[pratiksinhal]

It all started when our aging Maruti Suzuki SX4 started giving us troubles every week. We started looking out for different options. I was convinced by the Cruze but the interiors were a disappointment. Then came the Jetta and Laura into the picture. Jetta seemed to be overpriced whereas Laura seemed dated and A.S.S. of Skoda have been horrifying.
One fine day my Dad tells me now that we have extended out budget till the Jetta then why not go for the Bimmer. I was all excited. I enquired about the Base Line of the 3 series. I was convinced with the base line on paper.
The day of the test drive arrived. I took the test drive for both the Base Line and the Luxury Line. The base line seemed to be uninspiring without the creature comforts. We finalized on the Luxury Line, the updated luxury line with Sunroof and a smaller Idrive.
I booked the car in the 2nd week of November. Alpine white with Beige Interiors. The showroom promised that I will get the car in January second week without any confirmed dates. I was surprised as generally companies like Mahindra also provide the client with dates as to when they will receive the car. Hence, I mailed BMW India and they to my satisfaction provided me with the complete details. On 26th November I got a call from my Dealer OSL Prestige that a Alpine white with Saddle Brown interiors can be delivered in December. I was confused and after discussions with my friends who have been living with a bimmer with both beige and saddle brown interiors , I confirmed on the Saddle brown. It was a very good decision as the beige interiors had beige matting which would be very difficult to maintain in our region.

The day of the delivery arrived, 26th December, 2012. I was in Kolkata to take the delivery along with my brother and fellow team-bhpian Souvik Ghose Chaudhuri. The pictures have Yellow Number plate as I got temporary registration from Kolkata and will get the permanent registration in Siliguri.

My bimmer at the OSL Prestige Showroom ready for delivery.

Initial Response
The initial response about the power delivery is that it was just amazing. The 8 speed automatic gearbox is a boon. I have never experienced any power delivery related issues till date. I have done about 900 kilometers on the Ultimat3 till now. When the vehicle got unloaded from the trailer it was 11pm and on NH31 that night was the most foggy night that I have driven in. Till we entered the city we were driving at about 20 kmph. As soon as I entered the city with the fog reducing I understood what power the car provides. The cornering in the BMW is just phenomenal. Cornering at 100 kmph is also spot on.


First Glimpse of the DRLs. I am absolutely in love with them. I would have regretted getting the baseline so badly.


Photoshoot in the Himalayas enroute Darjeeling. (Thanks Siddharth for getting the DSLR for the photoshoot.)








F30 and the E90


Rear Tail Lamp resemblance to the 5 Series.


Love the way it functions. Looks amazing and works well too.


The Heart again.




Angry Looks of the F30 in comparison to the calm E90


Amazing Instrument Cluster with LCD Screen for various information


Startup tells service due date. (Impressive)


Scroll through the playlist using the steering controls. No distraction to look into the idrive screen. Very useful feature.




Saddle Brown. Goes very well with the white exterior.




Luxury Line Door slids.


Very Impressive rear legroom. Much better than the previous generation.

Features
The feature list on the Luxury Line is everything you get in the Luxury plus minus the larger idrive with internal hard disc and navigation. Instead on the Luxury Line BMW provide a 6.5 inch Idrive without navigation and internal storage. The Luxury Line I took had the sunroof which was absent in the initially launched Luxury Line. This feature was added by BMW in November. LCD display on the instrument cluster is a very handy as there is no distraction to look into the idrive screen to change tracks or call last dialed numbers. The roller sun blinds for the rear are automatic. The passenger sun blinds are manual though. The best part is the Key which now doesn't need to be inserted into the slot like in the E90. My father had a serious doubt if he forgets the key in the car then what will happen? Even I have not found an answer to this. The DRLs and the Xenon head lamps are super. The downside to DRL's are that in our part of the country where people are not familiar with DRL's, they will flash lights at you saying your head lamps are on. The xenons are extra powerful, it feels like I have entered into light in comparison to head lamps of the SX4.

Comfort
The wheelbase of the car is long in comparison to the E90 and hence improved legroom. The driver seat gets two memory functions for the seat. It is very comfortable to drive in the city as the rear passenger doesn't feel the bad roads because of an improved suspension for our Indian conditions. Its the first car with sunroof that I have got and I am very excited about it. I don't know in the long run how much I will use it but at present I am loving the sunroof. The rear seat armrest has two cup holders. The absence of audio controls is something which BMW should think about as its present even in Elantra and Civic. The front driver armrest is adjustable and is very comfortable to rest the arm on.

