[samyakmodi]

To start with I would like to thank Turbanator, Blackbolt, Maverick5490 and GTO from the bottom of my heart for helping me decide what car to buy.
Turbanator with his immense knowledge and grace, helped me decide on a BMW while also making it crystal clear - not to go for a test drive vehicle.
Blackbolt instilled a lot of confidence by sharing his experience with the 6GT.
Maverick5490 put me at ease when I was concerned about the after sales service.
GTO made it an easy task to decide on what engine to opt for after reading his ownership experience with his 530d.

Few people knew that I was contemplating buying a car for my father which would be an upgrade from his 4 year old Skoda Octavia. Since my parents are above 70, we had a very clear requirement - the rear seats have to be spacious and comfortable while getting in and out should require least efforts. Anything that came extra along with this was an added bonus.

The cars considered :

1. Skoda Superb - good leg room, but low seating height. Didn't solve the purpose.

2. Skoda Kodiaq - excellent product, but the rear seats weren't that spacious plus they lacked under thigh support.

3. Mercedes E class - well what can one say about this car? Impeccable interiors plus acres of legroom! Would have been the first choice had we not tried out the 6GT. The rear seats though immensely comfortable are a bit low which in turn doesn't give "that" good under thigh support. Add to that the seats also weren't "that" comfortable. The car we test-drove was a E220d which had "just adequate" power and the suspensions weren't "that" good either. I must admit this test drive happened just after the test drive of the BMW 630D and the bar was set quite high. The comparison was skewed to start with. The 6GT had a fiery 3 litre engine while the E had a 2 litre mill. The 6GT had air suspensions while the E had the regular ones. The seating height again favoured better in the 6GT as compared to the E. Though I would have loved to check out the E350d, but unfortunately the dealer informed that there were none available in stock, even in the company.
Another chunk in the E's armour is that the centre armrest console now extends almost all the way back. With the huge floor floor hump and the centre console - it strictly makes it a 4 seater now.

4. Mercedes GLE - the new car seemed preposterously priced while having a mediocre middle row.

5. BMW X5 - though a nice car, the rear legroom wasn't that good. Plus being an SUV - there was fair amount of body roll (compared to a sedan)

6. BMW 6GT - I somehow always knew that I will find an excuse to buy this car someday ever since I test drove it more than a year back. The test drive car was a 630D variant - which made me grin like a school girl each time I pushed the accelerator. Initially thought of buying a "low run" test drive vehicle - but then followed Turbanator and Maverick5490's advice and steered clear from them (can't thank them enough!!). Then came up options of quite a few new 2019 BSIV models in various trims like 620D Sportline/luxuryline, 630D luxury line/Msport - which did seem quite interesting, but then all thanks to GTO and his 530D thread, I was 100% sure to go for the 630D variant.
Now came the option of choosing the M Sport VS the Luxury Line!

Now this is where the real confusion begins with BMWs. Till end of 2019 they made the luxury line as well as the M sport in the 630D variant. Towards the end they decided to drop the Luxury Line variant and stick to the M Sport only. Then they dropped the Heads Up Display and also the "ohhhh so beautiful instrument cluster" in favour of a Virtual Cockpit with iDrive 7!
While going amidst all this confusion I then decided it is better to go for a 2020 BS6 vehicle instead of a BS4 variant as any which way the company wasn't offering any lucrative deals (or so it seemed whilst talking to almost every dealership in the country). To cut a long story short - ended up buying probably the country's first BS6 630D M Sport 6GT!!

While configuring the car, the body color and interior color choice was quite easy. BMW for it's higher trims doesn't offer much to choose from (I find it counter intuitive). Just 3 shades - Mineral White (the pearly white), Carbon Black (which in fact is a really very dark shade of blue) and Bluestone (which is a mix of grey and silver with a pinch of blue). All in all you can't have a regular "BMW Blue" when you want their higher spec car - what a bummer. The interior choices were also limited - you can either go for white or you can go for dark brown. In their lingo - Ivory White or Mocha. Though they do give you supposedly softer Nappa Leather instead of Dakota Leather. So it was the BMW 6GT 630D M Sport BS6 in Bluestone and Mocha interiors.

