MY dad has an 1983 320i, and I have a '76 2002, and a '72.

The 2002's are much easier to toss around, and seem much more agile. It feels more powerful as well.

The 320i however feels a little sluggish compared to the 2002, but with the 5gear it's much smoother at highway speeds.(you could always do the 5speed swap though). The 320i is also has a much quieter interior than the 2002, and at higher speeds it feels way more stable(possibly due to longer wheelbase?).

Any other questions?

-Andrew Poon
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'72 2002
'76 2002

Having driven each as a daily driver for over 75K miles, the 320i was more comfortable and had a much more modern look and feel, especially in the seating position (but I had Recaro's) and appearance of the dash, and of course it had real AC. But then it also felt slower and bigger than an '02. The 2002 was much more fun to drive, had fantastic visibility and because of its relatively light weight, felt much quicker, and flatter in the curves. Picking a nostalgia car was easy: the very cool and historical important 2002, which is a joy to drive, and the "cult" of followers makes it even more interesting.
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Roger
'72 Malaga

the primary differences are fun and power

i have both & drive both daily...by far the 02's are much quicker and more fun to drive...the e21 is slightly heavier giving it a somewhat better ride...but it is also under-powered
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esty wrote:

...but it is also under-powered

Just curious, what year is your e21? My dad's '83 has the 1.8liter and I was just curious if the earlier 2.0liters had more power?

-Andrew Poon
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'72 2002
'76 2002

I heard the 320i was really tail happy, could the same be said for the 02?
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Artistic wrote:

Just curious, what year is your e21? My dad's '83 has the 1.8liter and I was just curious if the earlier 2.0liters had more power? -Andrew Poon

83...i strip'd the efi, added a weber 32/36 and the power is considerably better but it's still not on par with the o2's
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e21s had a slightly different rear spring/shock setup - basically coilovers. The non-"s" 320i (at least the late ones, not sure about '77-'79) also lacked a rear swaybar, supposedly to keep the inside rear tire from lifting in corners. Not sure if this is what lead to the tail-happy comments, but my old 320i never seemed to oversteer with or without the swaybar.
--Steve
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'73 2002tii Agave green #2763558