[n:CorE]

2014 BMW X3 xDrive30d (F25) - The Ultimate "Urban" Driving Machine.

What I like:

- BMW's first real crack at the compact luxury SUV segment after the ugly duckling-esque first generation. They made an effort, and it shows. The fit-finish & quality of the materials inside is excellent—soft-touch plastics everywhere.
- The car looks great outside; she has excellent proportions, and her size is just right for the urban jungle.
- Fantastic GC, commanding driving position, surprisingly practical interior with loads of stowage spaces and big door pockets. Very unlike the BMWs I have had in the past (116i, 530d M).
- The car rewrites the rule book for compact luxury SUVs regarding chassis and powertrain. Stonking performance, sorted ride & handling, capable of soft roading—she does it all.
- This 350 bhp / 760 Nm diesel machine returns 10 kmpl on my highway-city (50-50) cycle. It brings all the petrolhead thrills and feels yet doesn't break the bank.

What I don't like (mostly nitpicks):

- The ride has a stiff edge. You can sometimes feel the suspension, having to work harder at low speeds around town. Especially on the bumpy roads.
- The 10-speaker BMW HiFi Sound System would do the job for most people, but it leaves the audiophile in me wanting more.
- Compared to the LCI model that BMW introduced in 2015, it misses out on some goodies. These include the Harmon Kardon music system, Head-up display, bigger 10.2'' iDrive display (vs 8.8'' in my car), LED Headlamps, Sports seats at the front and an M-sport body kit on the outside.
- BMW run-flat tings = No spare tyre/space saver in the boot.
- The BMW telephone cradle in the centre armrest has aged horrendously and is eating into storage space in the area.

If having your cake and eating it too was a car. It has got to be the 2014 BMW F25 X3 30dX. Matt Watson from Carwow seems to think it's the Swiss army knife of the car world, and rightly so. It's comfortable, fast, practical, and capable of light off-roading. This is quite a rare car; only a few were sold in the 30d guise, to begin with. They are very hard to come by in the used market, which is awash with only 20d's all over the place. The one I ended up with is even more special.

This particular X3 has been turned up to eleven in the following areas:
- Performance & Power
- Ride & Handling
- Convenience & Aesthetics
- Fuel Economy

The first two were given, the third ones are lovely little extras, but the fourth one has been quite the revelation for me.

In context, I have spent much time around F-series BMWs. This car replaces my beloved F20 116i and now shares garage space with the legendary F10 530d LCI M-Sport.

As brilliant as they are, both cars have one fatal flaw, especially for our Indian driving conditions: the ground clearance.

I am at an age where my back would happily trade off some driving dynamics in favour of easy ingress and egress. It also feels nice to have your bottom remain unclenched whenever you even look at a speed breaker or pothole.

But see, that's the thing. There is hardly a perceptible or tangible compromise. This thing corners F-L-A-T for an SUV. Or shall I say, SAV.

BMW's xDrive system was developed with its core values in mind. Dynamics, driver involvement, and feel are top priorities. The same cannot be said about modern BMWs (barring the M cars). Their approach to power distribution is much different from that of their competitors, with their quattro and 4Matic systems. It is a rear-biased system. 'Nuff said.

As a result, BMW made much noise about how this is a sports activity vehicle. I also prefer using this term to describe the car, as SUV is now used willy-nilly to describe every other tall boy hatchback out there.

The marketing departments of all car brands in India are having a field day. These days, everything is an SUV or CSUV. Call it that; you are more likely to have a winning product.

1. Power & Performance upgrades:

• Hybrid Turbocharger from Turbo Dynamics UK:

A hybrid turbocharger looks like a stock one on the outside. However, its interior is crammed full of redesigned internals using exotic materials to increase flow at a given rotor speed.

Tuning culture will have you believe that "boost" is everything. Crank it up; you get more power. Sure, but in doing this, you are making the standard turbo work harder to create extra pressure outside of its components' tested tolerances.

