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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wglee" data-source="post: 59455" data-attributes="member: 610">I own a pre-facelift E46 325i(A). My experience with the E36 328i is limited to AB's courtesy car (a black late E36 328i, and a yellow early E36 328i) which was lent to me every now and then when my car was in the workshop.Although the on-paper specs do not reflect it, the E46 325i felt perkier than the E36 328i. This was probably due to the drive-by-wire system in the E46 325i.The other significant difference between the two is that the E46 325i has a 5 speed automatic gearbox which can be shifted manually, sequentially (a.k.a. Steptronic) whereas the Malaysian spec E36 328i only has a wide ratio 4 speed General Motors automatic gearbox which has no Steptronic and hence does not possess the additional degree of control that the semi-manual nature of Steptronic provides to the driver. This is apparent during aggresive drives in the twisties.I also noticed that the E46 325i's fuel consumption is better than the E36 328i.   Fit and finish in the E36 is also not as good as the E46. The E46 325i also has more standard equipment than an E36 328i (especially when compared to the facelifted E46 325i which has electric seats and DSC even in stock standard form).</blockquote>