[vjbox]

Originally Posted by saur95

Voted for Others because while the Volvo brand might not have the snob value of the German 3, the vehicles look more opulent inside-out. They're also quite rare so really catches attention. The XC60 Inscription trim is fully loaded with features the X3 and GLC can only dream of, including front seat massage, air suspension, a 15 speaker Bowers & Wilkins setup and active driver assistance tech. The build quality is top notch and if you aren't looking for a corner carver, this is the one to get.

If you're a keen driver, then the X3 has no competition. Else, do drop by at Martial and give the XC60 a dekko.

P.S. Considering the V90 CC has been discontinued, you might be able to land some good discounts, if it's a body shape you're interested in. Looks absolutely stunning on the road.

Second that. XC60 is in a league of its own. Although note that the 2020 models have dropped Air Suspension but the ride quality hasn't really been compromised.

V90 CC would have been my choice had I been in the OP's shoes had they not discontinued it. I did check with Martial on any left over stocks but the few they had are all gone it seems. I am still dreaming to get it off the used market some day!

[vjbox]

Originally Posted by senna

This is my very first post on the forum so apologies in advance in case of any errors.

With volvo's plan of going 'all petrol and electric' in the next couple of years, will this adversely impact the already sparse part sourcing for it ? This will also tank the resale value if and when you plan to sell the vehicle.

As long as the dealer is alive and kicking, sourcing spares should not be an issue. This is at least what I have been assured of even by the new dealer in Tamil Nadu and by Martial Motors in Bangalore. Resale value of such cars is another story altogether and they tank either ways despite the Powertrains. The only way you derive value out of these cars is to fully utilise them for a very long tenure while up keeping them the best you can.

[vjbox]

Originally Posted by M.Dua

Driving a Volvo myself, so can vouch for the snob and shock value it attracts, many of my friends have complemented for the exclusivity that the car brings and they crave that even after owning the BMW & Mercs. I drive a D4 S60 and the engine is just so refined and goes bonkers in the Sports mode, it turns from a family car to an enthusiast drive in just a mere left shift to the S mode. Let me put it this way, any of my friend who has driven my car is S mode has gone out the car smiling with disbelief.

Surprisingly having driven it for 5 years and 80000kms, the maintenance has been almost half of the German peers. Though the service centre will give you a feeler of a Toyota service centre and not a luxury brand, went with my friend for service of his C220 and we were treated like guests at a 5 Star but then i realized my friend paid for all of that when his service estimate arrived. I even thanked him for the most expensive coffee of my life :-D

Absolutely! Volvos tick most of the boxes when it comes to Comfort, luxury, power and Safety. While its considered not being the enthusiasts car, a lot of us family men with kids, how often do we tend to push the car while keeping family onboard ? For occasional spirited driving, they still offer adequate performance.

On the topic of maintenance, I think they are the cheapest of all the luxury brands when it comes to service bills. Spares I heard are on the higher side but again you should be covered as long as you have extended warranty for at least a handful of years. Partly agree on the service centre ambience although I really loved the service centre of Martial Motors in Bangalore set in a nice and green location and very well maintained. I actually thought that was better than a 5 star experience

[skhattar]

Originally Posted by bj96

I think X3M was announced recently in India at about 1Cr ex showroom. It punches 473 horses under the hood.
-BJ

I am talking about the trim variant : Luxury line / Msport / Sportsline. X3M is M-Division.

[silverblue]

Voted for the X3. Definitely a lot more involving and fun to drive. However, I would also recommend the Discovery sport. It may not be as sharp as the X3 in terms of handling, but it definitely has road presence and instills loads of confidence when you take it off road.

[KKapadia]

Hi X3 is a great car. But if the extra poser and the 4wd doesn’t matter why not save the cash and get the GLC. Driven both the cars x3 definitely has a dynamic drive but on bad roads the GLC definitely works better. Mercs always have a great suspension. BMW will sell you a no worry 5 year repair and warranty package but that will just push the cost up further. Money and requirements wise GLC ticks all the boxes.

[bmwrider]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Guys, after having driven sedans all my life, mid-life crisis has struck hard and here I am looking forward to look all cool driving in an SUV

My sweet spot budget is around 60-65L with strong preference for petrol. After having researched team-bhp threads and carwale etc, seems like I have 3 choices:

I have a 2018 X3, best decision ever! Even I was confused between GLC , X3 and Audi Q5 at that time , but X3 was way more fun to drive . Its been exactly 2 years now , not even one single issue !Just go ahead , don't over think it .

[4WheelPilot]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Guys, after having driven sedans all my life, mid-life crisis has struck hard and here I am looking forward to look all cool driving in an SUV

Merc GLC:

BMW X3:

Did you consider the GLC Coupe? It must be similarly priced with the X3 but there must be discounts now. You get the 3 pointed star with more power

[rajkk200]

X3 Petrol all the way. More spacious that the others. Excellent driving characteristics. Personally, this is my third X3. Got a stage 1 tune to give a nice little bump in Hp and torque as well!

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

Did you consider the GLC Coupe? It must be similarly priced with the X3 but there must be discounts now. You get the 3 pointed star with more power

This is actually a great suggestion.
The X3 will still be more practical, but the GLC 300d would be a fun SUV given the power advantage over the x3.20d.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

This is actually a great suggestion.
The X3 will still be more practical, but the GLC 300d would be a fun SUV given the power advantage over the x3.20d.

