[Impulsivemedusa]

Originally Posted by xavierk

does anyone know how to enable "Valet Mode" on the 330i the manual says its supposed to be there but when I look up the menu it does not show.

Is there something I need to enable to allow it to show?

The objective is that when you give it to the valet it has limits on how far the car can go, also speed limited, does not allow to turn traction control off and boot stays locked etc.

Saw this post when I was searching in Google about activating valet mode. I have a 330Li (2022) with iDrive7 and it doesn't have the valet mode. Have they disabled it in India? Can it be coded out?

[avira_tk]

This video just dropped in my feed, I thought bhpians and 3 series owners might enjoy it. This is what ghat road should be like.

https://youtu.be/AL3WKAYo8F0

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

This video just dropped in my feed, I thought bhpians and 3 series owners might enjoy it. This is what ghat road should be like.

https://Youtu.be/AL3WKAYo8F0

YS Khong is a legend in his own right in MY, but this Bobby Ang guy is really funny in his verbalisation. Enjoy

https://youtu.be/egVsUZNJM0s

[itwasntme]

LCI G20 to be refreshed again in 2025:

https://www.bmwblog.com/2023/06/14/t...little-longer/

[sid_deb]

My 2 year warranty is expiring on 20th June. BRI costs have shot up significantly, was 32K when I bought the car and now is 78K just for the 3rd year. Similarly, the cost for extending warranty till the 5th year is now ~3L while it used to cost ~1.5L in 2021.

Is it worth going in for the extended warranty or BRI now at such high price?

[sharathm]

One year update of the beamer:

A couple of weeks ago, I got the first year service done, since I had taken the service package when buying the car, everything was pretty smooth and I just had to pay Rs.300 for getting the battery of the key changed.

I would have liked to have done more kms, but work commitments have kind of largely kept me busy.

Just a couple of photos from a recent trip to upload..

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sid_deb

Is it worth going in for the extended warranty or BRI now at such high price?

Difficult decision really at such inflated prices. I guess it depends partly on your running and driving style. If they are high and aggressive respectively, then BRI may be a reasonable buy. Overall, the G20 platform has turned out to be robust both globally and in India.

Very little seems to have gone wrong for the overwhelming majority of owners in India; the silence on this thread (I assume) denotes that no news is good news .

[km283]

Hi All - We are currently on vacation in Malaysia where I rented a BMW G20 330I for 3 days and drove it all over the country. Wanted to summarise my findings in case it helps someone in their buying and ownership decision. I do follow some of the Malaysian car bloggers such as Bobby Ang and others and some of the observations I had were really interesting and honestly some not so good things about this new gen of the 3 series.

First some background: We moved back to India a few years ago after a pretty long stay in the US where over the years the cars I have owned include a Subaru Forester, Honda CRV, Acura TSX, Acura MDX, E90 3 series, MB E class E400. Have also rented a few other luxury cars over the years including the F30 328i and other Audis. I have a habit of trying to rent cars that I would like to own at some point as a way of validating online reviews over a several day time period.

Since moving to India, currently live in Bangalore and I now have a Skoda Superb and Jeep Compass both of which I purchased after reading through valuable posts from experts like GTO and others.

What I got: Pre-facelift G20 330i non-xdrive in white with a lot of m-sport garnishes including a wrap on the key fob. Picked it up in KL and drive down to Johor Bahru, drove around there for 2 days and then back to KL, to Genting Highlands and back. Over the course of 3 days, got to experience it on highways, local roads, extensively inside metro KL and JB. Malaysia by the way has excellent road infrastructure and you can really drive fast.






Pros:
1. Engine, transmission and chasis: They are simply amazing. The car I would say has explosive power and sent to the rear wheels instantly. The body has very little flex and it is a lot of fun just mashing the accelerator pedal and getting the push out of the corner feel.

2. Compact size: Feels very manageable in tight corners and parking situations although some underground garages can be tricky.

3. Suspension: This is both a pro and con. On the positive side, don't know how to describe it but it feels more sophisticated over bumps then say my Skoda Superb. Will cover it more in the cons below.

4. Steering: This one was honestly a revelation for me. The steering really feels good while cornering and gives you a lot of confidence. However the big surprise for me was out on the open highway. More on this below.

Cons:

1. Steering: Can't believe I have this in the cons but for the first time I have felt the steering on a 3 series to be weird. It does not track straight and has a deadzone in the center with a potential half and inch movement side to side. I am able to wiggle it while on the highway and this is something I have hated on my prior cars including the Acura TSX that had that problem. Your hands get tired and does not feel good.

2. Suspension: It feels hard over mildly rough surfaces even in Malaysia where the roads are really good. Can't imagine feeling good over our broken Bangalore roads at all. Malaysia has these yellow lines to slow you down instead of speed breakers and I could feel every single one of these lines.


3. Road Noise: This one was also a surprise. The 330i gets pretty loud on highways with a lot of wind noise and general ambient noise coming through the cabin. Wish there was a little more isolation offered.

4. Boot space: Feels a little cramped, more so since I own a Superb that is simply above all else. We had a hard time fitting all our luggage and I can imagine road trips will be a little tight in this.


5. Seats: Honestly they are really bad. Too hard with a atrociously bad lumbar support mechanism and goes along with the side bolsters. I was never comfortable and my wife started complaining just after 30 mins. Both my Jeep and Skoda have far better seats with more support.


6. Audio system: This one did not have the harmon kardon unit. The base version included was simply trash with absolutely no base. Honestly can't believe they include this as their base offering.

There were other minor niggles which I can probably ignore such as one of the panels below the steering wheel kept falling down and the doors lock-unlock was inconsistent probably due to a bad battery.