To overcome this, Turbo Dynamics UK has a special sauce for the turbo in the N57N engine designed to handle outputs up to ~400 bhp.

How do they do this?
- Cutback or 'Clipped' turbine blades.
- CNC machined compressor covers with "Ported Shroud" technology.
- CNC Machined 360 Degree Thrust bearing assemblies.
- Hi-Temperature and 'Total Seal' piston rings seal.
- Up-rated wastegate poppet valves and bushes.

• Wagner Tuning UK Catless Downpipe & EGR Swril Flap Delete

Ø70mm in diameter, manufactured from high-quality SS304 stainless steel for maximum durability and longevity. 100% custom fit, replacing Original BMW Part No. 18308511143

The optimized design reduces the turbochargers' thermal stress and back pressure.

The swirl flap delete kit lets you remove the problematic swirl flaps known to degrade and eventually disintegrate. This then ends up being sucked into the engine, most of the time with dire consequences.

After removing the swirl flaps, a CNC Machined Billet Aluminium plug is designed to fill the blank hole left in the inlet manifold. The factory swirl flap motor housing is then refitted to hold the plug in place.

• xHP Stage 3 Transmission Tune

The xHP tune removes the transmission's internal torque limiters. It also ensures shorter shift times across all modes, lightning-fast reaction times, race-style auto-shifting in Sport+, stronger blips, and reconfigured Launch Control parameters.

Also, you get a neat Gear Display in the dash D1..D8.

• Quantum Tuning Custom ECU Remap Stage 2 +

A more conservative custom tune has been chosen for better reliability. Figures are approximately around 350 bhp / 760 Nm. Thanks to all the hardware/tuning upgrades, there's a healthy 36% increase in BHP & torque over the stock figures. There is more power that can be made in this setup. Given that the turbo is built, a bump to Stage 3 will only require an uprated front-mount intercooler and bigger injectors (perhaps from the M50d).

This is a street build rather than one for competition. The main focus was a solid and reliable machine capable of munching endless miles while occasionally putting a smile on your face now and then when you put your foot down.

I would love to put her on a dyno, but Mumbai still needs a 4WD dyno.

2. Ride & Handling:

• Koni Frequency Selective Damping Suspension

In a standard shock absorber, the main damping characteristic is defined by the oil flow going through the piston assembly.

With KONI FSD technology, the standard damping characteristic is maintained, but an FSD valve is added to control a parallel oil flow next to the flow going through the piston.

This parallel oil flow is closed by a feature in the FSD valve, causing a rise in damping forces almost linear to the time the piston moves in one direction.

Conventional dampers cannot offer both solutions because they have different frequency areas. FSD technology can change the damping level through mechanical valve control in relation to the frequency of movement, solving the conflict of achieving both comfort and handling in one damper.

The suspension is pliant on bumpy roads, yet it's taut and planted with minimal body roll on smooth roads. Thanks to this suspension upgrade, the car is much more confident in putting down and scrapping off (braking) all that extra power. I had my maiden drive on the Atal Setu a few days ago. Triple digits came up quickly; she was relentless in acceleration until the double ton. The ride and handling at high speed are faultless. BMW's chassis design and Koni's FSD trickery make rumble strips and expansion joints nonexistent. The car glides over them and holds silly speeds in absolute composure. This thing is built to cruise on the autobahn all day, every day. That said, at low speeds in town, it is stiff. Liveable stiff, definitely not bone jarringly so.

FSD technology has caught on in a big way. Cars coming fresh out of the factory lines nowadays also use this technology. The newly launched, refreshed Tesla Model 3 uses FSD Technology. The all-new BMW X2 M35i is equipped with the M Adaptive Suspension, which for this platform uses FSD technology as opposed to their older adaptive system.

