[el lobo 6061]

Congrats Akshay on your new acquisition. For a bhpian 20d just cannot suffice, it had to be a 30d. Black with red interiors definitely looks superb. Keeping black clean would be a arduous task. You could take some pointers from below thread. None the less bi-yearly detailing by Kamyo should keep it nice and shinning.

Link.

Originally Posted by brraj

Against 530d, reasons
- Its not compact
- No good GC
- Xdrive is missing

Its all up to the driver. A sedan would any day be better than SUV for sheer driving pleasure. F10 30d at Khardungla.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Its all up to the driver. A sedan would any day be better than SUV for sheer driving pleasure. F10 30d at Khardungla.
Attachment 1289361

I am sure one would get none of it by driving it up to the treacherous Leh-Laddakh region.

Or maybe, our idea of fun might be a different, no harm in it

Beautiful roads with good surface, a sedan anyday.

[deetjohn]

Congrats on adding another great ride to your garage akshay! I can only imagine how that 3L Inline 6 with ZF 8 speed will be like. You'd wishing for this engine to be in your 3er ain't it?

2 questions.
1) Is it possible to swap the wood trim with OEM piano black finish trim?
2) Can the suspension be set to comfort mode with steering & engine set to sport/ sport+ ?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by n:CorE

Congratulations buddy! I knew of your intention of getting an X3 but the full monty xDrive30d is something I didn't expect! Come to think of it, its you so I could forsee the performance pinncacle variant from your car requirement would always be your choice!

I always thought the X3's interiors would be cramped and the car surely didn't appeal to me the first time around. I'm somehow not sure of the looks either, maybe its just me. It is ultimately a BMW which means impeccable engineering and driving dynamics.

That engine is an absolute peach! Heck its the reason why many including GTO if I recall correctly have hailed the 530d as near perfect and almost up there with the M5. The 8-speeder is just fantastic as well!

Have fun in this beast bro! A drive is in order soon! Excellent write up btw! Upload them pictures already.

Thanks buddy. Well to be honest I didn't expect a 30d either lol, guess I was lucky.

Just hang on for the rest of the pictures today, you will notice that it is quite spacious.

The engine is something, and its opening up really well now. Well the 530d is great, but nothing at all compared to the M.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Congrats on adding another great ride to your garage akshay! I can only imagine how that 3L Inline 6 with ZF 8 speed will be like. You'd wishing for this engine to be in your 3er ain't it?

2 questions.
1) Is it possible to swap the wood trim with OEM piano black finish trim?
2) Can the suspension be set to comfort mode with steering & engine set to sport/ sport+ ?

Thanks deetjohn. This engine in the 3 series would be absolute madness. Though I'm kind of halfway there with my 325d

1) Swapping trim is as easy as sourcing the other trim that is needed. It clips right off, though you have to have the right tools so as not to damage the trim.

2) The suspension and steering settings go together, and the gearbox, engine and accelerator sensitivity go together. So you can choose to have both in sport together, or each individually.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Congrats Akshay on your new acquisition. For a bhpian 20d just cannot suffice, it had to be a 30d. Black with red interiors definitely looks superb. Keeping black clean would be a arduous task. You could take some pointers from below thread. None the less bi-yearly detailing by Kamyo should keep it nice and shinning.

Link.


Its all up to the driver. A sedan would any day be better than SUV for sheer driving pleasure. F10 30d at Khardungla.
Attachment 1289361

I'm well experienced with the pains of keeping a black car looking black, I had the Accord which was black remember?

I don't know how that person got the 530d up there, but it must have taken quite a beating. Not something I'd wanna do in a 5.

[brraj]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Its all up to the driver

Yes, 530d can do leh trip. Infact one of my friend had done leh trip in his turbo swift. If you baby it you can even do mild off roading aswell, again depends on driver skills.

My point was having good GC + XDrive is added advantage over 530d for our indian road conditions.

Why i like AWD vehicles than FWD/RWD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkT5vCiudw0

[Maverick5490]

Congratulations on the new acquisition, definitely the better of the SUV's that BMW offers including the X5 and the pointless X6. The handling and Suspension inspite of having Run Flats is very good. So now more mods for the E90?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by brraj

Yes, 530d can do leh trip. Infact one of my friend had done leh trip in his turbo swift. If you baby it you can even do mild off roading aswell, again depends on driver skills.