The booking experience of the car was quite smooth though can't say the same about the delivery. Can't blame the dealership for that as the COVID 19 lockdown was enforced. The car was to be delivered by the 18th of March 2020, but I only got it on the 4th of June 2020.
Since I bought the car from Raipur dealership, they sent it via a big car carrier with just the basic papers and display key. Since it's a BIG car, it was quite a task to get it out of the car carrier. Initially I thought I would be able to use the display key - but unfortunately wasn't able to use it and had to shimmy my way inside the car and relied solely on the directions of a friend and the truck driver to reverse the car out of the container. Didn't click any pictures that time, but on both the sides the car barely had room of about an inch(all thanks to the container's wheel arches coming in the loading area). Once I got it out, only then I realised how big the car is! 2158mm x 5091mm x 1538mm makes it a big car compared to our 2016 Octavia.

The dealership forgot to upload the navigation/maps before sending the car over - so waiting for that to come with all the other papers as well as the other regular key.

Haven't bought any accessories with the car yet as I am not entirely sure what all I would need other than mudflaps and car mats. BMW doesn't have mudflaps for the M Sport variant (as I have been told) and the original all weather mats seem crazy expensive - 15k!!! Would need some suggestions for the same from everyone who knows something about decent mats for the car.
I did however choose to get the BSI as well as BRI for additional 4 years/100,000 Kms. Since our usage is about 80-100 Kms a day, this one seemed to be the most practical one.

Here is a list of the good, the bad, the ugly and the gimmicky which I have discovered so far.

The Good
- Gem of an Engine - it produces 265Bhp with 620NM of torque @ 2000-2500 RPM. This is the BMW twinpower turbo inline 6 cylinder engine.
- Super smooth and quick transmission (my scale is limited to my experience with Skoda DSG) - they call it 8 speed steptronic sport automatic transmission
- Excellent ride quality, all thanks to the adaptive 2-axle air suspension
- Excellent seats at the front with a million odd adjustments
- Excellent seats at the rear with a small degree of back angle adjustment with good under thigh support and a decent legroom. Higher seating makes ingress and egress much easier for elders.
- Rear Seat touch screens
- Harmon Kardon 600W 16 Speaker system (though not entirely sure how much better it is compared to the stock one)
- 360 degree camera (some might find it gimmicky but I am in awe with the technology)
- ID7 or iDrive 7 - they say it is the best one in the industry. Still trying to figure it out completely.
- Frame-less Doors!!
- The wooden interiors are of the non glossy kinds. Gives a totally different feel from what I am used to seeing.
- The lack of beige in the interiors seems like a breath of fresh air from the regular beige we've been so used to. They call it BMW Individual Headliner Anthracite.
- Soft close doors.
- The car is 5 star NCAP rated.

The Bad
- Looks are quirky. In person there is hardly any panel or angle you will dislike - but if you see it as a whole somehow it simply doesn't work. Haven't been able to put my finger on it but the car's shape is growing on me.
- BMW has skimped on a lot of things on the Indian variant.
- The buttons on the steering feel inferior to our Octavia's.
- Puny spare wheel which eats up the precious luggage space for long journeys!
- Just 2 Memory settings for seats. Though it is still 2 more than the E, it still is 1 lesser than an Octavia.
- No heated/ventilated seats.
- No Boss seats. No way to adjust the front passenger seat from the rear or from the driver side. Considering this is supposed to be targeted towards the executives and is rivaling the E class, something very basic like this is missing.

The Ugly
- Missing Heads Up Display. Find it particularly irritating as the earlier BS4 2019 model had it.
- Fully digital instrument cluster (I personally preferred the earlier one with analog circles and digital displays).
- No front Fog Lamps!!!
- No Mud Flaps - even as accessory.
- BMW Connected App not available for customers in India.
- No android auto for the front screen and the rear screens don't mirror apple devices. You need to carry two types of phones in the car to use the front and rear screens.

The Gimmicks
- Gesture controls (since I hate the steering mounted control buttons - have been using the gestures, but to get them right is a bit of an effort currently)
- Display Key - coolest party trick - moving the car front and back! Absolutely useless in real life, but good fun for the initial few days.
- Blue painted brake calipers with M badging all around.
- Auto park - misses out most of the obvious parking spots. Serious doubts about it's usability for us.
- Opening/closing front grill
- Fancy Light Carpet.
- The seats hug you tight when you shift into Sports mode.