Coupe options (X4 included) are not in consideration because we are a little wary of owning an expensive niche vehicle that would be a hard resale. Also, X4 rear seat space seemed a bit low due to sloping roof.

Did another round of TD of GLC with the 2nd dealer in Bangalore yesterday. GLC did make a compelling case again, this time looking quite good in our preferred blue paint. One downer was the audio, which I found is stock merc and didn't even beat harmon kardon I used to have in my 2003 325i bimmer, back in the US. At any rate, the dealer claimed that they have sold all 2020 stock and fresh stock will be available by mid-jan only. Wonder what kind of discount I will get on a fresh 2021 model?

The 2nd BMW dealer in whitefield hasn't bothered to send the promised TD vehicle home yet, when I had visited the showroom they said they have no X3 for TD. Seems the stocks are low for the dealers to be acting somewhat indifferent this time around.

[evil_grin]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

I am not really the kind who will do the twisties at 200 km/hr so its more about comfort, luxury and of-course the snob value.

The Merc trumps the BMW hands down on comfort, luxury and snob value.

But you're asking people who love to drive so of course, we'll recommend the one that is more fun to drive(Bee emm dabloo )

Take back to back long test drives with family on routes it's likely to do regularly and then make a decision.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

The 2nd BMW dealer in whitefield hasn't bothered to send the promised TD vehicle home yet, when I had visited the showroom they said they have no X3 for TD. Seems the stocks are low for the dealers to be acting somewhat indifferent this time around.

If you are leaning towards X3, then best is to wait till March at least. As right now no dealer across India has enough stock to offer great deals.

Pune dealer also didn't have X3 for TD last week when I visited them.

Even Merc dealers are low on GLC stock. They have E and C in bulk but GLC somehow is almost sold out.

[CosmicWizard]

So as expected, Spec/Price of SportX variant of 2021 X3 are out. Its 5.3L cheaper than LuxuryLine variant but with no leather seats, Harmon Kardon and many other features missing. Any thoughts?

https://www.bmw.in/content/dam/bmw/m...3470438569.pdf

Good to see Android Auto support for both variants Glad that I waited for 2021 models. Now to decide which variant to go for.

[CosmicWizard]

Hi Guys, have a little update to share. After 9 long months since conducting this poll, I am finally able to respect people's mandate and became a proud BMW owner again, after a gap of 18 years (2003 325i in US was the previous one). The wait was much much longer than I had ever imagined and cannot thank team-bhp enough for keeping me sane all this while. Things unfolded something like this:

• Nov 2020 (Kickoff): Call it lockdown boredom or late mid-life crisis, new car itch started about a year ago. Having owned sedans all my life, all I knew was that I want an ICE SUV before they become extinct. Had no idea which one to buy. Did a quick search and became team-bhp member.
• Dec 2020 (Discovery): Test drove both GLC and X3 but couldn't decide between the two. Finally, with strong preference of the home minister and landslide poll win here, booked a blue X3 on Dec 31st and got ready to welcome it home in a week or two
• Jan 2021 (Not so fast buddy!): Uh oh, the only blue with the dealer is Jan 2020 made and I wasn't too sure if I want to buy a one year old "new" car. Okay, time to start another thread in tbhp:
  • https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...d-ckd-kit.html (CKD cars: How old is too old for the CKD kit?)
  • The verdict was mixed but I just couldn't get myself to go ahead with it, since dealer said that 2021 mfg ones are coming soon, I decided to wait. Dealer did have white X3s but home minister again exercised her veto on it
• Jan-Mar 2021 (Still hopeful!): Slowly weeks go by but no sign of 2021 model. Finally in March end the dealer broke the bad news to me that there is no production planned till July 2021
  • When all attempts to convince the home minister on the white X3 failed, I had this crazy idea to buy a white one and paint it blue. Voila, another thread on tbhp (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...-bad-idea.html (Repainting a brand new car | Is it a bad idea?)).
  • Thankfully I got slapped with a heavy dose of sanity and dropped the idea Since 2021 X3 was nowhere in sight, asked dealer to cancel my booking and they promptly refunded the money
• Apr-Aug 2021 (Valley of Despair!): Kept on pinging the dealer, regular searches on car forums, calls to BMW India but nothing! zilch! nada! Standard answer was: no kits coming from germany due to covid and hence no production. Out of curiosity, I checked inventory of my US dealer and guess what: just one dealer there had 30 new X3s in his lot and not even one for a country of 1 billion!! So damn frustrating.
• Sep 2021 (Nirvana!): Towards mid-august, I noticed a fellow TBHP member in Mumbai was able to get his 2021 X3 so pinged the dealer again and he got back that production has restarted. Discounts were not as great as last year but by now I had it enough and was in no mood to wait till festive season or year end. Also, was getting the blue mocha combination that was our first preference.

There are many great ownership reviews on X3 here so not much to add yet. Will share once I have more time behind the wheel.

Now comes the sad part. Having to say goodbye to this silver beauty (2010 Honda Civic) that has served me well all this while and still looks and runs like a million bucks. Please PM me if any of you are keen to make her yours or know someone who would want to