All in all, I honestly am a little confused. The 330i is definitely a very entertaining machine. But I am torn on it being a holistic ownership machine especially if you have a family and have road trips in mind. The other thing is living in Bangalore, you hardly get an opportunity to experience its USP which is taking corners at speed unless you take it outside the city on the highway. But some of the surprises I had on the steering and seat comfort left me really wanted. I mean cmon, the 3 series is supposed to be the epitome of steering feel. The E400 I owned in the US honestly as well as the Skoda and Jeep I have now all have more natural feeling steering but in the corners is where BMW gets better.

Hope this all made sense. I am still thinking what a future luxury car purchase for me in India should be. Maybe the new X1 with all its front wheel drive limitations and power deficiencies is a better bet for inside Banaglore.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by km283

1. Steering: Can't believe I have this in the cons but for the first time I have felt the steering on a 3 series to be weird.

2. Suspension: It feels hard over mildly rough surfaces even in Malaysia where the roads are really good. Can't imagine feeling good over our broken Bangalore roads at all.

3. Road Noise: This one was also a surprise. The 330i gets pretty loud on highways with a lot of wind noise and general ambient noise coming through the cabin. Wish there was a little more isolation offered.

4. Boot space: Feels a little cramped, more so since I own a Superb that is simply above all else. We had a hard time fitting all our luggage and I can imagine road trips will be a little tight in this.
Attachment 2482315

5. Seats: Honestly they are really bad.

6. Audio system: This one did not have the harmon kardon unit. The base version included was simply trash with absolutely no base. Honestly can't believe they include this as their base offering.

All in all, I honestly am a little confused. The 330i is definitely a very entertaining machine. But I am torn on it being a holistic ownership machine especially if you have a family and have road trips in mind.
Hope this all made sense. I am still thinking what a future luxury car purchase for me in India should be. Maybe the new X1 with all its front wheel drive limitations and power deficiencies is a better bet for inside Banaglore.

Maybe a bit biased but I agree with all your pros. On the cons front, agree with them subject to the following:

Steering - Weighs up much better in Sport mode. Comfort mode is a bit wayward.

Suspension - It is stiff but manageable even in BLR. It's the potholes which get you and not the speedbreakers usually.

Seats - surprised by your comment on the seats. I felt the M Sport ones were pretty good compared to my base 'Comfort' ones.

Boot - is rubbish :-)

Road noise and NVH - Partly due to the RFTs. Switch to tubeless.

Overall, don't judge the 330i by a rental in MY. I'd suggest to extensively TD it here in, India but one fly in the ointment is that the 330i SWB has been discontinued and only the 330Li/d is available as of now. Try them and figure out - they are softer than the SWB.

Please, no X1!

[km283]

That makes sense, will definitely try out the Li. Many thanks!

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by km283

That makes sense, will definitely try out the Li. Many thanks!

Hi, that's a great review for your first post! Agree with most of your observations and if you are looking to pick up a 3er in Bangalore than the 30Li is actually perfect for our roads.
I have one for nearly 2 years now and haven't scrapped it on any of the monster humps even once. Plus the ride over broken patches is a major difference with the SWB 330i and one of the main reasons for me to pick the Li.

I also have a 2020 Superb and my Li has the better ride quality. And that is saying something since the Superb's ride quality is actually pretty good. Where the Li beats it is the quality of damping it offers - its progressive dampers help absorb the initial compression really well and you don't get the typical jerks when you hit patchwork on the road for example. You can ride over most rough roads at ~40kph in relative comfort.

The biggest drawback is indeed the boot and my wife forces me to take the Superb when we travel with our kids. Plus, for all it's legroom, the Li is simply no match to the Superb's interior space. We have a 1.5 year old who goes into a car seat in the rear and the Superb is the only car that could accommodate 2 adults next to the car seat in comfort. Tried it on road trips in the Li, a GLC 220d and a Kodiaq and it was always a big squeeze to fit two adults next to a rear car seat.

That said, the Li feels a whole lot more fun to drive than the Superb and since you have a Compass too, it may make sense for you. Test ride!

Edit: Sorry forgot to add, please no x1! Especially with what you already have in your garage.

[km283]

Many thanks Think you conveyed the ride quality differences between the Superb and the LI beautifully. I felt some of that while driving the 330i but could not express it functionally.

Any experience with the X3? Autogruefl who I follow extensively did mention that he felt the steering on the X3/X5 is somehow now better than the 3/5 series.

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by km283

Any experience with the X3? Autogruefl who I follow extensively did mention that he felt the steering on the X3/X5 is somehow now better than the 3/5 series.

The X3 is a brilliant option too - especially if you are not specific on getting a sedan. It is very sporty but ofcourse the low CG of an equivalent sedan provides for a different driving experience.

I feel the steering issue you had with your rental might be specific to that particular car. The steering on my 3 is a definitely a cut above the Superb's and is in fact one of the best non-hydraulic units I have used. It is a bit light in comfort mode but I drive mostly in sports mode and it is a revelation there. The biggest test of a good steering is its accuracy of feedback when leant into a turn with a good amount of throttle on. And the steering of the 3 is near perfect there while the Superb's steering starts to lose accuracy as you push it.
I would recommend a long test drive in a different 3er to see if your previous experience holds good.

[itwasntme]

Sack off both the Compass and the Superb and pick up the X3M40i. All in one and a monstrous performer.

Worst case pick up a beater vehicle for city use.

[sreeharipv]

Hi,

Did you use the SoCar service? I used their service extensively while I was living in KL from 2018 - 2020. It was very affordable and the selection of cars were wide. Will recommend to anyone visiting Malaysia.