So far my experience with the car with barely 150 kms driven :-
- One needs to drive BMW's 3 Litre inline six cylinder engine to understand how a diesel engine should operate. It is super smooth with barely any noise inside, while can be a fire cracker when you need it to be. With lightening fast shifts and the extremely eager motor, it is quite a task to drive it sedately even for the running in period. The Engine/transmission combo is the best I've experienced so far in any executive/family car.
- The suspensions are something that I had never experienced before. They simply glide over the road undulations.
- The interior feels quite spacious and well built. Reeks luxury. It seems very practical with big door pockets which swallow up a 1 litre bottle with ease, while still leaving lot of room for other knickknacks. One area below the centre console has the induction OR wireless charger which charges the display key and can also charge any of your wireless charging capable phones.
- You can use apple CarPlay wirelessly which is a big bonus!! In all my other cars I have to keep it connected with the cable all the time which adversely effects the phone's battery.
- With the sudden turn in the climate, yet to experience the aircon in peak heat, but so far it seems to be working fine. The car has 4 climate zones with individual controls for all. The front controls have a touchscreen to control the fan speed, which I find a bit cumbersome. Might need sometime to get used to it. You can set the car's temperature with the Display Key and can also configure it to be at an optimum temperature when you are scheduled to leave. Haven't tried this feature yet.
- A total tech fest!! Haven't even scratched the surface yet - a lot more to explore as to what all the car can do. (How I wish the car was delivered around the lockdown when I had nothing to do instead of getting it just post lockdown when all I have is tonnes of work)
- So far it seems that the car handles really well. Maybe the 245/45 front tyres and 275/45 rear tyres give the velcro type feel on the road.
- The ORVMs seem ok in size. Both of them have a slight convex edges. They have the auto dimming function. The rear view mirror in the cabin is also equipped with auto dimming but seems absolutely useless as there is very little one can see with it.
- The steering wheel (Multifunction M Leather steering wheel) feels quite chunky to hold. Since I am used to the Octavia's and the Polo's steering wheel - I find it a bit too fat. Maybe it will be a matter of time when I start finding them too be too thin.
- Since I am not used to this car's size - I am being extra cautious while driving. Might be able to give a better feedback regarding the blindspots, irritants, niggles as and how I experience them once I become comfortable driving it around.

That's all I could observe and absorb in the past couple of days. Here are some pictures which my 17 year old petrolhead nephew had clicked.

What will always make you grin


What it looks like






With the spoiler up and frameless doors visible


Somehow love the 3D sculpted tail lamps




The headlamps work fine


The light carpet welcomes you whenever you unlock the car


The 19" alloys don't look out of place here. The 18" alloys would have made the ride even plusher I feel.


The total sci-fi 360 degree camera




The front camera swivels as you turn the steering


Different driving modes which change the way the suspension and steering respond






Innumerous ways to adjust your seats. The side bolsters tighten up when you put the car in Sport mode.


Both the rear doors have these blinds. Both can be controlled simultaneously from either side.


Decent legroom. I am 6'2" and I can still hop in on the rear seats without my knees touching the front seats when they are set to my driving position. I can stretch my legs below the front seat which gives good legroom all along.


Big Sunroof. Though it looks puny when compared to the E class sunroof when viewed from the top.


Touch screen and fingerprint magnet rolled into one.


Harmon Kardon 600W 16 Speaker system


The spare tyre eating up some healthy luggage space!


Memory of only 2. Though it is available on both the front seats.


The front grill open and closed




The Fancy Display Key. Still to figure out what all I can do with this.

[GTO]

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

Your car is going to our homepage today . Enjoy the engine + gearbox, it's the best combination among diesels ever made.

[Thanos-VV]

What a car!! Beauty and beast combined into one. Wishing you fun filled experience with it for many many years.
Can’t understand why would they skip the HUD feature in this segment?

[akash_v12]

Hi Samyak,
Congratulations! Looks fabulous in the Dark Grey IMO and even better with the M-Sport Package. Please keep updating this thread as you do more miles on the car .

Congratulations Again,
Akashdeep

[Maverick5490]

Congratulations Samyakmodi! This is the perfect combination to go for!! The cars with M Kit have different side sills and bumper design due to which the Mudflaps do not fit. Also considering your usage the service package will be ideal for you so make the most of it!!

[ajaiD]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

The Ugly

- No front Fog Lamps!!!
- No Mud Flaps - even as accessory.

No Fog lamps that's crazy in fact the other day I was thinking about sending out a email to Hyundai about our old Elantra which neither has fog lights nor ISOFIX. We now need both urgently and the dealer has said no to retro fits of both.

I have also noticed Mud flaps decreasing in size on new cars. Their effectiveness is questionable as of now.