3. Convenience & Aesthetics:

• New Shape M-sport Steering wheel w/ Paddle Shifters:

Akshay already covered this upgrade in his last update post. This wheel has a much more contemporary design and looks miles better than the ones BMW fitted as standard to the F25 X3 LCI M-sport.

• 6WB Full Digital Instrument Cluster Upgrade:

This is a retrofit from models that were sold outside of India. If I remember correctly, the Indian F25 X3 LCI M-sport version gets the semi-digital cluster. The 6WB was found in the LCI 530d M-sport. Again, It is a more modern-looking instrument binnacle that changes its look as you toggle through Eco Pro, Comfort & Sport Modes. A few coding mods have also been made that enable a digital readout on the Speedo and a cheeky little M550d badge on the Tacho. In sport mode, a power bar under the Tacho maxes out at 400bhp (as opposed to the stock readout that maxes out at 320bhp).

• LCI Climate Control Panel Retrofit & Carbon Fibre finish inserts:

This one is a straightforward retrofit from the LCI model. These mods give the interior a fresh lease of life. The new Climate control panel looks more modern. Instead of the wood veneers, the carbon finish looks sporty and aligns with the car's overall character.

• Exterior:

Akshay has blacked out everything, including window sills, roof rails, grills, and wheels—murdered out and debaged—except, of course, for the BMW logo. I'm not too fond of the blacked-out version of the BMW logo, as seen on other tuned BMWs.

4. Fuel Economy:

I was stunned to read the trip computer when the car was handed over to me. It read an astounding 11.5 kmpl. The N57N is quite a frugal block with a light foot, as I have also experienced first-hand with our 530d. But in this case, that frugal DNA is further enhanced by the efficiencies created by the hybrid turbo and the eagerness to shift in the nature of the gearbox courtesy of the TCU tune (in Comfort).

I took a little road trip from Mumbai to Deolali this past weekend. It averaged an astounding 12.2 kmpl on the round trip, and this was not me hyper-milling by any stretch of the imagination.

With these FE numbers, A full tank of diesel gives me a range of 750-800 Km.

My daily commute to work and back home is around 75 Km. I'm making significant savings in both time spent at the pumps and overall money spent on fuel. One can be a petrolhead and be sensible at the same time. Revelation, really!

Driving Impressions:

Cold starts in the car, and the engine comes to life with an angry and roarty bark. The sound is more akin to a V8 engine, unlike the diesel inline-6 that it is. This is all thanks to that beautifully designed Wagner downpipe. What also helps the sound is that the stock exhaust plumbing post-downpipe is basically a straight pipe.

The car creeps away from a standstill effortlessly, and with a light foot, the gearbox will upshift rapidly to the highest gear. Under 2.5k rpm, the exhaust is civilized; the car can go about doing its commuter miles and go unnoticed like the sleeper it is.

Put your foot down; it drops gears (multiple if needed) again rather rapidly, and the exhaust comes on the song; the mammoth torque pushes you back in your seat while the xDrive system puts it all down effortlessly. The TCU tune on the ZF 8-speed makes it shift as fast as some DCTs out there. It's something else. Triple digits come up in under 5 seconds (using launch control). With enough space, Akshay has told me she will hit the limiter at 250 kmph quite easily. I haven't found the cojones to do something like that. The speed, sound and being so high off the ground throws you off. The car can do it without breaking a sweat, me as a driver? Maybe not.

The B57 engine (as reviewed by Moderator Karan for the BMW X7) is the successor to the N57N engine found in this car. After all the mods, the power and torque numbers are nearly identical. It only makes me wonder what numbers a fully done-up B57 can make. I don't even know if the ECUs for these new cars have been unlocked.

All this performance is wrapped up in all the practicality of the SAV body style and the diesel economy. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I upgraded from my 116i to a car with +120 Bhp & +430 Nm that runs on cheaper fuel and is SO much more economical than the 116i could ever be. This truly is all the car for all people.

