[Ascari]

Akshay,It is as stable when it is hitting the limiter(and not the rev limiter!)

Have you tried to switch off both the DSC and DTC and experienced the acceleration in Sports Mode??? You must man,it's exhilarating!!

[Santoshbhat]

Congratulations on your new 3. Loved the exterior and interior colour combo. You do have an envious garage. The diesel motor truly packs in a lot of practicality to fun that the 3 has to offer.

The BMW 3 is one car that has been very very aspirational for me and I do believe I will get myself one (in this life hopefully ) Would love to know from you how she handles tall speed breakers. Here in Bangalore speed breakers seem to be the solution for any kind of accident. One can't seem to drive for a continuous stretch of 500mts without encountering one . And how does the rear wheel drive feel compared to front wheel drive on the V6 while accelerating hard, cornering etc... ?

[Ascari]

@santhosh The 3 handles the speed breakers and potholes in Bangalore pretty well,the ride is a bit stiff but it is robust.The GC is pretty good too,never have I bottomed out on a speed breaker.However the run flat tire's are not good for our roads.If there are sharp potholes,you need to crawl.I have had a Tyre failure in just 4500 kms and that being always driven on Okayish roads only,insurance covered it partly but then it's still a pain knowing it could happen in the middle of nowhere.My dad is skeptical taking it down a rough road.These are sensitive cars and as long as you keep to city runs and expressway's there are no problems,you cant take this car on country road's-Bangalore-Mangalore for example.More than the capability of the car it is the sheer knowledge on the back of your mind that you could suffer a tyre failure that tugs you back.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Ascari

Akshay,It is as stable when it is hitting the limiter(and not the rev limiter!)

Have you tried to switch off both the DSC and DTC and experienced the acceleration in Sports Mode??? You must man,it's exhilarating!!

I'm trying to wait now till its run in before I start my antics. I'm sure it will be crazy. Is yours the 177 or 185bhp engine?

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Congratulations on your new 3. Loved the exterior and interior colour combo. You do have an envious garage. The diesel motor truly packs in a lot of practicality to fun that the 3 has to offer.

The BMW 3 is one car that has been very very aspirational for me and I do believe I will get myself one (in this life hopefully ) Would love to know from you how she handles tall speed breakers. Here in Bangalore speed breakers seem to be the solution for any kind of accident. One can't seem to drive for a continuous stretch of 500mts without encountering one . And how does the rear wheel drive feel compared to front wheel drive on the V6 while accelerating hard, cornering etc... ?

Thank you. The car is really practical, the fuel needle is half way down and its done 320kms on this tank already. The MID is now showing about 9.5 thanks to some bad traffic in Mumbai.

Like ascari mentioned, as long as the speed breaker is wide enough it will not scrape. I think it can clear everything a Laura or a Civic can. Infact maybe a bit more than the Civic because of the soft suspension.

I can't comment on those points you want me to compare with the V6 since I haven't really pushed the 320d thanks to the running in.

[Ascari]

@Akshay

Mine is a March 2010 BMW 320D Highline.I had no idea that specifications of the car has changed post my purchase,has it been Akshay?

As for FE I get consistent 9 kmpl in city but I feel the engine is not as fuel efficient as my E250 CDI Mercedes which gives me consistently more even though it is a much bigger car.However it may be due to overzealous booting of the throttle too!

BTW are you gonna mod your beemer in any way?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Ascari

@Akshay

Mine is a March 2010 BMW 320D Highline.I had no idea that specifications of the car has changed post my purchase,has it been Akshay?

As for FE I get consistent 9 kmpl in city but I feel the engine is not as fuel efficient as my E250 CDI Mercedes which gives me consistently more even though it is a much bigger car.However it may be due to overzealous booting of the throttle too!

BTW are you gonna mod your beemer in any way?

I'm sure the Merc is not driven half as spiritedly as your 320d, and that would be the reason for better FE.

I think yours might be the new engine with 185bhp and 380nm then. Unlike the previous generation the ECU in this is uncrackable so we cannot just buy a remap and get it flashed through the OBD port. All tuners demand the ECU be sent to them for them to crack it. So that rules out aftermarker remaps.

I think the BMW Performance Package would be the best bet, and I think I should get that sometime next year. Maybe also a K&N drop in filter to go with that.

BTW guys, today I was going on an uphill road with a sharp left and right turn, I took the left turn quickly and I don't know what got into me, but at the right turn I pressed the throttle down and flicked the car to the right. The torque surge came but since I had flicked it and the ground was also wet it lost traction and the rear came out a little bit. The little so called 'Drift' was fun for me God save me for the running in I'm giving this car

[jkdas]

A honest and true ownership experience I have read ! You had included few things but worthy like sound insulation in cabin,ride quality etc that many miss and had helped clear some of my misunderstanding.

Thanks!

[brraj]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

BTW guys, today I was going on an uphill road with a sharp left and right turn, I took the left turn quickly and I don't know what got into me, but at the right turn I pressed the throttle down and flicked the car to the right. The torque surge came but since I had flicked it and the ground was also wet it lost traction and the rear came out a little bit. The little so called 'Drift' was fun for me God save me for the running in I'm giving this car

Did you check if the DSP was On/Off?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by brraj

Did you check if the DSP was On/Off?

Oh it was fully on. The little 'drift' was quite intentional on my part. And the DSC on the Bimmers are known to be a little lenient i.e they let you have some fun before cutting it.

[silverblue]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Oh it was fully on. The little 'drift' was quite intentional on my part. And the DSC on the Bimmers are known to be a little lenient i.e they let you have some fun before cutting it.

As long as your tires are in good condition, it will allow you to slide a bit and have fun. However, if the tires are slightly bald in the rain with high speeds, DSC or no DSC, the car will slide into the nearest wall

[quattroa4]

hey , akshay nice buy , put it through corners and you will have a smile as large as the grill of the car .
also put some glue or fewiquick around the logos as if stolen will cost you arour about 2900 each . its a true driver's car .

[hiren.mistry]

Well well well, from a Accord V6 to a 3 series. Heartiest congratulations Akshay, read this thread in one go, superbly written. Love the images as well.
I recently drove a 320d CE and was really put off by the interiors and found the back seat almost impossible to get in or out (that probably might be due to belly I'm carrying). But all these niggles vanished during the drive.

Took it on a new flyover near my place where my Civic bobs and skits over the undulations at 100 KMPH, this 3 felt composed at 130 KMPH.

Are you getting the Beemer for this weekend's meet?

Cheers and have loadsa fun.

BTW: This is my 600th post, and what a place to post it. :-)

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

hey , akshay nice buy , put it through corners and you will have a smile as large as the grill of the car .
also put some glue or fewiquick around the logos as if stolen will cost you arour about 2900 each . its a true driver's car .

Already started putting it through some corners. How about a quick report from you on your 320d?

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Well well well, from a Accord V6 to a 3 series. Heartiest congratulations Akshay, read this thread in one go, superbly written. Love the images as well.
I recently drove a 320d CE and was really put off by the interiors and found the back seat almost impossible to get in or out (that probably might be due to belly I'm carrying). But all these niggles vanished during the drive.

Took it on a new flyover near my place where my Civic bobs and skits over the undulations at 100 KMPH, this 3 felt composed at 130 KMPH.

Are you getting the Beemer for this weekend's meet?

Cheers and have loadsa fun.

BTW: This is my 600th post, and what a place to post it. :-)

Thanks buddy, and congrats. All the credit goes to my father for this, and its actually his car. The Accord is still mine.

Yes the interiors of the CE are a little sparse, but they're still functional and built well.

I'm getting the Accord this weekend, since there will be so many Hondas, and I need some good pics of that car too.

Small But Nifty Features
Some of you guys had asked for some of the small features of this car, well it doesn't have too many like the Skodas and VWs. But I'll try and list out a few -
1) On selecting reverse gear, the left mirror dips down a bit so that the curb can be seen. On moving out of reverse it moves up again.
2) There is an option in iDrive where with each of the keys the last position of the seat will be brought back. So even if it was not on a memory setting, the exact position it was in would be brought back with that key. So technically it becomes 3 memory positions per key, one is short term memory lol.
3) Lane change indicators. Tap the indicator stalk once and it blinks thrice. The no of blinks cannot be adjusted.
4) On taking out the keys, all the lights come on including the lights outside.
5) Lots of lights - There are main lights for the front and rear, 2 reading lights each for the front and rear passengers. Front footwells have lights. The bottom part of the doors have puddle lights. Also door handles from the outside have these neat looking white lights in them that light up the car when unlocked. I need to get a picture of that. Oh yes there are also 4 amber-ish ambient LED lights.
6) The wiper stalk and indicator stalk is totally electronic, no mechanicals involved in it. For eg, if I want to indicate left I will push the stalk down beyond the resistance point, and it will come up back to the centre part again. It does not stay down and make a noise when the indicator is cancelled. Another eg, the wiper stalk. If you want slow wipe you push it up once, it comes back to the centre. For fast wipe you push it up again, and still it comes back to the centre. To stop the wipers from fast wipe it has to be pushed down twice. Hope you understood what I meant by this.
7) Voice control is nice, we can change the music, radio, many iDrive settings, get text messages or appointments read out, dial numbers etc etc.
8) Also if you put the engine off in neutral. Then you can push the gearstick upto park without your foot on the brake or the gearknob button pressed. But once its in park it cannot be moved out.
9) The windows can be put up and down with the key fob.

These are all I could think of now. None of these are really fascinating. I guess the pleasure of the BMW is all in the drive.

Bad on you BMW
Some little things which BMW has missed giving us on this car, which IMO should have been there.
1) Front parking sensors. Its there on the 330i, why not this?
2) Park assist, debatable and not really missed but it would have been a nice thing to have.
3) Cornering lights. The xenons throw is very very good but you never know when you will need that extra light.
4) Cruise control. Again not needed but should be present.

[Akshay1234]

Wow not even 5 days of my review and already 10,500 views +. Thank you guys, and thank you admin and mods for putting it on the homepage

Heres a little photoshopped pic

[brraj]

Originally Posted by silverblue

As long as your tires are in good condition, it will allow you to slide a bit and have fun. However, if the tires are slightly bald in the rain with high speeds, DSC or no DSC, the car will slide into the nearest wall

But those are the conditions where DSC should act and get the car in control.

what BMW claims is different
BMW 3 Series Sedan : Dynamic Stability Control

Experianced vikrams ford mondeo in chennai tracks, turning at 100kmph is childs play with ESP ON.