[karan561]

Originally Posted by drift2race

Are you going to change yours now ?

No, why should I ? I prefer the overall pre-LCI looks, iDrive 7, Laser lamps, Cerium Grey Treatment, kit/rims spec. of my car.

It was good to see the delivery and review as well on your Youtube channel .

Thanks for your appreciation

[Neelavi]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Just saw an article on the stunning Gentian/Enzian blue colur offered for the M340i in the UK. Wish BMW would offer this colour in India.

Looks great but unlikely we will get something like that when we are given a grand set of two options. Tendency would be to pick safer colors though the current options and the earlier one - sunset orange- are still better than the black, white and shades of silver that most large scale manufacturers offers even now in the country.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Just saw an article on the stunning Gentian/Enzian blue colur offered for the M340i in the UK. Wish BMW would offer this colour in India. It is absolutely gorgeous and complements the black grill and body trim so well.

It is designated as an individual paint color but so are Dravit Grey and Tanzanite Blue.

Even though Dravit Grey and Tanzanite Blue are called as individual colors, they are not truly individual. Any individual color requires the dealer to submit a request to BMW Corporate once the build allocation is available and DG / TB dont fall under that category.

Also if you go through the BMW Individual webpage for 340, TB is listed under standard paint.

https://visualizer.bmw-individual.co...-1&lang=EN#top

[krishnadevjs]

My M340i LCI landed at the Navnit Motors stockyard yesterday. Went and did a PDI; closed payments as well.

So, I’m expecting delivery by Saturday, in what I know is Mumbai’s first customer delivery and hope is India’s first.

First impressions:
The car looks amazing in Tanzanite blue.
My car has come shod with Pirelli P Zero RFTs rather than Michelin PS4s RFTs.
The Xdrive badge is no longer there, as is the M colour stitching on the seat belt.
Seats have a blue stitching now - not sure if this was there earlier.
VIN decodes to a 5 Jan 2023 mfg start date.

Sharing some pictures:


The car was unloaded from the truck after I reached the stockyard.


One of the best angles of this car, IMHO.


First look at the interiors


The key.

[84.monsoon]

Since selling my G30 530i early last year, I have periodically had somewhat severe "BMW withdrawal" symptoms - Although I enjoyed driving my 2020 Thar around the city, long distance trips are a bit of a pain in the Thar. After an 8 hour drive to the hills, I would end up feeling like the whole world was still shaking for a few more hours at the destination.

My usage was very low for nearly two years due to COVID and this was one of the reasons I sold the 530i. However, every now and then I would long for a fast drive out of the city, nothing like it to shake off the urban overhang and the monotony of the day to day office commutes and weekend errands! With travel picking up again, opportunities to drive (instead of taking the train or flight) on those long weekend trips came up more often. Made the decision to add back a fast petrol sedan or SUV to the garage.

At first I thought of investing less and getting a used German car. Used car prices were super high throughout 2022 and I could never find a relatively new, low mileage example of a BMW or Audi that was in pristine condition, yet priced sensibly. Came close to buying a very low mileage new-gen X3 petrol late last year, but got cold feet at the last minute as I suspected it was showroom test drive car. Toyed with with the idea of acquiring a Toyota strong hybrid like the Hyryder/Innova Hycross (even booked them) as I think these are really good balance between the EV future and the ICE present, but the driving enthusiast in me could not quite be convinced.

I then started to think about the lease scheme my employer has through ORIX, that would save me a bunch of tax if I went that route. This opened up the budget a bit, as it would save nearly 20% post tax on a 3 year lease as compared to bank financing with no upfront locking of capital.

It was then that I was browsing the M340i thread (am a frequent visitor as I have drooled over this car ever since its launch in 2021.) Somehow the kinky headlights of the G20 never quite appealed to me and when the news of the LCI M340i being launched was posted by fellow-BHPian @Krishnadevjs, I started researching the G20 LCI. Really liked the cleaner shaped headlights and the fact that the M340i now had a mild hybrid system giving it some additional boost and saving some fuel as well!

My heart was set on this car, although it would be well over the amount of money I wanted to spend on the new addition to the garage, as I definitely plan to keep the Thar as well. Took the plunge and booked the car in early December with the Chennai dealer, who initially thought the launch would be in January and deliveries in February. The launch and delivery happened a lot faster than I thought. - the launch just happened with no advance warning during the BMW Joytown Delhi Fest on December 10th, just a few days after I booked the car. In early January, I was told to expect the delivery around January 24th but the car arrived on the 17th itself! It was a Jan 5th 2023 manufactured car.

The lease process was going on the back-foot and I accelerated that, but there are just too many players between my employer, the leasing company, the dealership and RTO and I am finally expecting delivery tomorrow (Feb 2). Since today (Feb 1) is an auspicious day, I went to the dealership to take "Puja" delivery, drive over the customary lemons and take pictures of the car. Kun BMW have been super supportive with everything so far and I look forward to bringing this Cheetah home tomorrow! Here are a few photos of the car from today's visit.

[krishnadevjs]

Many congratulations!!

Having been in touch through the wait, I can imagine the excitement you would have tonight, as you finally get your hands on her tomorrow. Wish you many many miles of sheer joy.

I guess our cars would be fraternal twins, so to speak, having been produced on the same date.

Cheers mate!

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I look forward to bringing this Cheetah home tomorrow!

Congratulations on the fabulous car. Would love a comparision from you between this and your 530i.

[84.monsoon]

Hi all, have been very slow on updates on my M340i. Had a slight shoulder injury which made driving a bit painful and still recuperating from it. Plus, had some very hectic weeks at work and still not had a chance to go on a long drive with the car.