All credits, where credits are due, bravo, Akshay & Team Redline Autohaus, for building this cracker of a car. I look forward to many exciting adventures in the coming years.

Build Vision/Outlook:

This car feels very modern underneath with all the performance mods. The driving dynamics and ride quality are very well sorted. Easily at par with most of the modern equivalent luxury SUVs out there that cost two, maybe 3x the price of this car pre-owned. A brand new buy for the same money, I would have ended up with a top-end Hyundai Creta N-Line or Kia Seltos. Tech aside, these cars have got nothing on this particular X3.

I took her out with some non-enthusiast friends. To their untrained eyes, their best guess of the age of this very car was "not more than 3-4 years." This got me thinking as to which direction I would like to take this build forward.

I want to arrest this car's ageing process further. I aim to make it look modern and ready for another full decade.

I already have my next few upgrades planned. It won't be performance modifications, just things that modernize the car's exterior & interior. The idea is to make it look fresh and relevant even today, almost ten years after she rolled off the dealership floor.

Expect updates on the same in due course. What does the BHP-ian community think? Would you buy a car like this over a Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, or MG Hector?

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[adi.mariner]

Excellent write-up about the X3 30d. That's a real unicorn which you have got. The X3 in the 30d guise is the best of both worlds, performance in a SUV stance for our perennial under repair roads. The F25 BMW X3 is of the perfect size for city use. I have one albeit in the 20d guise and have never felt wanting for more power. I am sure the 30d is a different beast altogether. I got mine in 2020 when the used car market was saner and it offered immense value compared to similarly priced Seltos/Creta/City, etc.

[abs182]

Truly a Unicorn. X3 in 30D avatar was the sweetest post for a SUV according to me. I myself used a F25 in 20D avatar for 9 yrs before replacing it. I still miss the car. When I was in the market the 30D was discontinued. I feel envious of you! Enjoy to the fullest and keep updating the thread for fans like me.

[CafeRacer16]

Originally Posted by n:CorE

What does the BHP-ian community think? Would you buy a car like this over a Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, or MG Hector?

Great write-up. I would certainly go the pre-owned route to start my journey with luxury cars. My idea is to find a fairly clean car & enjoy the ownership. Post couple of years, invest in a generation change kit to restrict its design ageing.

[vredesbyrd]

Tastefully modified!
The X3 30d is getting rarer by the day in the used market. A gem of a car, indeed. The only alternative is the F15 X5 in case one can't find an F25 X3 30d (I was looking for one before buying a Scorpio)

[avira_tk]

Congrats on getting the smaller car with the bigger engine, an option that's nearly non-existent today unless you go a segment higher. The car needs an M sport steering wheel and the better looking great shifter(part number 9296907), it'll transform the look entirely.

[n:CorE]

Originally Posted by adi.mariner

Excellent write-up about the X3 30d. That's a real unicorn which you have got. The X3 in the 30d guise is the best of both worlds, performance in a SUV stance for our perennial under repair roads. The F25 BMW X3 is of the perfect size for city use. I have one albeit in the 20d guise and have never felt wanting for more power. I am sure the 30d is a different beast altogether. I got mine in 2020 when the used car market was saner and it offered immense value compared to similarly priced Seltos/Creta/City, etc.

Thank you so much! Do you have an ownership report as well? If not, do share a pic of your F25 over here!

The N47 (or B47 in 2014+ cars) 20d engine is a reliable workhorse with very healthy numbers. BMW has lately lost its plot. The new X1 2.0 4-cylinder diesel engine is asthmatic in comparison. I don't know if the brand-new X3 has the same engine/tune. Or they have reduced outputs for the X1 and kept it the same for X3. Still, a zero bhp bump in a new-gen product almost a decade later tells you that buying used doesn't make you lose all that much.

The xDrive30d variant is a different beast altogether, yes. However, this 30d engine with a built turbo and all the supporting mods have taken the car to the next level.