Driving Experience
Sheer Driving Pleasure. The sole reason why we discarded the A4. I like to drive my car. We hardly use the car with a Chauffer. Hence we chose the bimmer. The driving experience just makes you forget everything. Once in the driver's seat you just feel like driving it around without stopping anywhere. The engine and the gearbox are a gem. The way the car handles at high speeds is just fabulous. The drive to the hills proved that this was the best car that I have personally driven in the hills. The cornering of the car is spot on. The Sports mode is something which is my personal favorite. I wish BMW had given Paddle shifters as standard. None the less the manual gear selection in the sports mode makes up for it. I wish we had roads like the Yamuna Expressway in our region.

Suspension
The suspension is very apt for our kind of road. The suspension on Niladri's 330i is very sporty and hence even small patches of bad roads he needs to slow down completely. But in the 320D the suspension has been tuned for our kind of roads. It does't feel hard in the comfort or EcoPro mode. The suspension settings can be changed with a press of a button. The three suspension setting Sports, Comfort and EcoPro all are very good in their own way. I prefer driving in comfort in the city and when on the Highway I used the Sports mode along with sports suspension to get the maximum out of the vehicle and it was a delight.



I am very happy with the 3 Series. The engine is a gem. Its in true sense Sheer Driving Pleasure.

Positives -
1. Sheer Driving Pleasure.
2. Interactive Instrument cluster.
3. Sun Blinds. Pretty handy when tints are banned all over the country.
4. Improved rear legroom. Very comfortable even when the seats are pushed completely back.
5. Eco Pro Mode. I tested it and the efficiency was about 18.5 Kmpl with Aircon on.
6. Satisfied customer of the BMW.

Negatives-
1. The rear camera should be standard. The only scratch on my car is because the sensor didn't sense a hazard above its range while I was reversing the car.
2. Engine is loud and during high rmp is audible.
3. I don't know whether I am the first person or its normal, the engine takes lot of time to heat up. The engine heat meter takes a good 10 minutes to heat up when the temperature is below 10 degree.
4. Omission of Ipod connectivity from the Idrive. I took the Luxury line with a smaller screen and no navigation. The ipod connectivity is unavailable.
5. Dead voice control button on the steering wheel. When I spoke to BMW they said that it works only on the Luxury Plus. But because the package comes from Germany in CKD for steering they cannot remove the button. Its quite weird.
6. No Bluetooth music play using the phone. The phone can be only used for dialing and receiving.
7. Some of the songs dont play properly. It sounds like the speaker is defected but then other songs play well. I don't know this was a problem even in my friend's 330i E90.

Overall the car is a masterpiece and I am loving driving it. I just hope the BMW Sales and service opens up in Siliguri in time as promise by BMW so that I dont have to run to Kolkata for service in the future.

[Vasuki]

Congratulations. Pictures look awesome.

Small screen mean's what size? I think that must be the difference between Luxury & Luxury plus.


BTW it really looks lot bigger than the previous generation. More similar to 5 series!


Drive safe & enjoy the beast.

[karan561]

Congo Pratik for your F30.

The AW/Saddle Brown combo looks good indeed

Enjoy !!!

[Omtoatom]

Pratik, hearty congratulations on the F30. What an upgrade from the SX4!

In the front view, the car oozes machismo, like you said definitely a step up from the mellow-looking countenance of the E90. I'm also liking the saddle brown interiors - beige would've been too vanilla.

Wish you a hassle-free ownership and looking forward to more posts and pictures.

[Enigmatic]

Congratulations Pratik,

The F30 looks awesome to say the least. And the saddle brown interiors look much better than all beige. Also im surprised to hear that the 320d can return 18.5 Km/pl .

Drive safe.

[over.drive]

Hi pratiksinhal

Congrats!!! That is a lovely looking bimmer. Saddle brown interiors look nice too. If I may, I have a few questions for you:

- I see your luxury line has a sunroof. Was this present on the models that were launched initially or is it a new addition?
- Also, did you check out Sport Line variant? Does sport line also get a sunroof now?
- How much was this ex-showroom? Any year end discounts you managed?
- How does the steering feel compare to E90?
- Did you opt for any service package?

Wishing you many many JOYful happy miles!

[TRANSAM]

Congratulations, great choice of saddle brown with white, she looks super. Whats the price difference between the luxury version viz the base version? big step from the SX4. Drive Safe

[pratiksinhal]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

Congratulations. Pictures look awesome.

Small screen mean's what size? I think that must be the difference between Luxury & Luxury plus.


BTW it really looks lot bigger than the previous generation. More similar to 5 series!


Drive safe & enjoy the beast.

The small screen is 6.5 inches. This Idrive is present in the base line also. The luxury line in addition gets the 12 speaker system . The Luxury plus you get the bigger screen of 9 inches which is with internal storage of 12 GB. Also in the luxury plus the rear parking camera is present which is absent in the Luxury Line.

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Congratulations Pratik,

The F30 looks awesome to say the least. And the saddle brown interiors look much better than all beige. Also im surprised to hear that the 320d can return 18.5 Km/pl .

Drive safe.

