#Bmw330i

As a general rule, my biggest recent beef with BMW sedans has been that they feel a bit heavy and porky. A tad ponderous. Not so much that I’d eliminate them from my shopping list (in the fantasy world where an automotive journalist actually can afford a car in this class), but enough to notice.

For some time now, I’ve had the notion that I’d like a BMW – and a specific one at that. I want one with a manual transmission, a naturally aspirated I6 and hydraulic steering. Finding one isn’t exactly hard, but finding a good one is very tough. So much so that I nearly pulled the trigger on one of the last 128i 6-speed manual coupes to come to Canada. The dealer offered me some rather generous terms, but my overriding distaste for owning a rapidly depreciating asset (128i residual values are flaccid, to put it mildly) ended that idea. The next best thing, according to former E46 330i Sport owner Jack Baruth, is a used E46 330i Sport.