Price (brand new): $46,965 (adjusted for inflation: $109,245)
Price (as purchased): $2,100 USD
Hagerty Value as of 2020: $18,600 USD
Current mileage: 277,000 km (est.)
Performance: 218 horsepower, 229 lb ft. torque (est. after cat delete), 3.4L inline six with 4-speed auto; 3219 lbs.
<This is a 5-part feature where I rave about my 33-year-old BMW E24 635CSi, which I bought four years ago. Yeah, it's a little long.>
Previously: Part 1: Sense of Occasion.
Part 2: Driving.
First of all, this car is no Lotus Elise.
Actually, come to think of it, this car is hardly the BMW that you'd expect.
I always tell people who would ask me about driving this car: if you are expecting the classic corner-slashing, goes-like-a-rocket, stops-on-a-dime, backroad-warrior type driving experience from this car, you would be disappointed.
Sure, the legendary M30 engine is somewhat torquey and somewhat powerful. That is, for a car that was born in the 1970s. Nowadays, this E24 will not threaten even a Honda Civic. Even then, this is with the big caveat as well -- all the performance in this car is locked out thanks to a combination of the catalytic converter, and the lacklustre 4-speed automatic gearbox with gearing that would rival an East German school bus.
When this car still had a catalytic converter, it was slowwwww. So, after it became clogged one day, I took it off. It became less slow, but still pretty slow. Because you are still mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
The 4HP22, manufactured by ZF, is a fine automatic gearbox -- in its day. It even has three different modes -- Economy, Sport, and a "1-2-3" mode. In economy mode, the car shifts like a 80-year-old granny and jumps to a higher gear by 3,000 rpm, no matter how hard you step on it. It finds fourth gear, the overdrive gear, by 40 mph on the dot. It does not shift any earlier or any later.
In sport mode, the gearbox is happy to rev past the 6,000 rpm mark, and it does get much lively around that area -- with a truly unbeatable soundtrack from the engine -- but it truly takes a while to get there, thanks to the frustratingly long gearing. In first gear, redline comes at close to 45 mph. In second, you'd be sailing past 70, usually way after the Smart ForTwo has already overtaken you and cruising ahead of you down the block. Oh, and there's no overdrive gear in sport mode, so you'd always making a lot of noise while not going very fast.
Interestingly, in "1-2-3" mode, the transmission acts as a manual gearbox of sorts and will stick with whatever gear that you select. If you put the gearshift in third, the car will lock itself in third gear. For 1980s tech, this is actually quite advanced. Sadly, I seldom find a need for this mode, as the driving experience is still plagued by the overall slowness.
So if not the overall speed, surely this would still drive like the classic "ultimate driving machine" around the corners right?
Well, not quite either.
The steering system, thanks to the 1970s/1980s school of thinking that more steering feel = bad, utilized a steering box instead of a rack-and-pinion system. While the wheel is nicely weighted, the consequence of having a steering box is akin to steering a marshmallow with a stick -- there is a crazy amount of give whenever you steer the wheel, and you don't really feel anything.
Mind you, compared to modern-day BMWs with their lifeless electric steering, it's still night and day. Compared to actual sports cars, however, the classic shark almost feel more like a classic Cadillac.
Turn the wheel, and you would be surprised at the amount of input you have to enter before the car actually responds. Once it does respond though, the precision of the steering system is there. But now, you are confronted with the reality that the suspension is set up more for comfort than for, say, a weekend at the Nurburgring. The 6 series throws its weight around in the corners, and not in a good way. Thanks to its relatively heavy weight and soft suspension setup, carving corners in this car is not what you'd call "sporty".
To make matters worse, the brakes on this car is only charitably described as "mildly competent", In order to stop this 3,569 lb car, you really need to step on it. Once you step on it, you realize that you are trying engage brakes that is essentially a 30-year-old design. In fact, one of the most popular upgrades for E24 owners is to swap out the original brakes for ones that are from the E23 7 series, which are considerably bigger. At stock, the stopping power for this car could be a bit... suspect.