My point was having good GC + XDrive is added advantage over 530d for our indian road conditions.

Why i like AWD vehicles than FWD/RWD.
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=lkT5vCiudw0

It wouldn't really be fun if you have to baby the car so much, watching out all the time for bad patches and things which may damage tyres.

Agree with the 2nd point, even with the Xdrive it feels very similar to a RWD, BMW has done a good job.

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Congratulations on the new acquisition, definitely the better of the SUV's that BMW offers including the X5 and the pointless X6. The handling and Suspension inspite of having Run Flats is very good. So now more mods for the E90?

Thanks Sushil, that means something coming from you. Any particular issues with the X3 that I should watch out for?

What more can I do to the E90? Lol. I think its pretty perfect now, only some cosmetic things left.

[Akshay1234]

So guys here is the set of exterior pics finally. Only got time today to go out and click them. The conditions as you can see aren't the best, but hope the pictures have turned out satisfactory. Apologies for the delay.

[karan561]

Congratulations on the X3, a well deserved 6 cyl upgrade

The car looks smashing in BLACK & cant wait to see the all black treatment undergo soon i.e. Black grilles + Blackened Rims & hopefully smoking out the silver / chrome bits.

Till then enjoy the car in STOCK form.

PS - Why are you still running on those dealer provided free number plates bro, crush them under your X-Drive artillery & buy a decent set of IND or order the German number plates ASAP

[AdiSinghV12]

Fantastic write up there. Congrats once again on the monster! How'd you compare your '325d' with this latest acquisition of yours ? I know BMW's I-6 are in a different league altogether but it should be an interesting comparison since the 3er has a clear cut weight advantage and MPPK.

[Akshay1234]

And here are some random interior pictures -

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by karan561

Congratulations on the X3, a well deserved 6 cyl upgrade

The car looks smashing in BLACK & cant wait to see the all black treatment undergo soon i.e. Black grilles + Blackened Rims & hopefully smoking out the silver / chrome bits.

Till then enjoy the car in STOCK form.

PS - Why are you still running on those dealer provided free number plates bro, crush them under your X-Drive artillery & buy a decent set of IND or order the German number plates ASAP

I think I may let the other chrome silver bits be, it should still look nice with black grilles and rims.

I've got a set of embossed plates, without without the IND stickers. Have ordered the Euro blue badge for the left side, with D written on it.

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

Fantastic write up there. Congrats once again on the monster! How'd you compare your '325d' with this latest acquisition of yours ? I know BMW's I-6 are in a different league altogether but it should be an interesting comparison since the 3er has a clear cut weight advantage and MPPK.

In terms of speed this is quicker, no question. But not by a huge amount after 100. Though the 3 still feels much more agile.

[46TheDoctor]

Congrats Akshay!!!
You have bought my favourite car on sale in India (below 1cr mark), that too in my favourite configuration of black with red.
I had test driven the car with same configuration a couple of years back and fell in love with it. So, i am so glad to see one in a fellow bhpian's garage. Wish you thousands of happy miles in it!

[dean5545]

Your getting 11kmpl in a 2 ton 3ltr 6 cylinder beast ?(saw it on the idrive)
My 100bhp Innova struggles to give me 9 in the city and 12.5 on the highways.
The newer BMW Engines are really a great mix of performance and efficiency.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by 46TheDoctor

Congrats Akshay!!!
You have bought my favourite car on sale in India (below 1cr mark), that too in my favourite configuration of black with red.
I had test driven the car with same configuration a couple of years back and fell in love with it. So, i am so glad to see one in a fellow bhpian's garage. Wish you thousands of happy miles in it!

Thank you. Unfortunately they only offer the red interiors on black, and white cars I think. My ideal combo would have been space grey with these red interiors. Considering it is your favorite hope to see you pick one up soon.

Originally Posted by dean5545

Your getting 11kmpl in a 2 ton 3ltr 6 cylinder beast ?(saw it on the idrive)
My 100bhp Innova struggles to give me 9 in the city and 12.5 on the highways.
The newer BMW Engines are really a great mix of performance and efficiency.

Lol the 11kmpl was because I was babying the car the night before. This gave me 9.4 odd kmpl on my last tankful which included one drive to Lonavla. I think normal city driving (not bumper to bumper) should give me 8. Purely highway driving (in Eco Pro) the mileage can go up to 14.