Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

The E90 328i is the sedan variant of the BMW 3 Series, and it features one of the most potent engines ever built by the marque.

It goes without saying that the BMW E90 328i was akin to a blue-blooded sleeper car, an unpretentious chef-d'oeuvre. Flash forward fifteen years later, and the BMW 328i is a time-tested Bimmer with proven reliability as well as an enthusiast’s best chance of cornering an RWD BMW with a 6-speed manual transmission. It gladdens the heart to know you can get a used 328i for under $10,000, with high-mileage examples going as low as $5,000 or less.

The Bimmer has a reputation for making exceptional cars, such as the 2023 BMW i7, but their products sometimes fall short in terms of reliability. For example, the BMW E60 M5 was notorious for engine problems that owners described with such words as “catastrophic” and “appalling,” but otherwise the child of a legendary sports sedan.

Another instance is the beloved E46 M3 with a sad case of high maintenance cost. This last part is the number one reason most people avoid BMWs. "Don't do it unless you have a lot of money," they say. But is that the last word on Bimmers? Not really. Although the E90 3-Series aren’t the most powerful BMWs, they're actually among the most reliable, and this article shows you why.

Related: This Is What We Love About The BMW 850 CSi

The E90 Sedan, E91 Wagon (designated ‘Touring’), E92 Coupe, and E93 Convertible represent the fifth generation BMW 3 Series. They’re a long way from the original first-generation 3 Series that was only available as a 2-door saloon. The German automobile manufacturer has been producing the BMW 3 Series luxury model line since May 1975.

The model is the successor to the similarly long-running BMW 02 Series that lasted an impressive seven generations between 1966 and 1977. Production of the fifth-generation 3 Series E90s began in December 2004 and stopped in October 2013. The E90s were often collectively referred to as the E90 or E9x. This generation pioneered the Bimmer’s run-flat tires, although the models that got them didn’t get spare tires.

Also, the turbocharged E92 335i Touring pioneered BMW’s iDrive OS in the 3 Series range. Additionally, the E90x was the only generation M3 Bimmer that got the BMW S65 V8 engine from the time they were first introduced in 2007 for the 2008 model year. The sedan and wagon variants were eventually phased out following the arrival of the F30 and F31 in February 2012, while the coupe and convertible variants stayed on until 2013 to be replaced with the F32 and F33 BMW 4 Series.

The 5th-gen 3 Series should have launched sooner than it did had the development not frozen roughly 30 months earlier in mid-2002. The E90 and E91 sedan and wagon were designed by the Tokyo-born automobile designer Joji Nagashima while German designer Marc Michael Markefka was responsible for the design of the Coupe and Convertible versions.

The E90 sedan was the first E90x to hit the market after it was introduced in March 2005 for the 2006 model year. It got a facelift for the 2009 model year before withdrawing from production in 2011 to be replaced by the F30 from the 2012 model year.

Related: How BMW 700 Saved Its German Company From Collapse

The fifth generation 3 Series saw significant cosmetic and mechanical changes to improve its design and performance compared to the previous generation. For example, the E90 series was larger than its predecessor, sporting a longer wheelbase, wider tracks, and a roomier interior.

At the table of iconic BMW 3 Series, the 328i is almost as celebrated as the legendary M3, not in performance per se, but in popularity, thanks to its 6-cylinder engine recognized as the biggest 6-cylinder within the regular (non-M-car) sports-sedan (and coupe and convertible) range in the model's mid-'90s heyday. The E90x was powered by the Bimmer’s N52B30 engine, a 3.0-liter inline-6 making 228 hp. The engines were mated to either manual or automatic transmissions delivering power to the rear wheels, not counting the AWD 328xi version.

You see, the 325i was the E90 base model and came with a 2.5-liter six-cylinder engine that could make 215 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. When the E90x got redesigned in 2008, the base model 325i gave way for the 328i, rocking a bigger 2.8-liter 6-cylinder that could make 230 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque. Also, there was the top-ranging 330i making 268 horsepower that, according to BimmerLife, is one of BMW’s most powerful naturally aspirating 6-cylinder ever.

Then came the turbocharged 335i. Even if we pretend the M3 doesn’t exist, we still have the E90 335i boasting 302 horsepower made possible by a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine. So yes, there were evidently more powerful E90s and, as the 400-hp V8 M3 proves, more powerful BMWs. But when it comes to reliability, more power isn't everything, as demonstrated by the E90 328. Here’s why.

Remember we said the non-turbocharged E90s, such as the 325i and 328i, were powered by BMW’s N52 engine. BimmerLife reports this mill is one of the most powerful the Bimmer ever built. Compare that to the BMW 335i’s N54 twin-turbo straight-six engine that BMW Tuning says is notably less reliable, even though it made 298 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.

As for the performance-oriented M3, its engine is known to suffer from rod-bearing failure, although– according to BMW Tuning– the number of affected engines is rather small, if unchecked, can cause engine failure. For these reasons, the admittedly less powerful BMW E90 328 trumps the others in reliability.

What’s more, they’re more comfortable and roomier than the preceding E46 but still handle well. In fact, E90 328’s successor– the F30 3-Series– couldn’t match the drivability and high-quality interior materials. Surprisingly, the E90 3 Series is still modern in many ways, with available satellite navigation as well as standard traction and stability control.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.