[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

The grille is supposed to open when needed, sadly I won't be able to see. May be a hot pursuit and acrobatic skills will reveal?
Attachment 2261739

It takes a good sprint for the grill to open, but once it opens it will stay open for quite sometime. The grill works both ways, helps the engine warm up sooner by keeping it closed when you start the car.

This was after some spirited driving from Hospet to Chitradurga, on our way back from Hampi.

[shivaramanuma]

Hi

Can you let me know if the 320ld comes with adaptive cruise control, 360 degree cameras and dash cam. Thanks

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by shivaramanuma

Hi

Can you let me know if the 320ld comes with adaptive cruise control, 360 degree cameras and dash cam. Thanks

If you are looking to buy new one, none of the features you mentioned are available in 320Ld. Initial batch of 330Li MSport as I recall came with 360 degree camera, which was removed later on.

[shivaramanuma]

Hi

I was told yesterday by the BMW dealer in Chennai that the facelift of the 3 series will not happen and only the Li/Ld will be facelifted and will become the default. Is that true?

Also you mentioned 7-8 lakhs discount on the 320 version - is this on the normal sedan or the L version?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by shivaramanuma

I was told yesterday by the BMW dealer in Chennai that the facelift of the 3 series will not happen and only the Li/Ld will be facelifted and will become the default. Is that true?

Complete hogwash! Avoid this particular SA at this dealer. Globally, BMW has already discontinued manufacturing the pre-LCI G20 kits. There is no way the LCI will not be introduced in India.

Ironically, unsure about the G28 Gran Limousine (Li / Ld) though. It was originally a made for China model and may have a different LCI timeline; however, I doubt BMW will have two ongoing iterations. They will probably facelift both.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by shivaramanuma

Hi

I was told yesterday by the BMW dealer in Chennai that the facelift of the 3 series will not happen and only the Li/Ld will be facelifted and will become the default. Is that true?

Also you mentioned 7-8 lakhs discount on the 320 version - is this on the normal sedan or the L version?

I doubt BMW would stop their most popular model! The dealer is just trying to make a sale happen or probably has L in inventory.

In 2021 I was offered similar discounts for regular and L variants. Discount depends on inventory.

[PrideRed]

The Adblue level has dropped to 50% and is suggesting to fill only 3L, which doesnot sound right. Either way tankful may last around 12-15K which still is quite a good range. Have used xtragreen diesel for last few refill and there is slight improvement in FE and may be wee bit engine refinement too. As regens are not displayed, don't know if Xtragreen is helpful, i believe it does though based on my experience with Fortuner.

Spent some time washing and polishing the car. I don't have PPF/ceramic coating. Paint quality is superb especially compared to other cars I owned till date.

[PrideRed]

Few updates, as car crossed 10K milestone in a year.



First service was completed in December and since I have BSI, was charged total of 17K, which included a pair of tires(under BMW Secure) and minor repair for rat bite. Could not drive the car for a week or two due to other commitments, had to shift car to another parking. AdBlue level in iDrive did not seem right and was not matching with actual refill. Got same inspected and the SCR meter line was damaged. Same was ordered and replaced in couple of days. Total charges came to 31K including part, labour and GST. Renewed Insurance with BMW, which was little higher than what was quoted outside but comes with peace of mind. Costed around 85K.

Other than the rat menace, car is doing good and most of the drives have been around hometown and Puttur-Blore. Seeing current prices of LCI and prevailing rates in used car market for the 3 series makes me grin .

[PrideRed]

Drove solo after long. Took the mysore expressway which was a breeze. Given I started late, did not encounter much traffic. Bangalore-Puttur via Mysore is a dream road for a low slung sedan. Fast 6 lane, beautiful 2 lane roads from Mysore -Madikeri and then butter smooth ghat followed by fast and curvy 2 lane till Puttur. Earlier there were not many good restaurants in this stretch, post pandemic few nice cafes and decent restaurants have come up. Had dinner at recently opened up tiny restaurant, which served nice Masale Dose.

I was maintaining good pace but did not overspeed. 95% of the journey was in eco pro mode as I was enjoying the leisurely drive with no pressure of deadline. At the end of the drive, car returned a reasonable 16.4KMPL, door to door. Ironically, 3 series is the cheapest mode of transport among the cars I have, despite being the most fun to drive provided roads are good.

Journey data from iDrive



Dinner with a view



Near Madikeri for a late night coffee break

[PrideRed]

Went for a quick weekend drive to South Goa. Took my favorite and scenic Manglore-Goa route. Road is good throughout except for few diversions near Honnavara. Roads in Goa seem to have been laid recently and is butter smooth. That said road is a bit narrow and can get tiring with traffic. While returning back there was long wait to enter KA, liquor+ Election check.

Car performed rather well on full load, we were 4 adults plus 2 kids(under 6). Did not bottom out anywhere. The rear is a bit too soft as I have mentioned earlier, but things get better once you cross 3 digit speeds. Car returned a decent FE of 14KMPL. Looks like tires will last beyond my expectations. Anything above 20K is good, given the usage. Currently car has done little over 14K and tires look good for another 10K.

