BMW 3 Series E30

The E30 is the BMW 3 Series generation our specification records cover for US model years 1989–1994. Across that run EPA certified 47 versions of it for sale in America, under 13 trim names. It was sold as a sedan, coupe, convertible and Touring.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E30 measures 170.1 in · 4,321 mm to 176.8 in · 4,491 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 101.2 in · 2,570 mm to 106.3 in · 2,700 mm and weighs 2,480 lb · 1,125 kg to 3,351 lb · 1,520 kg. Length and wheelbase come from Transport Canada, which measures every vehicle sold in North America; curb weight from the same source.

The generation did not stand still: the best combined economy improved from 18 mpg to 23 mpg. An E30 from the first model year and one from the last are not the same proposition, which is worth remembering when a listing gives only the chassis code.

Of the 47 versions we hold under this code, 41 are rear-wheel drive and 6 all-wheel drive. That matters on the used market more than it looks: which axles are driven changes the weight, the service list and the price, and the badge does not always say which you are looking at.

This archive holds 2 original US brochures covering the E30, with the text of each one searchable. They are the source of the figures no government record collects — torque, acceleration and the equipment lists — and they are what BMW told American buyers at the time rather than what is said about the car now.

Gaps are left as gaps. We do not hold curb weight for 20 of the 47 and horsepower for any of them, because Transport Canada does not publish a weight for every model and EPA began recording certified output usefully only in the late 1990s. A dash on this site means the figure is not in a source we can name, never that it is roughly the same as the row above.