Compared to the E28 5 series of that time, the 5 series is actually considered the sportier option, thanks to its shorter body length. At almost 190 inches in length, maneuvering the E24 around corners is no simple task. You know how people say that some cars seemingly shrink in size when you tackle corners? This is not one of them.
Having said all this, I'd still argue that the 635CSi is still a driver's car -- albeit one in the form of a grand tourer, rather than a traditional sports car.
Take it on a long stretch of road, preferably a highway, and reap in the rewards. The engine sings and provides you with all the torque you need. At higher speeds, the gearbox and the long gearing are no longer issues -- if anything, it becomes a benefit, as the engine lazily sits idle at just under 2,000 rpm at cruising speeds in fourth gear.
If you need immediate acceleration though, just drop it down a gear and let the 3.5 L inline 6 take care of it for you. Sure, this car doesn't explode off the line, but it does gain speed like a sports car.
The driving position is classic BMW -- the seats are supportive, the pedal positions are perfect and nicely weighted, the dashboard is angled towards you, and you are just positioned inside the car with all the inputs just right, with excellent visibility all around, thanks to the low beltline and thin pillars all around.
The compliant suspension and the high profile tires means that it soothes over any bumps you may see on the road, making it one of the best road trip machines you can ever drive. I would know, because driving this car to Seattle for a meet was more comfortable than all of my considerably newer daily drivers that I've ever had.
Yes, the car is not great around slow, sharp corners. Around high speed corners though, the handling is rock solid, thanks to its weight and stability. The steering wheel is still precise enough to guide you through the corner, and thanks to the excellent visibility, you never miss an apex around the corner. Mind you, your car will be leaning like the Tower of Pisa, but the grip still remains, which means you can push the car slowly towards the limit.
You just have to be strategic with your driving. Knowing that you won't be able to gain speed in a hurry, it's actually better to try to keep the speed around the corners. If you can get over the vague steering and the body roll, the overall driving experience is actually quite involving and visceral. Fling this around a back road somewhere, and you'd be grinning ear-to-ear and be having a whale of a time. Or, better yet, cruise it down a highway and just shut your brain off.
Just be prepared to see a Smart ForTwo stuck behind you while you are doing it.
Coming up: Quirks and Features; Reliability; and Final Verdict.
I always tell people who would ask me about driving this car: if you are expecting the classic corner-slashing, goes-like-a-rocket, stops-on-a-dime, backroad-warrior type driving experience from this car, you would be disappointed.
Sure, the legendary M30 engine is somewhat torquey and somewhat powerful. That is, for a car that was born in the 1970s. Nowadays, this E24 will not threaten even a Honda Civic. Even then, this is with the big caveat as well -- all the performance in this car is locked out thanks to a combination of the catalytic converter, and the lacklustre 4-speed automatic gearbox with gearing that would rival an East German school bus.
When this car still had a catalytic converter, it was slowwwww. So, after it became clogged one day, I took it off. It became less slow, but still pretty slow. Because you are still mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
The 4HP22, manufactured by ZF, is a fine automatic gearbox -- in its day. It even has three different modes -- Economy, Sport, and a "1-2-3" mode. In economy mode, the car shifts like a 80-year-old granny and jumps to a higher gear by 3,000 rpm, no matter how hard you step on it. It finds fourth gear, the overdrive gear, by 40 mph on the dot. It does not shift any earlier or any later.
In sport mode, the gearbox is happy to rev past the 6,000 rpm mark, and it does get much lively around that area -- with a truly unbeatable soundtrack from the engine -- but it truly takes a while to get there, thanks to the frustratingly long gearing. In first gear, redline comes at close to 45 mph. In second, you'd be sailing past 70, usually way after the Smart ForTwo has already overtaken you and cruising ahead of you down the block. Oh, and there's no overdrive gear in sport mode, so you'd always making a lot of noise while not going very fast.