The 320D returns 18.5 only when driven in the EcoPro mode. The Ecopro mode is a new feature of BMW under the Efficient Dynamics. The suspension also changes and also gearshifts at a lower RPM compared to the Comfort and the Sports mode.
Overall till today after running for about 900 kms I have got 14.5 as efficiency.

Originally Posted by over.drive

Hi pratiksinhal

Congrats!!! That is a lovely looking bimmer. Saddle brown interiors look nice too. If I may, I have a few questions for you:

- I see your luxury line has a sunroof. Was this present on the models that were launched initially or is it a new addition?
- Also, did you check out Sport Line variant? Does sport line also get a sunroof now?
- How much was this ex-showroom? Any year end discounts you managed?
- How does the steering feel compare to E90?
- Did you opt for any service package?

Wishing you many many JOYful happy miles!

1. I have taken the updated Luxury Line which was updated by BMW in November. This has the sunroof minus the 9inch Idrive compared to the initially launched Luxury Line.

2. Yes the sports line also gets the sunroof now. I wanted either beige or brown interiors hence I opted for the Luxury line.

3. The on road price for the car was - 36,88,144
Ex-Showroom 33,79,965
Temp Registration 9000 (I will get the permanent registration done in Siliguri which is about 1,88,169)
Insurance 79,549 (I managed a 40% Discount on the Actual Insurance)
BMW Secure 31,461 (I got BMW Secure Advance along with the BMW Secure - Advance covers the Wheels, Rims and the Hydrostatic Lock also)

4. The steering feels much lighter in the comfort mode when compared to the comfort mode of the E90. But I have driven only the 330i E90 hence its an unfair comparison.

5. I have opted for BMW Secure and I was offered Secure Advance for free.

[suhaas307]

Note From team-BHP Support-Staff: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Test Drives & Initial Ownership Reviews. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your latest acquisition.

[Sheel]

Hi!

Glad to see so many Team BHP ians @ Siliguri.

I hope you didn't drive the Car down, with the condition of road that it is as of now. But I believe, you would have to drive down for service.

Has BMW agreed to send a mechanic in case something goes wrong? I hope they do, till an ASC isn't opened. All I spot there is BMW's. No Mercedes I believe, though there is one ML 350 CDI @ my place.

You may drive it up & down the E-W corridor till Dalkola. Roads are good enough.

And this thread would help you in case you need to drive down to Calcutta Avoiding NH 34

[pc73]

Congrats, pratiksinhal! Nice review. The saddle brown interior looks fabulous. Surprised by engine noise and lack of ipod connectivity.

[swiftnfurious]

Congrats on one of the finest driving machines. The color looks elegant. Interiors are nice too. But I guess you need to give us more pics taken in open space.

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[haldar_siliguri]

Pratik that was indeed a great photoshoot wasnt it!

Originally Posted by Sheel

Hi!

Glad to see so many Team BHP ians @ Siliguri.

I hope you didn't drive the Car down, with the condition of road that it is as of now. But I believe, you would have to drive down for service.

Has BMW agreed to send a mechanic in case something goes wrong? I hope they do, till an ASC isn't opened. All I spot there is BMW's. No Mercedes I believe, though there is one ML 350 CDI @ my place.

You may drive it up & down the E-W corridor till Dalkola. Roads are good enough.

And this thread would help you in case you need to drive down to Calcutta Avoiding NH 34

Sheel, BMW sales, service, spares is opening in Siliguri by 2nd to 3rd qurtr of 2013, construction in full swing.
And about roads to from Kolkata, myself and Pratik know every nook and corner of it. In fact we go for a drive on free mornings on the highway.

And btw there is a Merc S, a C, an E and an ML in Slg in case you were wondering. BMW nos around 10-15 and same for Audi.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by haldar_siliguri

Sheel, BMW sales, service, spares is opening in Siliguri by 2nd to 3rd qurtr of 2013, construction in full swing.

Few I know were putting off the purchase because of this.

Are others (Mercedes & Audi) coming up as well?

And about roads to from Kolkata, myself and Pratik know every nook and corner of it. In fact we go for a drive on free mornings on the highway.

Good to know :-)

And btw there is a Merc S, a C, an E and an ML in Slg in case you were wondering. BMW nos around 10-15 and same for Audi.

In a relatively small place like mine, I spot X1, ML, Discovery 4 HSE & the big daddy LC 200. So it isn't surprising at all that good Cars are coming up at Siliguri. May the tribe increase.

[AdiSinghV12]

Congrats on the ride buddy!! Wish you tons of happy miles ahead. How would you compare the steering of the F30 with the E90 in terms of precision, etc? (Read that you drove the 330i but the steering is same in all the E90 LCis that were manufactured "10 onward). Please share some more pics, & if possible a side-by-side comparison with that 330i There aren't any thread I can think of (even on the E90Post) which has photos of the STOCK E90 LCI and STOCK F30 side-by-side.