Upgraded from a Volkswagen Polo GT TSI to a used BMW X3 30d

Goes without saying, the Sport mode is a hoot! It’s ultra responsive and it’s like a bottomless pit of a high revving machine that’ll keep going more than you want it to.

BHPian humbleroadster recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My first ever (own) car journey started in May 2005. As a sailor, I was a couple of contracts down as an officer then, and really wanted to move out of the baba-gaadi zone! Pune wasn’t too crowded then, and keeping two cars in a mid sized house wasn’t really an issue, what with all the parking woes now.

I’d got the Ford Fusion then, the steering feedback of which(amongst other things), I still miss! I’m 6’4” tall and it was a perfect fit for me. I was also waiting for the SX4 to be launched sooner than the proposed date, but it was still sometime till “men were to be back!” Anyways, those were the days of single hood, both, in the garage and personally, and free revving was a different ball game.

In 2010 I moved to Goa. This of course was after a lot of running between Pune and Goa. The Fusion did just what it was designed for. Run like a horse endlessly. I still miss the manual transmission through the interstate drives.

In 2012, I almost had my hands on a pre-owned Skoda Laura. 1.8 TSi MT. It was a stage 2 Superchips remapped car and was a sheer pleasure to drive. It was also when I’d discovered what a TSi motor can actually do. Plus, MT. A few other things held me back from buying the Laura back then, and there is just no use of putting in an element retrospective imagination now!

2014 saw a need of getting “smaller” car to navigate through the narrow Goan roads. By this time I was already bitten by the TSi bug and in came the VW Polo GT TSi. Tight fit for me, given my size, but the car with the TSi+DSG combo was a sheer delight. ABS sensor issues cropped up a couple of times through its life with me, but apart from that it witnessed no other niggles(thankfully!!).

My stints at sea continued during all this, like the Goa-Pune-Bombay drives. In 2016, in the 11th year of its life, I had to sell off the Ford Fusion. I’m not able to articulate the amount of endearment towards this car. It was everything, spacious, sturdy, no major electronics on it making it very very reliable. I’d shed a tear!

Anyways, the thrill of the TSi continued with me till 2019 when I’d left for Shanghai on a shore based ship construction job. With more and more reports of mechatronic failures, I’ll admit that the reliability quotient was out during interstate drives. But the drives were thrilling nevertheless. TSi+DSG combo was a brilliant experience for me and I’ll remember it for a long time to come.

This was her at the last service in 2019 in VW Pune.

The project coming to an end early last year I returned home to Goa. Only to find myself be-car! And I needed one to move around like before. I had the Ford Endeavour in mind, thinking it’ll take me back to the Fusion days. History!

I really needed something substantial in size, adequate in power, and something that would give me a thrilling experience over the 500 kms odd drives between the two states.
Meanwhile, I’d been silently tutoring myself over these 3 threads:

• GTO’s 530d (F10).
• Santoshbhat’s X3 (F25).
• Iliketurtles’s 328i.

I was in Bombay in September 2021 and happened to visit the VW showrooms to have a look at the Tiguan. The price, plus not being in a situation to claim depreciation didn’t make any sense to me. Meanwhile, I had also spoken to Infinity motors and had put in a word about me being on a look out for a used car.

And boy did they get back!

They had a 340i (demo car) on offer. Out of my budget. I still dream of the sound on her, though! And then they had the F25.

At 5 years old and 34,000 kms on the odo, she was a perfect match for my needs. Spacious, fast, always serviced at Infinity Bombay, and within my budget. I had to simply grab it before I lost it!

Thia is on the day of delivery:

 It has taken me more than a couple of months to get used to everything. The engine, gear box, braking, controls, the list is endless!

I am now about 4 months and 5000 kms on the car.

Keeping in mind, this is after all a 5 yr old, let me start off with my likes and experience with the likes:

The engine:

Explosive, to sum it up in a word.