You are right; the used car market is now a gold rush. Sellers market through and through. I'm sure you must have gotten a juicy deal on your X3 20d back in 2020. If you crave more power in the future, I would recommend going in for a Stage 2 remap (+ downpipe). All things considered, this platform is indeed capable of handling more significant outputs.

Originally Posted by abs182

Truly a Unicorn. X3 in 30D avatar was the sweetest post for a SUV according to me. I myself used a F25 in 20D avatar for 9 yrs before replacing it. I still miss the car. When I was in the market the 30D was discontinued. I feel envious of you! Enjoy to the fullest and keep updating the thread for fans like me.

Thank you so much, brother. I've just now realized that "unicorn" has been used to describe all my past vehicles in their respective ownership threads at some point. The great enthusiast cars in India are tough to come by, and well-maintained/well-kept examples are few and far between.

I have been fortunate in my journey so far to move up the ladder without any significant issues steadily: the Polo 1.6 GT TDI, the 116i, and now this. Always immensely grateful to be able to live out my petrolhead fantasy and share it all here with our incredible community of enthusiasts.

Originally Posted by CafeRacer16

Great write-up. I would certainly go the pre-owned route to start my journey with luxury cars. My idea is to find a reasonably clean car & enjoy the ownership. Post couple of years, invest in a generation change kit to restrict its design ageing.

Right? Does it not make SO much more sense to do so for luxury cars? The new-age Gen-change kits are of good quality, and if you have a trusted shop for fitting, nothing like it. I have seen some incredible workmanship being displayed on some Gen-change projects. I think it is an excellent way of continuing to enjoy the older cars, which (if you ask me) are more characterful while still being able to make an entrance/arrival with modern looks on the outside.

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

Tastefully modified!
The X3 30d is getting rarer by the day in the used market. A gem of a car, indeed. The only alternative is the F15 X5 in case one can't find an F25 X3 30d (I was looking for one before buying a Scorpio)

Thank you so much! It all started with me looking for a 2014 Porsche Macan S Diesel. Then, I had to widen my search criteria by adding the F25 X3 30d and F15 X5 to the mix. However, the X3 is in that Goldilocks zone in terms of size. It is not as cramped as the X1/Macan nor as big and bulbous as the X5. The F25 X3 is just the right size, and as luck would have it, this one with all her bells and whistles just fell into my lap.

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Congrats on getting the smaller car with the bigger engine, an option that's nearly non-existent today unless you go a segment higher. The car needs an M sport steering wheel and the better looking great shifter(part number 9296907), it'll transform the look entirely.

Thanks, buddy. The car already has the gorgeous M-sport steering wheel, and Akshay1234 covered it in his original vehicle ownership report (XDrive Power - My BMW X3 30D - 10k kms up (page 6)).

The moderator suggested that I create a new thread, as the car has undergone so many more upgrades that the old one didn't cover.

I can perhaps consider the gear shifter upgrade. The part number you shared is the same one as in my 2015 530d M-Sport; it's better looking, but I'm not sure it can "transform" the look entirely. If I find it for cheap, I will definitely do it

[adi.mariner]

Originally Posted by n:CorE

If you crave more power in the future, I would recommend going in for a Stage 2 remap (+ downpipe). All things considered, this platform is indeed capable of handling more significant outputs.

Remap is something I am considering but haven't done it already. I recently got the interiors done along with the headliner which had started to sag. The suspension was changed to Sachs which is much more comfort oriented (no more adjustable suspension). The engine timing belt and transmission fluid along with the filter was changed around the 8-9th year. So hopefully no upcoming work for the next few years other than the regular services. That frees up the budget for some performance mods.

[n:CorE]

Originally Posted by adi.mariner

Remap is something I am considering but haven't done it already. I recently got the interiors done along with the headliner which had started to sag. The suspension was changed to Sachs which is much more comfort oriented (no more adjustable suspension). The engine timing belt and transmission fluid along with the filter was changed around the 8-9th year. So hopefully no upcoming work for the next few years other than the regular services. That frees up the budget for some performance mods.

