[rxpaul]

The engine bay is long as all BMW engines are longitudinaly fitted and also to accommodate the longer inline 6 cylinder engines of the 340i.

[shyamkb]

Thank you for a stupendous review, amazing pics, and Congratulations on such a fine car!
I am following in your footsteps and have belatedly realised that the Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI is a gateway drug. Having tasted the surging turbo power and german engineering with independent rear suspension and buttery smooth gearbox, I can't go back. But there is no lateral movement. Nothing comparable. Having hooked us on this TSI they suddenly stop the supply.

No one who has driven the 1.8TSI can bring themselves to drive the upcoming 1.5 TSI Octavia. The only way is now is to raise the budget to get the same turbo high.

So now that my Octavia is 6 years old ( although sparingly used and still a beautiful free revving beast), I find myself considering buying the BMW 330i as a replacement.

Even though the rational mind recoils at the thought of spending close to 50 lacs, the heart is not listening, seduced as it is by the Skoda experience, and now overtaken by the urge to live in the moment, (courtesy Covid)

I am taking a test drive this weekend, and am girding the financial loins to take the plunge ( pardon the mixed metaphors).

I was wondering if the OTR price you got was a one time offer, or do you think they would match the offer? Also wondering how you feel about beige vs black for the interior. Does beige look good too?

I love the black but the ladies in the family prefer the beige.

Thank you, congrats again and wish you many miles of happy motoring!

[Dr.Vikas]

Hi itwasntme,

Many congratulations on your new acquisition !
A perfect upgrade from 1.8 tsi, I would say and what a striking shade of Blue color that is ! Simply 'Blue'tyful !

Still haven't gone through the review, but the pics are enough to glue to the thread.
Bookmarked..

All the very best and wish you many happy miles ahead with the beast,

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by graaja

If you plan to get a cycle carrier, my suggestion would be to go for roof mounted options. I am sure Thule will have the proper foot kit for the G20.

Hi graaja, which Thule product do you have on your GT? I'm talking to Methods Auto in BLR to find out options.

Interested in buying something like a WingBar Evo for cycles or a roofbox.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Hi graaja, which Thule product do you have on your GT? I'm talking to Methods Auto in BLR to find out options.

Interested in buying something like a WingBar Evo for cycles or a roofbox.

I have the Wingbar and the Proride bike rack. I had got this for the Jetta and transferred the whole setup to the BMW, with the right foot kit which I got from Methods Auto.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post3603334 (Platinum Grey VW Jetta 2.0 TDI Highline DSG comes home EDIT: Sold!)

I got this 6 years back. There should be better models now.

[GTO]

itwasntme, I took the 330i M-Sport for a long drive on the weekend. Absolutely loved that rev-happy engine & fast gearbox. I especially liked how the G20 has balance; the E90 was too stiff, while the F30 was too soft. The G20 felt just right, and I drove on all kinds of roads!

[shashank.nk]

Congrats on the upgrade! It seems like BMWs are the most obvious upgrade choice for most Octavia/Jetta owners and i'm glad you chose a BMW over Superb or others you were considering.

Wish you a 'joy'ful ownership period with the car.

I'd love to know more about how you find the LED headlights and GC as you clock more kms with the car. Drive safe!

Regarding the snow foam-To get nice thick foam,I use about 100ml of Proklear snow foam with 900ml of water to wash two cars (large sedan and a hatch) with a Karcher 3.55 and MJCC foam lance. With 1 ltr solution, I can foam each car twice, and this reduces the mitt usage significantly. I checked with Proklear to buy a 5 ltr can, but had no luck as they sell only through Amazon where 5ltr isn't listed. Do let me know if you can get hold of a 5ltr can.

[avira_tk]

The same color combination reviewed by autogefuehl, the review should include the unlimited autobahn section as always. This is a good way to understand what these cars are capable of, as cars here come with speed alarms and we don't have the roads to do such speeds safely.

https://youtu.be/IiEl81WFl50

[Kashish]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Thinking but don't want to mess with warranty or insurance in any manner. EVEN if it cannot be detected by BMW Service, a simple test drive during a routine service will reveal it. Open to advice of course.