It’s got the Eco-pro/Comfort/Sport/Sport+ mode. It’s really transformative in each of these modes. I’ll be frank in admitting I haven’t explored around much in the Sports+ mode (yet). Still getting used to it all, and given the frequent 500 odd kms stints, I’d really like to take it easy if I’d want to see many more of those!

It’s got noticeable lag in the Eco-pro mode and I haven’t used that much either. The car starts by default in the Comfort mode and frankly it does solve most of its purpose here. I use this in city limits when in Pune/Goa/Bombay.

In the last Pune-Goa trip the trip computer showed a consumption of 7ltrs/100 kms. That clocks to around 14.2 kmpl roughly. I frankly think it’s a very decent number, that too for a 3.0 litre twin turbo charged 6 cylinder engine. Plus, after the Fusion, and then the Polo, this is definitely the most I’ve even got.

Goes without saying, the Sport mode is a hoot! It’s ultra responsive and it’s like a bottomless pit of a high revving machine that’ll keep going more than you want it to. I’m quite overwhelmed with it all, and frankly I’m being a tad bit careful with this being my first BMW.

Since this is basically where my emotions have been maxed out, I’ve not played too much with the Sport+ mode. It does have launch control and maybe someday I’ll find the road for it!

Look at the sheer size of it:

Speaking of the engine, and another related thread describing a disappointing experience at one of the dealers, there was a brief conversation about the car having/not having a manual dipstick to check the engine oil level. There is it, behind the cylinders:

With so many electronics floating around, even I found the idea of a presence of a manual dipstick quite funny, but it’s there nevertheless.

There is, at this stage/age of the car, quite a bit of engine chatter in idling. That is, when I start the car, leave it in “P” and get out to hear it. I frankly don’t how how other 5+ year old diesel Bimmers sound, but I’m going to go with not normal for now.

Quick question(s) for Bimmer owners/experts. Does the cladding under the hood need a change after a specific period in time, even if the cladding is in apparent good condition? Also, will this chatter/rattle have to do anything with engine mounts? I really hope I’m able to figure this one out soon enough.

Another peculiar thing I’ve observed is that in my previous cars, the engine temperature used to settle down at 90 deg C. This one settles, and is steady, at a 100. I don’t really know if this has something to do with a bigger engine (3.0ltr), or more cylinders (6). I hope this isn’t an alarming matter!

Soundproofing:

In continuation to the above, once inside the car with the doors closed, I can’t hear the sound in idling! It’s isolating, but enough to hear a loud horn behind you. All in all, making the cabin very silent. And silent enough to hear and catch further rattles from my front left window! Conundrum much. On a Pune/Bombay- Goa drive, I pass through a Nippani-Sawantwadi section. This section had good patches and really bad patches. And the really bad ones haven’t really helped in the last 4 months. Anyhow, the soundproofing is the best I’ve had so far.

Ambience:

I’m given to understand that the 30d M Sport comes only with all black interiors. I wonder if she would’ve looked more spacious in beige than she already is. Coming from a Fusion, and then the Polo, and then 2 years of having no car, this one’s BIG! The inside is quite understated and everything is a snug fit.

What I like most is the display of the iDrive is a part of the dash and looks neat.

All black interiors makes it look clean(even if it isn’t!). The M steering wheel (now) looks a bit dated for my taste. I will see if I can have it swapped with the new M wheel in the future.

Unlocking the car switches on small lights at the door handles. This has been very nifty for me since Goa isn’t very lit up at night. I’m not sure if they can be called puddle lamps as the outreach of these lights barely manage to illuminate anything on the ground. This said, it does manage to illuminate the sides of the car well. The entire cabin lights up as well. This includes both footwells.

As a part of ambient lighting, the open tray/shelf beneath the air conditioning gets a dim light too. This is customizable to amber. This has been very useful for me. The HUD is customizable for brightness. It changes to amber in dark when headlights are in auto. I haven’t been able to capture a proper photo for the same.

