree to certain extent with this. Many of the late 80’s early 90’s cars are great, but they are also outdated by now.

But also I’d like to note that in my opinion, even though modern cars outperform them in just about everything, they don’t “teach their drivers” as well as those old cars.
Sure, anyone who can drive adequately can drive just about any modern car so fast that good driver can’t keep up with the old car. But at the same time he barely improves as a driver.
But in the case of older car, when you have to get used to the quirks of the car you evolve as a driver with much faster rate.

For the comparison of the M3’s Yes I have driven E30, E36, E46, and E90 And yes the E90 was the “best to drive” If you ask me what I would want, it would be well maintained E36. it feels light and nimble compared to more modern cars, but as a driver it reqires so much more precision, an therefore it feels much more rewarding when you get things right with it.