With all the work you have already done, you are good to go. Headliner sagging is expected, given the age of the car. Luckily, I haven't had this problem so far, but I'm prepared for this one. Most owners of the F25 have swapped out the original adjustable suspension when replacing it (due to age/wear). Akshay mentioned how the replacement cost for the adjustable ones is ludicrously expensive. Yet, they only perform just as well as the non-adjustable alternatives from Sachs, Koni, Bilstein, etc., which cost much less. The standard adjustable suspension went from stiff to less stiff as you toggled from Sport to Comfort.

My Konis are also stiffer, but given the power output, they must be that way. The FSD tech does go a long way in ensuring it's never too uncomfortable. I've heard about the Sachs dampers being more comfort-oriented. How long has it been since you made the switch?

The stage 2 figures, as per Quantum Tuning for your car, are a very healthy 230 bhp / 460 Nm. I would like to quote Dan Wieden and say, "Just Do it!"

[adi.mariner]

I had changed to Sachs in January 2022. So been on them for a couple of years. The old style of having 60 profile tyres also helps with the comfort. I got the work done at The Mechanix Automotive in Pune. The cost of the original dampers was almost the cost of a hatchback and so made the switch. The stage 2 figures are indeed tempting.

[n:CorE]

4000 km / 2 months ownership update.

I picked up the car with around 70k km clocked on the odometer on 18th Feb 2024.

Currently, I am averaging a very healthy 2000 km per month. The car has made several out-station trips: once to Igatpuri and back and a Mumbai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar-Mumbai journey. The vehicle performed exceptionally on all fronts. Ride quality at speed is sublime. Overtakes don't even require downshifts; oodles of torque are available everywhere above 1.75k rpm—so much so that I constantly have to reel her in. Our roads are not meant for the speeds this thing achieves.

Here is a cold start video I got on my weekend getaway to our home in Panchgani.

https://youtu.be/2i2C87402Cc

I have now adopted a very sedate driving style, keeping in mind the car's ability (and mine). I made a lovely little mod using the Carly OBD2 Bluetooth adapter. The car now starts up in EcoPro mode but with a twist. I've set the Start-Stop system to stay off on start-up. When you select Eco Pro, the start-stop system is enabled by default. However, I find it too intrusive, especially when driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic; it can get annoying. All I have to do is toggle through Comfort and back to EcoPro, and start-stop is enabled. Despite having it off by default, the car has consistently given 10.5-11 kmpl.

I am hardly ever left wanting more on my daily commute in EcoPro. The 6WB cluster is pretty to look at with the blue dials. The way they have gamified them, you feel rewarded when driving economically as the blue bars start stacking up.

The most powerful car I own is also the most economical. I am living the perfect petrolhead paradox.

BMW's condition-based service reminder goes off every morning before I set off these days. My service is due in 490 km. The iDrive system also delves deeper to give you more service information.

The above image shows that my car needs new brake fluid and oil. The pads are okay for now.

BMWs understand their customers so well. A typical BMW owner would likely want to know what's happening with their car. BMW has made cars that talk to their owners using sensors and a good UI (iDrive). It does feel dated, but the information delivered is what matters.

We must listen and bring her in when she asks to stay on top of scheduled maintenance. That is all these German machines need to remain reliable. Akshay seconds this opinion and has confirmed it throughout his entire ownership. Nothing has been unusual, just consumables and wear/tear parts despite being modified.

The one that got away:

In the thread, I mentioned how I initially set out to buy a 2014 Porsche Macan S diesel. I had been eyeing one on sale in Gujarat for quite a while. The dealer seemed shady, and the car had been on sale for over 10 months. Finally, when I managed to get ahold of the guy and the car, my friend went over to check it out. The reading on the odometer was 92k km, almost double what was shown in the ad on OLX (56k km). It looked okay on the outside; the bodywork was straight, and there were a few scratches here and there.

