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[Dave G]

Well, I used to borrow my Dad’s Marina, a 1300 2-door (coupé?), maroon, looked like a crap respray. Always narked me that he didn’t get an 1800, with the rev counter!

Anyway, with four in the car it would bounce around corners given the slightest bump. Scary for everyone. Maybe because of the torsion bar rear suspension, or as previously said, 1950s design.

No redeeming features whatsoever.

[Dave G]

Might be wrong there. Was it the front that was torsion bar?
Whatever, it wasn’t too pleasant.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I suppose we lust after old cars from our youth because of the fond memories they have given us. In reality most old cars will feel like a bag of shit when compared to modern cars. I always wanted (still want a TR6) but just know it would disappoint if I ever had the chance to try one.

Similar to the gorgeous 18 year old goddess we dated when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. We like to believe she would still be a great shag but these days she has 4 chins, 5 bellies, and tits that almost scrape the carpet.

Never meet your heroes.

[Kevin Wood]

Might be wrong there. Was it the front that was torsion bar?
Whatever, it wasn’t too pleasant.

Yep, front had torsion bars and was spongy as hell with way too much travel. Rear had leaf springs that were rock hard and had very little travel. What could possibly go wrong there?

Oh, and the front trunnion joints needed replacing with every MOT, because they were designed for the Morris Minor.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Best thing you can do is choose a car you like, and buy the nicest one you can find.

What if you'd overdosed on Dorset Turnips and liked a Morris Marina, like Sir Tig.....

 

I was 19 and it cost me fifty quid with 6 months MOT & tax. 

It was a great car though and I used do a lovely drift in it around a hairpin bend deep in the lanes near here! 

....and don't forget it was the desirable 1.8TC coupe version....so the ladies went weak at the knees. Wet with anticipation.

 

It had a black 'go faster' stripe down the bonnet as well! 

Used Marina seem to be up for sale within the £3000-£9000 range.

Why would anyone be tempted to pay this for a seventies car, with fifties engineering tech, that corners like a a dog on polished lino.

One of the reasons I won't buy another Marina Coupe 1800TC is that I'd be very tempted to drift it round the afore mentioned hairpin bend in the lanes in the dead of night.   

I'm probably not as talented as I was when I was 19 and it would go horribly wrong!       

If you drift a bit too enthusiastically, you might find that the body shell will part company with the wheels.

It's surprising that that never happened considering what I put the poor thing through!     

[Viral_Jim]

Dropped off the iX at BMW Shrewsbury to have a few bits fettled. They gave me a very nice 530e M-Sport, which is light years ahead of the 1-series I was expecting 

They did also say it needs four new tyres - glad I won't be picking up the bill for that one 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Should have been installing a replacement steering column & PAS motor into the c1 but DHL seem to have lost the replacement somewhere in their network.
Not a great time to be using the Omega as a daily instead of the C1.

[YZ250]

………
They gave me a very nice 530e M-Sport ……..

I always thought it was a bit cheeky of BMW to name the 4 cylinder 2.0 litre plug in hybrid 330e/530e, which implied that it’s a three litre. I know they are fairly brisk but they are worlds away from a 3.0 litre, so why not just call them 320e/520e. 

[Viral_Jim]

I always thought it was a bit cheeky of BMW to name the 4 cylinder 2.0 litre plug in hybrid 330e/530e, which implied that it’s a three litre. I know they are fairly brisk but they are worlds away from a 3.0 litre, so why not just call them 320e/520e. 

It absolutely is, performance wise it sits directly between the 530i and 530d (presumably that's their justification for the '30') but that only holds true if there's juice in the battery - there wasn't when I got it and it felt very much like a 520i with two fatties sat in the back  . It also doesn't have the nice feel of either of the 3.0 units, which is important when you're paying that ludicrous amount of money!

Overall I *can* see a use case for the 530e, since I charged it its returned about 75mpg in mixed use and used about 2.5miles/kwh meaning if you do less than 50-55miles per day then its probably your most efficient option of the three power trains with that level of performance. But you would have to keep it charged up, and without the battery for support it will only do about 28-30mpg - which is poor.

I've now driven a few hybrids and this is the best I've experienced by a country mile, but I still would never own one. I think they're expensive new and incredibly over-complicated with the potential for massive bills when older.   

On balance I can't see me going back to anything ICE powered any time soon for daily duties - even when the government incentives for EVs go away I suspect I will stick with them unless I find the need for lots of (heavy) towing in the future. 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

B58 lump as fitted to M240i/M340i is probably one of the best engines made.

3 litre straight 6 with loads of top end power and 'stump pulling' torque at the bottom end.


My actual car made 445 bhp and 475 lb ft of twist when strapped to the dyno at Viezu. BMW quote a very conservative 369BHP and 369 lb ft of torque.

[Viral_Jim]

B58 lump as fitted to M240i/M340i is probably one of the best engines made.

3 litre straight 6 with loads of top end power and 'stump pulling' torque at the bottom end.


My actual car made 445 bhp and 475 lb ft of twist when strapped to the dyno at Viezu. BMW quote a very conservative 369BHP and 369 lb ft of torque.

Yes, I reckon this engine in the 5 series estate, wither this one or the last one, probably makes for one of the best all round family cars money could but. I loved my m140i hugely - when it was working, and the 335d was no slouch either 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

B58 lump as fitted to M240i/M340i is probably one of the best engines made.

3 litre straight 6 with loads of top end power and 'stump pulling' torque at the bottom end.


My actual car made 445 bhp and 475 lb ft of twist when strapped to the dyno at Viezu. BMW quote a very conservative 369BHP and 369 lb ft of torque.

Yes, I reckon this engine in the 5 series estate, wither this one or the last one, probably makes for one of the best all round family cars money could but. I loved my m140i hugely - when it was working, and the 335d was no slouch either 

To be fair my car is not quite stock.

A used £20 JB+ from Ebay gives something like an extra 4PSI of boost.....and she has always been run on 99 octane petrol.

I never made any attempt to 'run the car in' like days of old.....full boot from day one. I've been told that cars treated like this tend to produce more power. Perhaps it's true.