Got a full body self healing PPF done at OCD Chennai and they did a great job. There were a few small bubbles in the piano black surfaces which they corrected after 10 days (today). They threw in a complimentary wash and polish and the car looks fabulous right now.

Have been on several short city drives. Coming from owning a G30 530i till mid-last year, below are my very initial impressions and notes:

• The engine can be a beauty or a beast and changes character in milliseconds! When driving sedately in Ecopro or Comfort mode, the engine is butter smooth and one can hardly hear it. The refinement is equal to the 530i in every way when driven like this. But the moment you spot a good 200 meters of empty smooth road and push the accelerator a bit (even in Comfort mode), the car lunges forward forcefully, pushing your behind firmly into the seat! Before you know it, you have covered that gap and slowed down again to a crawl.
  
• The Ecopro mode is very livable in the city, if one wants a calm and peaceful drive. While in the 530i, the Ecospro makes you feel impatient, in the M340i, it feels like a normal luxury car. The Ecopro in the M340i feels like the Comfort mode in the 530i. The Comfort mode in the M340i almost feels like the Sport mode in the 530i (except for the higher engine RPM part). The car is ready to lunge forward at any time and the acceleration behaviour is similar to the 530i's sport mode, however the engine RPM is lower and so it feels calmer.
  
• The sport mode is insane. I have not had much of a chance to try thi, but the one time I did, it was in the middle of an otherwise tame city drive for about 5 KMs in the Comfort mode. The gearbox took a split second to get alert (probably because I had been driving so. tamley for the last 20 minutes) and then Wham! The car bolted forward like a bullet, totally catching me by surprise. The g-forces pin you to the back of the seat and whoosh, the car is flying! I would not recommend this mdoe in the city till one gets used to how the car behaves in this mode fully.
  
• The seating comfort is excellent but when compared to the 530i, it does fall behind in some aspects. The seats are firm and great for long journeys. The seat length is excellent with adjustable thigh support which is standard on most BMWs. However, The sport seats are not very wide and hug your sides with the seat's prominent side bolsters in the middle or inner setting of the adjustable bolster. Even with not too broad a frame, I felt uncomfortable in those positions, and had to set the bolsters closer to the outside position. There is no lumbar support which is a bit of a miss.
  
• The one thing I am unhappy with the arm rests built into the door. These are of a soft plastic material, but not padded and too narrow. Especially for taller people, with the driver seat set back, your arm is resting on a 2 inch wide area and the edge does feel had where it ends. This can be uncomfortable on long journeys and I have to try and see if three is any aftermarket solution to made the resting area wider and softer.
  
• The carbon fibre trim in many parts of the dash is truly top notch and elevates the elegance of the cabin several fold! This is the one regret of my friend who has a pre-LCI M340i - apparently the BMW accessory to get it fitted after market is very expensive!
  
• The massive touch screen will take a lot of getting used to. The number of features and functions one can access from idrive 8 seems endless and I will need to take quite some time to understand all these.

The best part of the car's appearance is the Dravit Grey color. It is quite a chameleon. Depending on the amount of light overall and whether or not direct sunlight falls on it. it can appear almost black, or a grey that is several shades light (almost close to Steel Grey on a very bright day) or anything in between depending on the extent of light. Under direct sunlight, the flakes of gold underneath the surface start to shimmer through and the pain starts to give off a sort of "aura". The piano black front bumper and the wide piano black trims all over the front and back as well as the shiny black M-mirror contrast so well with the grey on a bright day. On the tanzanite blue, I find the contrast between the black trims and the dark blue body color is not sufficient to highlight either. Since I had an imperial blue BMW before, I was initially looking for a different color when I booked the car and did a lot of research on the Bimmerpost forums and that is where I got to know what a special color Dravit Grey is. I went out on a limb to get the Dravit Grey color for the M340i, much against the wishes of some of the family members, but am I glad I did that, as this is one of the colors with the most character in any of the cars I have owned.

Posting a couple of pictures of the car, some earlier in the evening under direct sunlight when it looks much lighter and shinier and one later in the evening with poorer light, and the last one even later, when the car looks much darker.










Can't wait to go for a long drive and collect some more impressions to write a full ownership review. Looks like it won't be till March when I will get a chance to do that.

[karan561]

Update;

Next lot will have new colours;

1) Sapphire BLACK

2) Mineral WHITE

Also, eventually a Melbourne RED option will be introduced too

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by karan561

Update;

Next lot will have new colours;

1) Sapphire BLACK

Hi Karan, Thanks - Sapphire Black will be very interesting color on the car. BTW, Do you know how many cars are coming in each lot? Is this small numbers like last time? I think the 2-3 lots that came pre-LCI had only 40-50 cars in each lot?

[divirokr]

Congratulations buddy, you are surely living my dream!! Looks like an absolute beauty to me. I often check out BMW 3 series pictures to get ideas to make my Honda City 5th gen look more like it.

Wish you many safe miles full of sheer driving pleasure.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by karan561

Update;

Next lot will have new colours...also, eventually a Melbourne RED option will be introduced too

Now that is some news. Any idea if/when Melbourne Red would be an option?

[84.monsoon]

Looks really dope in Melbourne Red!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvOvr6IBktc

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Now that is some news. Any idea if/when Melbourne Red would be an option?

As per message from BMW Sales person, bookings have opened for a few hours for April-May 2023 and Melbourne Red is available as an option.

But luxury cars due to low availability are selling hot cakes.

[Anki_252hp]

Congrats @84.monsoon for purchasing this beast, this color looks really dope, it almost looks black in dark, which I can clearly see in your last picture.
How's the ride quality as compare to your 530i?