...Here we come to the rather more controversial side of my argument: it’s not just that 1994 saw the maturity of the car and the removal or curing of most flaws, but it marks a point in time when cars were simpler, less cluttered with technology and, most importantly, had realistic performance, before matters started to get out of hand. The ‘E34’- generation (1989-1995) BMW M5’s straight-six engine produced 315bhp. Today, that power output is exceeded by several hot hatches. It weighed 1650kg and was 1750mm wide. The current M5 has 591bhp, weighs 1855kg and is 1903mm wide.
For me, this isn’t progress.
Am I a luddite peering through rose-tinted spectacles? To find out, we’ve gathered two other old-timers who, like me, drove 1994’s cars when they were new. You know Andrew Frankel and Richard Bremner well. Each of us has chosen two cars from 1994 (that were available in that year, not necessarily launched in it) as our favourites from that period which perfectly illustrate the points I’ve made above. These six cars will also be driven by Autocar’s current road testers, several of whom were in nappies when the cars were built. It will be interesting...
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