[Mr.Perera]

Congrats Samyakmodi. This is a great choice and the car is definiltely a looker especially in that Bluestone shade. I always felt the GT lines were a great practical option. The ingress and egress should be more easier for your parents in a GT I guess. I have always felt that my parents have a tough time getting out of any sedan, also they find it difficult to get inside an SUV without a footboard. The GT seems to hit the sweet spot when it comes to that. Wishing your family lots of happy miles on the 630D

[quickdraw]

Congratulations buddy, I'm so happy for the fam. Now you have a luxo barge to cruise around town. I've not personally been in a 6GT but had a 3GT which had insane space inside, I can only image how much better this would be especially with air suspension.

I wouldn't bother too much about the carpets, they should be like 20k/set and just replace them every 2 years after they are worn out. Hate rubber mats in such a classy car. Look to pick them up when you're abroad ideally. Ebay has great deals on OEM. just make sure you get the RHD ones.

[99octane]

Congratulations! Hope you have a magical ride in your new acquisition!

The time when I test drove the 630d GT I did come away from the car loving its engine-gearbox combo however was extremely wary of its air suspension set up. It bounced a lot over mild undulations on the road and the small speed breakers when crossed over at a little speed. There was a hint of body roll as well. How has your experience been with the suspension set up?

[mr_freakky]

Congratulations on your purchase, Samyakmodi. I wish you a lot of happy miles together. Keep updating the thread with all those accessories you buy and the long trips you make out with your Bimmer!!

[LEOMAN]

Congratulations Man:
Being an owner of 530d (thanks to GTO Blackswap , Maveric5490) the same team which helped you . Though I have chosen the preowned way but still no regrets with the car. Just a hoot to drive on the highways.

[shovan]

Congratations!
Amazing combination you've gone for. I'm in a similar boat as you, had booked the BS6 530d prior to the lock down with an expected delivery on 24th of March but haven't gotten it yet.

[samyakmodi]

Thanks a tonne everyone!! I am totally smitten by the car as of now. Will hopefully be updating about new experiences every now and then. The real reason for this thread's existence was the lack of any actual feedback from any owner on a public forum available for all to read. Will try to be as unbiased as possible regarding how the car is in the subsequent posts, but because of the honeymoon period with the car - it seems a bit difficult right now.

Originally Posted by ajaiD

No Fog lamps that's crazy in fact the other day I was thinking about sending out a email to Hyundai about our old Elantra which neither has fog lights nor ISOFIX. We now need both urgently and the dealer has said no to retro fits of both.

I have also noticed Mud flaps decreasing in size on new cars. Their effectiveness is questionable as of now.

Although fog lamps ARE visible on their website for the M Sport variant. Maybe they've done some minor changes - only Maverick5490 can confirm.

Originally Posted by 99octane

Congratulations! Hope you have a magical ride in your new acquisition!

The time when I test drove the 630d GT I did come away from the car loving its engine-gearbox combo however was extremely wary of its air suspension set up. It bounced a lot over mild undulations on the road and the small speed breakers when crossed over at a little speed. There was a hint of body roll as well. How has your experience been with the suspension set up?

So far I haven't experienced any noticeable bounce. The body roll I felt was far lesser than the E class - despite the higher centre of gravity. So far I am loving the suspension set up, but I think it is too soon for me to say anything with conviction considering the car has hardly spent much time on the road. I've started using the car for my daily commute (since dad isn't coming to the factory due to COVID) - will keep you posted if I notice something different than what I've been expecting.

p.s: Thank you GTO for putting it up on the homepage. Makes me smile every time I see it there.

[varunanb]

Congradulations on the 6GT.

Having used a 5GT, I assure you will have a great ownership experience. It sure will confuse you when going for a upgrade from this. Was looking to upgrade last year, as my car is almost at 100k kms, the mechanicals are still strong as new. Apart from replacing the rear suspension bellow at 90k kms, Timing chain and battery are the only expense that i foresee for this year and the car is good to go for another 50k kms atleast. Decided to keep the car for few more years, as even 8 years after the car still has a lot of miles and smiles to deliver. Take it on long drives, you sure will enjoy both driving and being driven.

The looks will grow on you. After so many years i've come to appreciate the rear of my 5GT. 6GT is a lot better.

[991.2GT3]

Congratulations on the new ride Samyak, wishing you long miles w bigger smiles!

BMW with it's 3.0 motors has nailed the engine gearbox combo in respective segments. My 525d still puts a smile on my face despite being ~8 years old. I've covered 73k kms in the car and have had minimal issues so far (A/c compressor, melted door handles other than the usual brakes, tyres, battery etc). Got the car serviced and maintained by Deutsche Motoren (Delhi) for first 7 years and am quite content with their service and support.