Interestingly, in "1-2-3" mode, the transmission acts as a manual gearbox of sorts and will stick with whatever gear that you select. If you put the gearshift in third, the car will lock itself in third gear. For 1980s tech, this is actually quite advanced. Sadly, I seldom find a need for this mode, as the driving experience is still plagued by the overall slowness.
So if not the overall speed, surely this would still drive like the classic "ultimate driving machine" around the corners right?
Well, not quite either.
The steering system, thanks to the 1970s/1980s school of thinking that more steering feel = bad, utilized a steering box instead of a rack-and-pinion system. While the wheel is nicely weighted, the consequence of having a steering box is akin to steering a marshmallow with a stick -- there is a crazy amount of give whenever you steer the wheel, and you don't really feel anything.
Mind you, compared to modern-day BMWs with their lifeless electric steering, it's still night and day. Compared to actual sports cars, however, the classic shark almost feel more like a classic Cadillac.
Turn the wheel, and you would be surprised at the amount of input you have to enter before the car actually responds. Once it does respond though, the precision of the steering system is there. But now, you are confronted with the reality that the suspension is set up more for comfort than for, say, a weekend at the Nurburgring. The 6 series throws its weight around in the corners, and not in a good way. Thanks to its relatively heavy weight and soft suspension setup, carving corners in this car is not what you'd call "sporty".
To make matters worse, the brakes on this car is only charitably described as "mildly competent", In order to stop this 3,569 lb car, you really need to step on it. Once you step on it, you realize that you are trying engage brakes that is essentially a 30-year-old design. In fact, one of the most popular upgrades for E24 owners is to swap out the original brakes for ones that are from the E23 7 series, which are considerably bigger. At stock, the stopping power for this car could be a bit... suspect.
Compared to the E28 5 series of that time, the 5 series is actually considered the sportier option, thanks to its shorter body length. At almost 190 inches in length, maneuvering the E24 around corners is no simple task. You know how people say that some cars seemingly shrink in size when you tackle corners? This is not one of them.
Having said all this, I'd still argue that the 635CSi is still a driver's car -- albeit one in the form of a grand tourer, rather than a traditional sports car.
Take it on a long stretch of road, preferably a highway, and reap in the rewards. The engine sings and provides you with all the torque you need. At higher speeds, the gearbox and the long gearing are no longer issues -- if anything, it becomes a benefit, as the engine lazily sits idle at just under 2,000 rpm at cruising speeds in fourth gear.
If you need immediate acceleration though, just drop it down a gear and let the 3.5 L inline 6 take care of it for you. Sure, this car doesn't explode off the line, but it does gain speed like a sports car.
The driving position is classic BMW -- the seats are supportive, the pedal positions are perfect and nicely weighted, the dashboard is angled towards you, and you are just positioned inside the car with all the inputs just right, with excellent visibility all around, thanks to the low beltline and thin pillars all around.
The compliant suspension and the high profile tires means that it soothes over any bumps you may see on the road, making it one of the best road trip machines you can ever drive. I would know, because driving this car to Seattle for a meet was more comfortable than all of my considerably newer daily drivers that I've ever had.
Yes, the car is not great around slow, sharp corners. Around high speed corners though, the handling is rock solid, thanks to its weight and stability. The steering wheel is still precise enough to guide you through the corner, and thanks to the excellent visibility, you never miss an apex around the corner. Mind you, your car will be leaning like the Tower of Pisa, but the grip still remains, which means you can push the car slowly towards the limit.
You just have to be strategic with your driving. Knowing that you won't be able to gain speed in a hurry, it's actually better to try to keep the speed around the corners. If you can get over the vague steering and the body roll, the overall driving experience is actually quite involving and visceral. Fling this around a back road somewhere, and you'd be grinning ear-to-ear and be having a whale of a time. Or, better yet, cruise it down a highway and just shut your brain off.
Just be prepared to see a Smart ForTwo stuck behind you while you are doing it.
Coming up: Quirks and Features; Reliability; and Final Verdict.
No comments:
Post a Comment