After speaking to the dealer on the phone, he straight up went like, don't bother with the odometer reading; it may have been tampered with also. I can only guarantee that this is a non-accidental car that runs and drives perfectly and has recently had a service; you can have your mechanic review it. Regarding price, both options (X3 v Macan) were working out to be the same.

I was lusting after the Macan. Well, it's a Porsche, after all. The S diesel is also a scarce car. When launched, it was priced so astronomically that the bigger Cayenne diesel was the obvious choice for most.

But then it dawned upon me that it is indeed a "Porsche." Replacement parts will cost a pretty penny. The history of this car was shady, to say the least. The first owner probably let her go when posting the first ad (56k km), after which this car has changed hands and been driven by whom and how no one knows. It was a gamble I wasn't willing to take.

The Macan is tiny inside; you sit rather snugly, and they have lowered the H-point, where your hips go in the seat, for a more sporty and dynamic feel. I much prefer the seating position in my X3. It's more comfortable on the daily; ingress and egress are mindless, comfortable exercises (as they should be). Also, if I bought that, I would have had to go to town on my dollar on that 3.0 TDI (and other supporting mods).

Besides, the N57N is the gold-standard engine for tuning potential for its class. It's no wonder that Bhavneesh from TDH decided to sell off his ex-BHP-ian-owned unicorn, the A4 3.0 TDI, as from a competition standpoint, a tuned N57N (with xDrive) will run rings (pun very much intended) around the 3.0 TDI quattro. If I am not mistaken, the car is still on sale.

I am very grateful that I ended up with a well-maintained car with high-quality bolt-ons that were tinkered on by an experienced tuner who also happens to be a decorated member of our BHP-ian community. Eventually, it was a no-brainer. I could not have been happier having chosen this X3 over that Macan.

[n:CorE]

• Bucket list item & the mecca of speed:

I managed to seize an opportunity to tick off quite a significant item from my petrolhead bucket list of things to do before I die.
Given that it was driving a car on a motorway with no speed limits (partially), it could have damn nearly killed me. The fact that I lived to tell this tale is a true testament to the safety of the German Autobahns. It truly is unlike anything else in this world.
What is so different about autobahns? Slap three wide lanes of good tarmac on either side. Bam. Nitin Gadkari would like you to believe this is child's play. But see, what makes the Autobahn special is not the tarmac but the people who use it.
All motorists are focused and committed to getting from point A to point B in the fastest, most efficient, yet safest way possible. Drivers on the road are duly qualified to engage in something like this. No wonder getting a driving license around these parts of the world is challenging.
This experience was spiritual because when I was behind the wheel, all other road users felt like fellow devotees of the religion of speed. Out on the autobahns, everyone was well-behaved and well aware of the fatal consequences of the slightest mistake.
What helped matters more on the safety front was the car that I was driving.

• The Plan

It all started with me looking for cars to rent for our planned boys' road trip from Berlin to Munich on Sunday, 27th October 2024. There were many options on Sixt, but the ones I was interested in (the Germans) were quite expensive. ~ ₹ 36k INR for pick up from Berlin @ 10am and drop-off same day in Munich @ 8pm.
I did more digging around. The price was nearly the same as if I had picked up the car on Friday from Berlin and dropped it off on Sunday in Munich. This suddenly started to sound like quite a steal deal (as I booked at the very last minute). I made plans to meet a friend in Bamberg on Friday morning (400 km) and depart from there in the evening to Frankfurt (210 km) to another friend's place to crash for the night. Drive back to Berlin on Saturday (600 km).

