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

#E30IsNotTheBest #LookCTWhatHaveYouDone

#sincewhendohashtagswork?

It’s not about how fast it is or how direct the steering is all the time though. It’s about being in control. At least to me it is. I like the fact that I have no traction control and if I had an even older car, I’d like being able to control everything myself. Sure, I’d be slower, but driving, actually operating the whole car by myself, I’d have way more fun than someone who could just point their new car at a corner and have the computers sort it out . And then there’s the issue of working on them. I’d rather not need a computer chip to tune my engine and I’d rather be able to actually see my real engine rather than a plastic cover. If all one care’s about is speed, sure that’s fine, but to me it’s about more than that, and older cars often have that extra something.

The pinnacle of driving experience? A Caterham. No electronic things that interfer, no roof, no fancy stuff. Everything is controlled by you.

so true. All my friends told me to spend my 20k on a e46 m3 for a DD. I was like are you kidding me? I bought an FRS with a 5 year powertrain warranty and i beat the hell out of it everyday without any worries. anything goes wrong and dealer covers everything and i get a free loaner car.

Different strokes for different folks…

I think a lot of the time when we talk about older cars like this as being brilliant we talk about the chassis and corresponding potential at a track.I mean who tracks cars and keeps original struts, springs, sway bars, wheel/tires and alignment parts?Just my opinion

It’s not that they’re better or the pinnacle, they are a break and a reminder of what cars used to be, it just activates our nostalgia of older times. It doesn’t matter what age you are or when you got the car,if you were to drive your first car after owner 4 or so or any other one than your current you’d remember the fond memories. Least that’s my opinion

I’m from a big classic car community in Austria and I don’t know any people who think that old cars like the M3 E30 are the ultimate driving machines.

The most peolpe I know drive them because they are simple and have something like character.
You can feel that the engineers where working and thinking differently than today.

Of course new cars are faster and they are easy to drive fast even for bad drivers…
It’s not as hard to handle them at the limit and it’s not as safe.

As conclusion I don’t think owners of E30 E36 M3, R33, R34, Supras and and and, think they have a faster car than the most newer cars…
It’s something about passion which is hard to discripe like love for example and it’s individual

It is not about the figures or how fast and responsive a car steering is. If a car can put a 24 carat smile on your face and make your heart race than this is it - Nirvana! Other than that we are just keyboard r@ping. I would appreciate an E30 M3 or a Lancia Delta Integrale the same way I would appreciate a new Maserati MC Stradale, or a Mustang, or a GT-R. Every car is unique in its own way and we - as car enthusiasts and petrolheads should appreciate the beauty in cars, because car people are unique and colouful and in this Gray world the love of cars is something most of the human population can not comprehend and we must keep it alive and burning or the Gray will consume us.

The thing is, ten minutes behind the wheel of someone else’s E30 M3 isn’t enough for you to make an informed opinion. Many people, myself included, are initially disappointed by the performance of the E30 M3, but once you take time to really get to know and explore its limits and learn what it takes, to get the best from the s14 engine, you start to really get what the E30 M3 is all about. The E30 M3 was never really intended for road use anyway and as a homologation car, was always intended for modifications. As a race car it was lighter and considerably more powerful and went on to be the most successful touring car ever.

Yes, modern M3’s are quicker but nowhere near as satisfying to drive. I had a 2013 M3 (with it’s 400bhp V8) but it was the E30 M3 that was the most fun.