BMW 3 Series E36

The E36 is the BMW 3 Series generation our specification records cover for US model years 1995–2000. Across that run EPA certified 75 versions of it for sale in America, under 16 trim names. It was sold as a sedan, coupe, convertible, Touring and compact.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E36 measures 165.7 in · 4,209 mm to 176.8 in · 4,491 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 106.3 in · 2,700 mm to 107.5 in · 2,730 mm and weighs 2,690 lb · 1,220 kg to 3,395 lb · 1,540 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 dropped from 23 mpg to 21 mpg. An E36 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.

Set against the E30 that preceded it, the E36 is 4.4 inches shorter at the shortest version and 210 lb · 95 kg heavier at the lightest. Both figures are taken from the lightest and shortest version we hold for each, so they compare like with like rather than setting a base car against a loaded one.

Every version we hold under this code is rear-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.

Gaps are left as gaps. We do not hold curb weight for 26 of the 75 and horsepower for 43, 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.