Insurance will definitely not be a worry for this. Regarding warranty, you can always revert back to stock settings when sending your car for its annual service in a couple of minutes through the app.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by GTO

itwasntme, I took the 330i M-Sport for a long drive on the weekend.

Good to hear your buy-in! Can we expect a full or a 'Driven' review?

[vb-saan]

A bit late to the party… Congratulations on Joy!

Great choice and this probably is one of the best driver’s car in the market. And the variant/trim selection is spot on. One thing I don’t like about the new BMWs is that tacky virtual cockpit; here you have the classic dials.

If I am living in India, this would have been my choice (along with a new Thar hardtop)

[itwasntme]

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Unsubtle warning brought me down to earth



Did a quick run to Polibetta, Coorg through the Nelamangala – Hassan highway. Superb experience and really got to stretch the 330i’s legs.

Gave it some stick on the empty bits (lot of traffic!), and was deeply impressed at the handling dynamics across all speeds including stability over undulations, hard acceleration on less-than-ideal surfaces, braking for sudden speedbreakers etc., and all this with the car chock full with 4 adults + 1 pooch + boot spilling out with luggage.

On the twisting and turning Coorg roads with not-so-nice patches thrown in, I was happy to note that we did not bottom out whether it was the front lip, running boards or rear bumper. Chassis is ultra-stiff with minimal sag;

I detest bottoming out on the rear bumper, and was ecstatic to note that the rakishly lifted design keeps the mufflers etc. safely away from nasty rebounds from tall narrow speedbreakers.

Resting:







Narrowly avoided damage to the front suspension, wheel & bumper during a bout of torrential rain. The long bonnet + steep slope + a sharp turn + my absentmindedness luckily destroyed only a flowerbed. Just managed to stop before any damage to the 3.

Luckily bricks were wet & ground soft. Not even a scratch on the front lip or bumper.



Drove through some typical coffee estate roads too with some care. No damages luckily to the RFTs. Had also ensured 36/46 psi tyre pressures and that definitely helped. BMW recommends 39/46 but felt 39 in front was too much especially if I hit unmarked speedbreakers or a deep pothole.

Spot the escort Mahindra 540 way in front:



Narrow final approach:





The BMW Comfort seats are great, and I believe much improved from the F30 version. Felt no fatigue after the ~5 hour trip with almost no breaks. Back seat passengers did complain of more harshness than in the Octavia + lack of space, BUT made up by the lack of lateral movement they were used to.

Speed warning chime was less irritating than what I had expected. With a heavily loaded car and a lot of traffic, I was very careful about exceeding it (mostly!).

Don’t bother asking about the mileage – did not check trip stats but long term average has crept up from 10.4 km/lt to ~11 km/lt now. Can safely assume that the spirited driving cancelled any highway mileage gains out.

Overall, a great road trip! Now the mandatory food pics!

Pandi curry:


Chilli cheese toast:


Akki (rice) roti:


Chicken stew:


Kadubu (rice) balls


Mutton stew!


Back at home and being washed:

[anandpadhye]

Awesome trip.
Lovely pictures.

A road trip across the highways and into the mountains in a low slung petrol sedan is perfect, just perfect, especially in this increasingly boring world filled with diesel SUVs

Good to see RFTs performing well. For such far away trips, the extra assuarance of run flats over regular tyres is what enables us to brave it all without a proper spare.

As we discussed, 46 PSI may seem high but works really well on these low profile tyres and keeps them as well as us safe.

[drsvijay]

i have a 1.8TSI Octavia- 4 years old. I just had a test drive of 330i GT , thought i was planning to buy 330i, since they brought the GT only on the way to somewhere else. the first thing i missed is key less entry.

The engine was peppier than 1.8Tsi, I couldn't still feel like an upgrade in most other things.

Is it just me ? most other things appear the same or less.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by drsvijay

i have a 1.8TSI Octavia- 4 years old. I just had a test drive of 330i GT , thought i was planning to buy 330i, since they brought the GT only on the way to somewhere else. the first thing i missed is keyless entry.

Don't judge by the F30 330i GT which is tuned for touring + comfort rather than taut suspension + peppiness. Drive the G20 330i and we can compare notes after that.

Having said that, in all fairness the TRUE upgrade from a Octavia 1.8 is direct to a 530i or 530D .