• The wheels, the bells and the whistles:

I decided to proceed with booking a 2024 Audi A6 Avant 40 TDI. The other option in my budget was a 3-series Touring (2.0 diesel). Driving dynamics aside, I had to prioritize ride comfort and cabin space as for our (now) final leg of the journey, we were three boys with four suitcases and a backpack each. I opted for the additional driver package, unlimited km package, and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay package. The prices I mentioned included all of these.
The car came equipped with complete level 2 ADAS. Radar-guided cruise control + lane assist on these roads is a very effective tool, especially for people not used to driving on the wrong side. Initially, I faced a widespread problem among people used to driving on the left side (RHD) – My car kept sticking to the right side of the lane. With the lane keep assist on, this issue was mitigated entirely; in fact, it helped me recognize when I was veering too much on the left side of the overtaking lane. The steering would vibrate, and the car would gently pull itself back between the lines (provided the sensors could pick up the markings on the road). I did turn this system off later when I got more confident.

• Audi's being Audi's – Numb steering & touchscreens galore:

Given that this was an Audi, I found the steering wheel too light (even in dynamic mode). It did not weigh up nearly enough to inspire confidence in the Autobahns. Despite the lack of feel, I found the rack to be precise. It could be too much for my liking. For, e.g., there are banked sections on the autobahns; turning in, you have to be incredibly careful as there is no weight or feedback, and the rack responds sharply to any level of steering input. I was forced to lean on the lane assist systems in these conditions. I'm glad they were there to help me have a relaxing journey.
I should have put the steering in comfort mode and the engine/chassis in dynamic mode. I always used the infotainment sparingly. Modern-day all-touch dashboards are fiddly, and the well-crafted switchgear on the dashboard makes you want to touch and interact more.
Touchscreens remind me of all the societal doom caused by modern smartphones. I want to disconnect and not want to use the phone when I'm in the car. And what do I get inside my car now, more touchscreens? Props to Audi for at least giving a volume knob, but replacing the climate control with another screen… oh god, why!?
The resolution was good, as were the haptics and responsiveness. I'm not too fond of Audi's MMI and UI; there are too many menus and sub-menus. I just put it in Dynamic once and left it there. I couldn't go back deep inside the system to find the other drive modes or configure my individual driving mode.

• I should not drive anything that is not a/my BMW.
  

Eventually, a stock 2.0 TDI engine making 204 bhp can only go so fast. It felt adequate for the most part, but the way it built speed was laborious. I am spoiled, for I drive a car with 700+ Nm torque daily. I can't imagine how much fun I would have had on roads like these in my vehicle.
The X3 was sorely missed. I wish I had my car with me on the Autobahns. The RWD-biased xDrive, the Koni suspension, and that stonking-tuned engine would be an absolute riot to drive. I would take the driving dynamics of my 10-year-old car over the new-age/ADAS tech of this MY2024 FWD Audi A6 all day, every day!
I had a great first-time experience. God willing, I'm going back with perhaps a more dynamically capable machine. There is still a LOT of Germany to see as a petrolhead. I can’t wait to be back.
PS: I received a EUR 36 fine later for driving at 91 km/hr in an 80 zone. I am delighted that it was just this one instance that caught me off-guard on a 1200+ kilometre road trip.

Didn’t manage to take too many pictures, but here are a few that did make it on my camera roll:

This is the last time I saw the car. Parked her up at the drop-off location in Munich at the end of our road trip. Tight spot in between the pillars for 2 cars. Thanks to the sensors (and 360 camera), I could park up that close to the wall with relative ease.


Drop-off location at Munich. Dropped the keys off in their drop box after parking in the designated Sixt parking spaces.


A shot of the rear at an underground parking lot in Frankfurt, where I left my car overnight. The parking fee came up to around EUR 9 or so. Not bad at all.


Just a shot from the petrol station to remind me how cheap the fuel prices are back home in India.

Below is a video my friend took from the passenger seat while we were in the unrestricted section and I managed to hit vMax. Surreal yet casual at the same time.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PvUEGFYAKiU?feature=share