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In 2002, I bought my 20-year-old BMW E30 325i from a close friend and I never really bothered to sit in the rear seat of the old Bimmer. The fact is that the driver’s seat is a very special place. I’ve been dealing with a lower bad back for 20 years and the snug fit of the E30’s seats are ideal for me. But it’s not just the perfect contours and bolstering of the seats that gives you that special feeling. The E30’s interior design maybe simple and old-fashioned, but it gives the driver a delightful sense of control, which is an intrinsic part of the BMW aura.

Each time I take my wife along with me for a drive in the E30, it always results in her getting upset by the end of the drive due to what she calls “irresponsible behaviour,” on my part. The truth is that I just don’t know how to explain to her that that the only way my 20-year-old 325i likes to corner is with its tail hanging out. In fact, after all this time, the handling is so crisp and predictable, the chassis so finely balanced and that creamy in-line six so responsive, that you can’t help but toss it around with gay abandon and full knowledge that it won’t snap back at you.

Coming back to the E30’s interiors, though they might seem simple and old-fashioned now, you can’t help but marvel at how driver-focussed the car is. The centre console is angled towards the driver, the gear lever sprouts up from the high tunnel to fall perfectly to hand and it is impossible to fault the position of the steering wheel, pedals and other controls.

The 325i wouldn’t be even half the fun it is if it weren’t for its 2.5-litre motor. The ‘straight-six’ or in-line six-cylinder layout, to which BMW has traditionally stuck, has played a strong role in building the charisma of the marque. The M20 motor has a simple, belt-driven, single overhead cam and two-valve-per-cylinder architecture, but it is so smooth that you feel it’s lubricated with Amul butter instead of multi-grade oil.

The E30 3-series is an important chapter in the history of a company that has focussed on producing the greatest sporting saloons the world has seen. Sadly, Indian car owners have missed out on the previous generations of 3-series but have access to the latest 3-series; the E90 is assembled right here in India.

This latest variant is, of course, a big leap ahead of the 20-year-old E30. Apart from central locking and power windows and mirrors, the E30 is quite basic. There are no powered seats, no complicated iDrive, no 10-speaker audio system and no TV. It’s nowhere near as well insulated either. So while the E30 feels raw and more exposed to the elements, the solid thud of the E90’s doors cocoons from you the outside world. Fire up the engine via the Start/Stop button and you are instantly reminded of the latest 325i’s lineage. The two 325i’s maybe several generations apart but the core ingredients of both these cars remain the same. The straight-six motor still has that delightful growl, but feels more mellow and refined. Though the basic architecture of the engines are similar, it’s the high-tech bits and pieces and years of tweaking that have taken the smoothness and fantastic flexibility, a legendary characteristic of BMW’s straight-sixes, to a completely different level.

The BME E90 is definitely a lot more technologically advanced than my old E30; it is faster, smoother, far more refined, comfortable and safe. However, the E30 does not come with all the technology of modern-days cars and offers a purer driving experience and despite its age, it is still a thrill to drive.