Never thought I would be writing an ownership review of a 320d so early in life.
Disclaimer: I am no writer and I mean that. So if you find it little boring please bear with me. Also, views expressed here are of course my personal views with limited technical knowledge.
Also, I am no photographer. So if you see awesome pictures in this review then it is because we have awesome photographing BHPians here who get up at 6am on a Sunday morning to take pictures of your new ride. Thanks a lot sukiwa! Without your pictures this review would have been as boring as Jimmy Adam's batting. Sorry for the analogy, but you see I am no writer.
Buying and decision making process:
To be honest, there was not really a strong urge to buy a new car as I was completely satisfied with my then current car, a Polo 1.6. It had almost everything, a high revving NA engine, linear power delivery, elegant interiors, fantastic handling and good seats. And add to that a very hassle free 30k kms.
But then the kind of automobile nuts we are, I was always on a look out to upgrade. I opened this topic several times in front of my wife and promptly closed it looking at her reaction. One thing about me is that I never give up when it comes to cars. And she knew it.
This was in June/July. Our finances were no were close to getting a new car but we were positive about this to change in September. So after my lot of nagging and pushing we test drove C220 and 320d in July. After TD and discussion with SE about prices, we stopped as I decided that I should first work out the finances and then decide on a budget otherwise it's just shooting in the air.
Come November, and I was all ready to buy car of my dreams. But this time I wanted to check the used cars as well. Went to BMW premium selection and saw three cars. Two 320d and one 330i all E90s. I liked the 330i very much. The SE offered 27L + 1.4 for two years warranty. My counter offer was 23 + 1.4 = 24.4. He plainly refused. Then I told him that the car was in fact invoiced for 28L two years ago and he wants me to pay 27L for it?! To which he rudely said we will not sell it below 25L without warranty. I said okay, good luck with that.
Then started checking out cars on TBHP classified, OLX, Quicker, etc. Found couple of C220s and 320ds. But when I called they were either sold off or were not good. After this I gave up on pre-worshiped cars. One close friend (also a BHPian) suggested to check cars in Mumbai as there would many more options. But I neither had the patience nor the time to travel to Mumbai spend time on it. So bye-bye to "the best way of owning a car".
In December, the BMW SE with whom I had interacted in July called me up and invited for an "Sunday special discount" event on 19.12. So wife, my one year old kid, two very close friends and me went to the showroom in afternoon to see what is being offered.
After TDs of X1 and 320d, following was the voting:
Wife: X1
Me: 320d
Friend-1: X1
Friend-2: 320d
Kiddo: Enjoying with the ladies from BMW, didn't care much about the cars
So after 2-2 voting one of us had to give up and it was my wife who knew how much I love driving. She said if 320d gives you the driving pleasure then we go ahead with it. And decision was done. Then started negotiations. My friend-1 is an auto dealer himself and he had soft feelings for the dealer so we kept him out of the negotiations.
Friend-2 and me started negotiating with unbelievable prices and SE did not agree to it. So I just gave him a blank cheque and said if he can get me the deal I wanted, he can put a booking amount and he has his sale.
It took another 2-3 days and the deal was sealed. Though I didn't get the ROI on loan as promised but I can understand that as the difference is minimal and the variant I chose was not having much discounts on it. I chose Sportline without thinking twice as the extra money over baseline is worth every penny for those awesome sports seats and black and red interiors combination.
Cars that were considered:
1. Skoda Octavia
Likes:
- Exterior styling
- Features
- Engine and DSG gearbox on diesel
Dislikes:
- Interiors - beige overdose
- Rear seats
2. VW Jetta:
Likes:
- Engine and DSG gearbox on diesel
- Rear seats
- My previous experience with the VW dealer
Dislikes:
- Exterior styling
- Interiors feel
3. Mercedes C220:
Likes:
- Interiors - spacious and quality of materials
- Rear seats
- Features
- RWD!
Dislikes:
- Drive feels disconnected
- Steering feel
- Parking brake position is awkward. Chances of accidentally pressing it are high.
4. BMW X1:
Likes:
- Features - Panoramic sun roof & navigation
- RWD!
- High seating position gives better view of the road
Dislikes:
- Handling is not as good as 320d
- Armrest for driver is not as comfortable as 320d
- Lack of spare and lack of space for it as well
5. BMW 320d:
Likes:
- RWD + 50-50 weight distribution
- Handling is unmatched in this segment
- Sports seats at the front
- Exterior styling
Dislikes:
- Ride is little on stiffer side with 17"
- No navigation - not even optional
- Lack of spare and lack of space for it as well
Dealership experience:
Car was booked on 24th December.
Booking amount + down payment was paid via RTGS and BMW finance took couple of days to get the loan down. No hassles whatsoever.
Overall I would give 9/10 rating to the dealership. My SE was very polite and courteous all the time. Though he gave lame excuses couple of times regarding delivery, I can understand it because I was calling him each day.
They gave me a decent deal. Not the one I wanted but close enough. Only thing is that they could not give me the promised ROI for loan.
Good thing is that he respected my request of PDI before registration. Unfortunately, due to work I could not do it.
The delivery day experience was very good. They play "celebrations" song and the staff cheered as I broke the coconut (not on the car). A goodies basket was presented which had following items:
1. Set of car care products
2. A BMW cap - white color
3. Chocolates + Sweets
4. A micro fiber interiors cleaning cloth
5. Accessories booklet
And additionally my SE gave me a BMW card holder as gift. My wife presented him pen+key-chain as a gift from our side.
The car itself: Engine:
It has been little more than three months since I got the car and 4k already on the odo. It is simply the best car I have driven so far. Been fortunate enough to drive X5, 530d and others in Europe for sometime but 320d is just the right car for me. Power delivery is not only instant, it is insane as well! Even in comfort mode it is responsive and in sports mode it becomes entirely something else. In sports mode the gear shifting is late along with heavier steering and suspension and this is complete driving pleasure.
It does not have a high revving petrol engine but this engine is lot of fun in low revs. There is almost no lag that you can "feel". Though it is not as linear as a petrol NA engine.
Also, it does have some clutter which even after good padding from the manufacturer does get through to the cabin. With music one would not hear it but otherwise it is clearly audible.
To conclude, I would rate the engine as 4/5. Personally, I love NA engines but this twin turbo diesel engine has impressed me like anything.
Heat insulation:
Handling:
If I have to describe handling of this car in one word, then that would be "baap" (an expression/word used to describe something which is above all). It really holds well on the corners. 50-50 weight distribution is evident the way this car is planted on curves or even while lane changing. All this is comfort mode and in sports mode the handling in even better. My Polo also handles well and I used to think that it is enough but this car has spoiled me even more. Suspension setting, tyre size, steering, 50-50 weight distribution and even sports seats all this creates one great handling "feel". For the kind of roads and traffic sense (non-sense) we have here, driving real fast doesn't make sense but even at moderate speeds handling plays a big role in driving pleasure. This car's handling confirms that buying this car was the right decision.
Exteriors:
No matter how many times I ask myself about which one looks better, E90 or F30, I just can't come to a conclusion!
Initially, as like many others on the forum, I did not like the F30 styling with grills merging in to the headlamps for the first time. But believe me F30's looks grows on you. I fall in love every morning when I look at it. Black and sporty looks go great together.
The long bonnet looks gigantic. Very less chrome on the car makes it look very very sporty. I think I should better let the pictures to the talking.
Front view:
Front view from top:
Front 3/4 view (is it called 3/4?):
Another similar angle:
One from the top:
Nose picture:
Logo:
Sports badge:
Shark fin:
Tyres:
Rear:
Tail lamp:
Corona rings: