[morphin1]

I have done it again.

In the market for a new replacement for my BMW 320D I set out to look at various options there were. I finally settled for the BMW X320D F25 2012 model base line.

Search for my new car.

I initially wanted to buy the new BMW 320D and at the same time I wanted a car that had high ground clearance to tackle our beautiful roads. Took a test drive of the car and found it excellent in every way. The fit and finish was excellent, the drive was great and the ride quality was surprisingly better than my old 3 series. But in the end I was moving in the same segment which did not make a lot of sense to my wife and the ground clearance was an issue as will be in all sedans.

Then I tested the Mercedes E class. I went to T&T motors Mathura road, the staff was very congenial and nice and the experience was good. There was a huge discount on the E class close to 6 Lakhs Rupees, the E class was very nice and had a lot of road presence but I passed it because T&T was not giving a good resale on my old 3 series and the model change is due soon which would further cause the resale value to fall faster for this model.

I was also considering the ML 250 but passed it due to the reliability issues I read about the M on the forums.

Now comes the Audi. I tried the Q3 but found it very small,under specced and over priced. Q5 was good but from the inside felt small and again Audi was giving a worse resale for my old 3 series. Also I am not very confident of Audi after sales and the premium it commands.

After going round and round in circles I gave the X320 a try. I did not like it's front and the shape over all wasn't very appealing but I gave it a shot none the less and voila, I loved the car. The drive was great and very comfortable, equipment level even on the base line is very good and the drive was awesome as usual. The cabin felt very plush and rich and my heart was set on this car.

Buying experience. (10/10)

I went to my first BMW car dealer Deutsche Motoren and contacted Mr Sanjeev Tyagi, he is the same person I bought my previous BMW from. He was cordial and patient with me. Lot of haggling was not done over the price of the car as he gave me a reasonable discount and accessories for the car. The financing I got done from BMW finance and everything was very smooth. Within a week from the test drive all the formalities were over and car was ready for delivery. There were no hassles and Deutsche Motoren felt very smooth and professional.

Delivery of the car.

I was supposed to be at the showroom for the delivery at 3 PM but got late and reached the showroom only at 6 PM to have a smiling staff greet us. The car was being given the final dusting and while my family were seeing the car I got the remaining papers signed like gate pass etc.

Then I was given a detailed explanation of the various features of the car which I will discuss in length later on. Some pictures attached below.







The Boot is pretty big and should fit at least 2 large American size suitcases abreast.





Engine.

The engine is pretty responsive and does not let you down when you need the power. The engine noise filtering into the cabin is minimal and at times you don't feel that you are driving a diesel that too in a SUV.
I haven't gotten a chance to test the engine to it's limits as it is a new car and won't be messing with the engine till it has clocked 2000 kms.

Ride Quality,suspension,handling and cabin.

The ride quality is awesome. You barely feel the bumps and when you do, it feels like gliding over butter.
Ground clearance is huge and I have put the car during the test drive in some nasty pot holes and uneven roads and the bottom of the car didn't touch the ground.

Sound insulation is great too and once the doors are closed most of the outside noise shuts.

Cabin is very spacious and much bigger than what you think it would be.

Handling is as always spot on. At high speeds the steering does not feel flimsy and are nowhere as light as the Audi X3 which feels like a joke even in city driving.I have cornered at speeds of about 80 kmph and have not felt the X3 feel top heavy or feel as if it were going to topple. The center of gravity stick so far. Will test higher speeds later on. I have not done the 0-100 test yet as I have to run in the engine first.




Brakes.

Did not find anything to complete about the brakes.They are very smooth and responsive. Again feels like gliding. The electronic handbrake feels powerful and does not allow the car to drift away. When you engage it yo you can feel the pressure on the brake pedal.

Steering.

Steering Wheel is very comfortable to hold and grips nicely. It is a gem to be used both in city and highway conditions. The buttons on the left of the steering control cruise settings, and the toggle between the buttons is used for reducing or increasing speed while cruising. So no brakes or accelerator needed to adjust cruise speeds. Right side of the steering controls music volume and radio channels along with voice command.



Center speedometer console.

As shown in the pictures below it is very easy to read. The on board computer(OBC) in the bottom center gives you various information on the go like outside temperature, range,distance travelled so far, etc etc.



Gear.

The Gear shifter has also been revamped. You press and hold the lock and put your car in the wanted gear. When you park you put the car in neutral and press P(Park). The gear feels very futuristic and the best in class so far.Shifts are very quick and accurate and you barely ever feel the gear lag.While accelerating if you want the gear to shift just remove your foot from the accelerator and plomp it back again, somehow the car knows what you want and shifts the gear accordingly. Haven't revved it high yet so I cannot comment on the same.



Center gear console.

Now here are a few new buttons to me and I will try to explain them as best as possible.

The 2 buttons on the right that say SPORT and ECO PRO as the name suggests are used to change the dynamics of the car to either increase efficiency or to go fast on the road. There is also an Eco Pro mode which has the auto engine shut off feature. What this does is when the car stops at a red light or something the engine shuts off to save fuel. There are a few prerequisites for this to happen though, like car temperature should be at a certain level etc.

Next is the hill descent control. When going down a hill press this button and the car will auto descend.
Below hill descent is park assist which has sensors in the front and rear of the car to assist while parking.
The big P button on the bottom is the electronic handbrake. Pull it to engage it and goes red, push down to disengage and goes green.

Below this is auto hold feature which I do not have much idea about currently but will update once I use it.
On the left is the IDrive which I think people already know about so no point in going in detail.



Ignition.

The A next to the start stop button is for turning off the eco pro mode which shuts down the engine when the car stops for a brief halt.



Light and window controls.




Storage. The Glove box is not very big and still remains a disappointment.


The center storage is much much better.


Some night images.





So what I do not like about the car?

1. The front look of the car.
2. The fact that in the backseat there is no storage space behind the driver seats. So this is a bummer.
3. Lack of Lumbar support for the front seats.
4. Lack of cup holders for the rear passengers.

This is all I can think of in the initial report. I have driven the car for about 250kms in first 3 days of ownership and can only think of these points so far.

All in all a great vehicle so far.

P.S: In a new car always run in the engine. The manual says not to go above 150kmph and 3500rmp for first 2000kms. Also don't drive for long at cruise speeds. Always change rpm etc. Check the manual of your car.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[nipcarlover]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on your acquisition, that is one absolutely beautiful motor!

[ecclipse78]

Congrats mate ! Good choice.
This is the advantage edition, I presume ?

[morphin1]

Thanks guys. Yes it is the advantage edition

[275BHP]

Congratulations on the beast! I feel the X3 looks the best when compared to all the other SUVs in this range.
A few questions :
1. Isn't there a comfort mode also in your car? They offer the same in the 5 series, I'm surprised that it isn't there in the X3.
2. Have you opted for BSI/Secure? If yes, could you please mention the details of the same.

Thanks in advance. Hope you have a great ownership experience!
Cheers

[SankalpDesai]

Congratulations morphin.

We generally don't get to see a lot of X3s on the road, which I find odd. Seems like there's too much love for the Audi. But anyway, I find the facelifted X3 to be very appealing.

Some full size bright photos would be good. Cheers!

[v&v]

Congratulations morphin. Even I like X3 over X1.

Is these on RF tyres ?
Spare wheel provided ?
Is this AWD ?

[karan561]

Hey Morphin,

Congratulations on your X3.

The black seats look great, a welcome change over the much sought after saddle brown, beige

By using X320 terminology you mean 2.0 Diesel ? Right ?

Btw, 844 kms of range is massive, seems you are running in on ECO PRO mode all the time

[abs182]

Hi, Morphin

Congratulations on your new ride. Great Pics. Could please share more information on the back seats i.e. can they seat 3 adults comfortably? Also does X3 come with RFTs and the availability of a spare tyre? ALso if you find it appropriate kindly please share you total cost break-up.

Thanks and happy motoring.

[vkaul1]

Congrats morphin. X3 is indeed a fantastic car & on my shortlist along with Freelander 2 for my next change. Can you pls PM me the final commercial details.

Also is this primarily going to be a city ride or are you planning to do some long distance driving as well? In case of long drives any thoughts on the effectiveness of run flats as you already had a 320.

Also a few more pics please.

[devil_klm]

Congrats on baby beemer. It is a sensible upgrade from 320 considering the road conditions and fuel price uncertainity in india. Wishing you happy miles ahead and happy driving

[Baddychat]

Congratulations on the X3. Wishing you thousands of safe miles on this car.


I had a couple of questons for you.
1. Does the baseline come with the iDrive or is that screen meant for reverse camera and MID.
2. I could bot figure out the exact color tones of the interiors, Could you please post a few more pictures of the same.

Cheers

[morphin1]

Originally Posted by 275BHP

Congratulations on the beast! I feel the X3 looks the best when compared to all the other SUVs in this range.
A few questions :
1. Isn't there a comfort mode also in your car? They offer the same in the 5 series, I'm surprised that it isn't there in the X3.
2. Have you opted for BSI/Secure? If yes, could you please mention the details of the same.

Thanks in advance. Hope you have a great ownership experience!
Cheers

Thank you.
1. Yes there is a comfort mode.
2. Have not bought BSI yet as it costs about Rs 3,25,000 for 5 years 60,000kms.

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

Congratulations morphin.

We generally don't get to see a lot of X3s on the road, which I find odd. Seems like there's too much love for the Audi. But anyway, I find the facelifted X3 to be very appealing.

Some full size bright photos would be good. Cheers!

Thank you sankalpdesai.
Even I do find the lack of X3's on the road a little weird, maybe the last generation wasn't too well accepted and yes Audi does hold the pie for this segment. But if you drive the Audi and Q3 you will know the difference.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by v&v

Congratulations morphin. Even I like X3 over X1.

Is these on RF tyres ?
Spare wheel provided ?
Is this AWD ?

Thanks V&V.
Yes these are run flat tyres. No spare wheel is provided will be buying a donut tyre in the coming months for those long hauls. Will update when I have bought it.
Yes this is all wheel drive. That's why the X badging.

Originally Posted by karan561

Hey Morphin,

Congratulations on your X3.

The black seats look great, a welcome change over the much sought after saddle brown, beige

By using X320 terminology you mean 2.0 Diesel ? Right ?

Btw, 844 kms of range is massive, seems you are running in on ECO PRO mode all the time

Thank you Karan561. Yes the black looks plush and very rich. I do not like beige as that color has been used everywhere and back again.
Yes it is the 2.0 Liter Diesel engine but a beauty of engineering. At low speeds you do not even feel like you are driving a diesel. Refinement is great.
The rand of 844 kms yes is on eco pro mode and you caught me there hahaha. I doubt it can give that range will check later on long hauls to see the best efficiency I can get.
Cheers

[morphin1]

Originally Posted by abs182

Hi, Morphin

Congratulations on your new ride. Great Pics. Could please share more information on the back seats i.e. can they seat 3 adults comfortably? Also does X3 come with RFTs and the availability of a spare tyre? Also if you find it appropriate kindly please share you total cost break-up.

Thanks and happy motoring.

Thank you abs182. The back seats are very comfortable and even better than my fortuner. Even the center seat is not that bad as you get enough leg room unlike the smaller 3 series and X1 or the Audi Q3.
Seating the third adult is a tricky question. It will all depend on how big the rear passengers are. Medium sized folks should fit in just fine. Don't know how comfortable over sized people would be.
Yes the X3 comes with run flat tyres and no spare tyre is given. For long hauls you can always buy a donut to be doubly sure.

Originally Posted by vkaul1

Congrats morphin. X3 is indeed a fantastic car & on my shortlist along with Freelander 2 for my next change. Can you pls PM me the final commercial details.

Also is this primarily going to be a city ride or are you planning to do some long distance driving as well? In case of long drives any thoughts on the effectiveness of run flats as you already had a 320.

Also a few more pics please.

Thanks Vkaul1.
Even I was considering the Freelander 2 but refrained as the company is just setting up and the equipment level's did not match up to the other companies. Long term reliability and treatment of customers is also to be seen.
This car will be used in the ratio of 60/40. 60% for city and 40% highway. In case of long runs I plan to buy a donut tyre and use it. My 320D did not give me much trouble and even when the tyre went flat I got it fixed like a normal tubeless and it worked just fine. I drove for a year with a repaired rft and it did not give me any issues. Also I am a careful driver so the reliability of a repaired rft may also depend on the driver.

Originally Posted by devil_klm

Congrats on baby beemer. It is a sensible upgrade from 320 considering the road conditions and fuel price uncertainity in india. Wishing you happy miles ahead and happy driving

Thank you very much devil_klm.

Originally Posted by Baddychat

Congratulations on the X3. Wishing you thousands of safe miles on this car.


I had a couple of questons for you.
1. Does the baseline come with the iDrive or is that screen meant for reverse camera and MID.
2. I could bot figure out the exact color tones of the interiors, Could you please post a few more pictures of the same.

Cheers

Thanks Baddychat.
1. The model I have bought is the baseline. The idrive does not have front and rear cameras but has front and rear parking distance control which is good enough.
2. Black with silver highlights. And trust me the black is very crisp and looks great.
I will also upload higher resolution pictures of the exteriors and the interiors later this week.