Gearbox:

Equipped with a 8 speed torque converter, it’s a great gearbox and the best that I could compare it with (usage and experience wise) is the one from my last car, the Polo GT TSi. First, every time I used to be downhill in a ghat section in the GT, and if I happened to press the brake a bit, the gearbox would downshift from D5 to D3 with a loud revv. I used to find this a bit unwarranted frankly and the only walk around for this came in, in 2016 when I managed to retrofit the GTI wheel with paddle shifters and I used to then upshift to M4 from D3. This unnecessary downshifting hasn’t happened with the ZF GB. I understand these are two separate mechanisms and I’m just quoting my experience with the change.

On my first trip in the X3 into Goa, I watched out for this downshift, only to realize I don’t know which gear I’m in! The X3 shows a constant “D” on the display as opposed to D1-D7 in the GT. However, the manual mode shows M1-M8 in the X3. I would’ve liked to know which gear I’m in, or perhaps I’m just used to the GT display. What I was also used to was the infamous thudder and vibration when the GT shifted down from D3 to D2. Again, two separate mechanisms, so that’s out. Pretty smooth to operate.

Steering:

Frankly, I’m still trying to understand it completely. Lot of twists and turns in the ghat sections that I frequent. It’s pretty precise and weighs up in different modes. Sums up for a pretty enjoyable experience. Variable geometry is something that is very new for me. And I will update this in the forthcoming sections.

I won’t really say “Things that I don’t like” yet, so let’s keep it at “Things I think could’ve been better”!!

Footwell:

It’s substantially large and the accelerator rests at the bottom. This somehow, tilts my foot at a 45 degree angle over a prolonged period in time, resulting in a slight foot ache post a long commute. This has not happened to me before. The Polo had the accelerator hanging from its upper portion. I don’t know if this makes a difference, but it’s certainly an ergonomical issue! Again, I’m 6’4” tall and the Polo was a super tight fit for me. The X3 for me, is a playground!

Lack of an electric tailgate:

This is the sensor where in you hold the unnecessarily large box of groceries and do the one legged dance to magically open the boot! I learnt it’s name through Santoshbhat’s thread!

But seriously, look at the size of this. Opening it aside, it’s a disaster to shut it! Much like pulling a shutter down while closing shop. That’s the worst analogy ever, and my apologies for the same. But if I’m finding this inconvenient given my size, why isn’t anyone else complaining about this?

Run flats and lack of a spare wheel:

There is no dedicated space for one as well, even if you’d want to buy it after the purchase. This means either I have to risk a tyre burst (and get stalled), or I have to invest in a spare wheel, tyre, basic equipment to deal with a flat(spanner, jack etc), and something to lash it within the boot. This simply put, is a bad move! I’m currently on 2018 manufactured Pirelliss and given the interstate commutes, I need to address this pronto!

Yes, there should’ve been a “Things that I don’t like” section for this!

Runner board/side skirting( please feel free to correct the term):

Please allow me to explain this very bad picture. This is the side profile of the car running between the wheel arches. This is attached to the door by a clip on/off system. I’ve had to replace a couple of clips to the runner on the rear left door. But now it’s making a small noise post the “thud”! As discomforting as this is, I sure there must be some reason as to why it isn’t an integrated part of the door itself. The clips within are hard plastic and it’s evident they’re susceptible to deterioration.

Apart from these few things, the car has been a gem to be with! The sheer pleasure and the thrill that it gives me interstate turns the whole commute into a breeze!

I had her serviced from Bavaria motors, Pune in November 2021. There’s a separate thread for the same.

In January 2022 I got my car detailed along with a few cosmetic changes.

This is what she looks like upfront now.

The side profile was looking like it needed some change and I got the alloys painted as well.

The pictures above are from before and after.

What with all the josh that I was in, I decided to repaint the calipers. Thinking that red and yellow are too common, I thought I’ll go in for a different colour. This hasn’t worked out well! The BMW India official page shows the recently launched X3 with red M calipers.

Hopefully this should be available in India. I have a feeling these are available in blue as well. Maybe I’ve not looked around for them as much.

That’s all that I have about the car for now. BMW is like uncharted waters for me so far. I hope it all counts for an enjoyable experience in the long run.

Cheers!

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