Mandatory stop at Maravanthe



At usual place for lunch



Some more shots from place where we stayed

[PrideRed]

17500K KM in about 20 months and car is almost due for second service. No notification for brake pad replacement yet. Did multiple trips on highway and continuous to be fun machine yet economical on pocket. On the other hand rats seem to love the car more than me and a nasty one ended up chewing a wire connecting fuel pump. The car had to be taken to service center and folks took couple of days to diagnose. Car remains to be in stock condition with no new additions. Tankful of AdBlue seem to last about ~9-10K KM's which is very good compared to 5-6K range in my Fortuner. Yes the tank is bigger but very helpful.

Mangalore dealer(Varsha) has expanded now and found them quite competent and good. Right from delivery to service/repairs had a pleasant experience and they keep me updated regularly of work progress. Easy to get appointment and if needed they do free pickup/drop too(100KM to and fro, though I avoid most times).

While I am happy with the car, seeing current pricing makes me even more happier . Though M Sport, current Ld is inching close to 80L mark!

One from a recent drive



After some wash and wipe

[PrideRed]

Completed 2nd year service at Varsha Autohaus. ID7 was indicating to get car serviced in another 250KM. Second service notification came 3 months in advance compared to date of purchase. As I have BSI, routine stuff were covered . Had asked service technician to check brake pads, front one's were good rear one had life of about 1-1.5K KM. Asked to replace rear pads. Brake pads, labour, cleaning, tax all came to ~28K. Not cheap but not super expensive either given the cost of the car.

Prior to service, did a drive to Bangalore and back, despite the deteriorating Shiradi ghat, car managed to glide without scraping or bottoming out. Bit difficult during night but certainly exceeded expectations. Had an old unbranded vintage dashcam which I had been using , this conked off couple of months back. Wanted something without display and good quality, nearby shop had A500S available and got it installed(No hardwiring). I like the form factor of DDPAi Mola series, 70Mai is slightly bigger and has unwanted display but have got used to now. Clarity is better than Mola N3 i have in another car.

[PrideRed]

DEF was not refilled during service and got it topped up during a recent visit. Last two diesel refill was Xtragreen, haven't seen much difference w.r.to power, FE or refinement. Continuing to use it as I have seen it benefits the DPF regens. Wheel alignment was done post service and tires look good for another ~10K KMs.

Monsoon is almost getting over and shots from some of the recent drive with the green cover.





In isolation very hard to tell this is LWB. The integration is just fantastic

[PrideRed]

couple of weeks back was driving car near home and a tiny stone from oncoming truck hit the windshield. Initially it was a tiny patch and within few hours the crack became bigger needing a replacement. Service center did not have windshield in stock and an order was placed. Part came in couple of days and dealer took 2 days to install. Had asked dealer to claim insurance and since I had bought from the dealer, claims were hassle free. Had to pay 2K from pocket.

Had been for couple of drives, one being towards KL. Roads were mixed bag with smooth curvy tarmac to typical under construction 4 lane roads. Another one was to Bangalore via Mysore road which is enjoyable . Fast corners with arrow straight Bengaluru-Mysore highway, was fun in sport mode.

Beach(at a distance) Background

[PrideRed]

2 Years with 320Ld

Two weeks ago, bimmer completed 2 years- time just flies. Car has clocked 19500KM till date. While Fortuner has been doing the long haul drives, new entrant Hilux is doing some of short intercity drives and despite these two, managed to clock decent miles in the 3 GL. Have taken 3 to quite of bit of highway trips including popular tourist destinations in KA, Goa, parts of KL but majority of miles came from Bangalore-Mangalore highway.

Things that exceeded expectation

- Nearly 20000KM, tires lasted quite well. To add, didn't have flat tire yet, fingers crossed. I believe a bit of this has to do with 50 section tires.

- Expected both brake pad replacement, only rear one was replaced, front one's are good for some more.

- Fuel efficiency despite heavy right foot. Worst was 10KMPL best was some 17KMPL. I believe if driven sedately, can return insane figures but once in driver seat, all you want is to drive and forget fuel efficiency. Just that roads have to be good .

- After sales has been amazing. Been going to Varsha Autohaus and quite happy with the service.

Things that were below my expectation

- Rat bites, didn't expect rodents to like the car so much. Parking space has pretty much remained same compared to earlier cars, but rats love the 3. Had couple of wires that were chewed and was painful to get it repaired.

- Softer ride, especially at rear , which can get bit bouncy at times. While the low speed ride is great, cornering is good, high speed could have been better.

- Missing fog/cornering lamps. While I am quite satisfied with headlights, wish BMW offered fog/cornering lamps. I do quite a bit of late night drives and miss the extra pair of lights.

- Ventilated seats and weak AC, especially at rear. During peak summer rear passengers do complain about weak AC.

2023 was great, looking forward to many more drives in 2024.