I still remember my first car fondly and I’ve spoken about this very fact before. My 1996 E36 BMW 328i was a lovely little machine for all 248,000 miles of its life. I sold it many years ago, for less money than a set of the newest Air Pods, but each and every time I see an E36 on the road, it makes me smile. Which is why this new video from JayEmm really made me happy.
To be honest, seeing reviews of the E36 M3 isn’t that out of the ordinary. Classic M3s make for good SEO, so many publications like to run retro-reviews of them. However, seeing a video review of a standard E36 3 Series is far less common and really makes me smile. Especially since the car in this video is a BMW 328i, similar to mine.
Admittedly, my E36 was a sedan, this one is a Coupe. This one is also a “Sport”, which wasn’t a trim level sold in the ‘States. My car was also automatic (I was seventeen, I bought whichever BMW I could afford that wasn’t in shambles), this one is a manual. This one’s also green, mine was silver. So the car in this video is far superior to mine in every single way. Still, there’s a familial relation between the two and things like steering feel, feedback and chassis balance are all very similar.
So when I see a review like this one, where the E36 3 Series, specifically a BMW 328i, gets some much needed love, it really does put a smile on my face. It also makes me want another E36 3 Series. Until the memories of spending countless hours and dollars, while exhausting my entire vocabulary of creative swear words, begin to return. Then I realize that it’s probably best to just remember it fondly and continue living without the headache.
