[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by divinedoc

Congratulations Pride Red on your new ride!
Suggest you switch to the all black grill.
Had a similar dilemma a year ago.
Head said Ld, Heart said Li.
Deal clincher for me was the Heads Up Display, Comfort Access & the 360.
Brought home the fully loaded 330li M sport First Edition!
My Fraulein begs to be driven in sports mode.

Thank you. I am not very convinced with all black grille, probably will need some time. I find the current chrome with black inserts quite decent and feel all black may be too much black. Anyway probably wait for sometime and decide.

The car otherwise has been lovely, mostly driving on comfort and sport mode. Despite heavy right foot FE has been fantastic. Coming from gas guzzling Body om frame SUV this was a pleasant surprise. Sunroof is overrated, atleast has been that way in my case, heats up the cabin and not comfortable driving with glass open.

Did some detailing over the weekend, mineral white has good shine.

[PrideRed]

2800KM up, haven't had a chance to go for a long drive but have done a lot of 200-300KM drives. Surprisingly the AdBlue level is still showing 100% as per iDrive. Compared to Fortuner this is a surprise where I get a warning to refill after driving about 5000KM. Run flats are quite okay but does not look like they will last long. Will be happy if stock ones last upwards of 20K KM. Find the comfort mode best for city and sport mode for highway. Feature-wise as I mentioned misses some essentials, but when driving, the engine/gearbox makes up for every missing but and a lot more . Car begs to be pushed and coming from tall body on frame SUV, hits corner like a leech with the speed of an arrow.

[PrideRed]

4000KM up. April was a quiet month, all cars in the garage put around 1K KM in total. Car has been flawless so far and fits my usecase perfectly. Also unlike Endeavour, there is no overlap, each car now has a clear use case. Throw in good roads and 3 is such a joy hitting those corners . I love the drive to Madikeri, could not have asked for a better road for the 3. Scenic two lane road with fast sweeping curves. Monsoon will make this drive even better.

Bought 3rd and 4th year BRI for 87K, just before the hike. Tires don't look like will last long. Those brutal accelerations, fast corners seem to be reducing the tire life, which is ok with me. Afterall every mm of rubber has managed to bring smile. I like the front seats, the extra ribs/cushion make for a comfortable ride.

[RaviKBobba]

Congratulations & loved your White Beemer. Please do post your experiences later.

[PrideRed]

It's been raining crazy and took the car out for a short spin. In empty state highways found the headlight decent. I was not sure how LEDs would perform at night with heavy rains and results are satisfactory.

[PrideRed]

Few more shots from weekend drive. Monsoon is in its full glory and is turning out to be a pain. Got a small window when the rain lords decided to take a break and I clicked few pictures .

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Back in Jan 2021, almost bought 3 series which i had mentioned in my Fortuner ownership review, but preference and purpose ensured that I ended up with a Fortuner. 15000KM of blissful travelling and no regrets. Did not intend to buy anything in 2021 and was hoping for a EV replacement couple of years down the line.

BMW 3 GL/5 series:
...
Keeps the enthusiast in me happy and at same time, offer plenty of room for folks at back.

Ground clearance came as a surprise. Given the extended wheelbase, I was expecting car to scrap belly quite easily. So far have driven for about 2000KM and hasn’t scrapped even with 4.5 folks on board. Obviously, it’s not meant to go offroad or run through road humps like my Fortuner but be a little cautious and crosses road humps without much drama.

Ground clearance- For the kind of driving I do, this was very important. Though I liked the 320Ld quite a bit, Ground clearance was always a concern. Took the demo car for multiple test drives around places where I frequent. Tried with varying number of passengers too but haven’t been able to scrape it yet. Yes, I cannot run riot through road hump like Fortuner or Innova but then a bit of patience, car clears without any drama. Clearly did not expect this and took me by surprise.

Space at rear- There is serious amount of space at back that can put even larger cars to shame. The extra legroom guarantees good under thigh support which most the time is lacking in low slung sedans.

Excellent review and can't imagine how I missed it earlier. Could so relate to your choices as well as the thought process.

I am myself strongly veering to a two car garage with a capable SUV and a rewarding albeit practical and comfortable sedan.

I am thoroughly enjoying the cross complementary benefits of the 3GT and the Meridian and the beauty is each one can also do a lot of the stuff that the other can. So the Meridian is easy and nice to drive in city and on the highway while the GT can take on long distance touring even on bad tarmac with a high degree of competence - its by no stretch a garage queen and I honestly can't recall bottoming it out ever.

Will keenly follow your ownership thread since the 330Li would be on my shortlist along with a few other Bimmers whenever the GT is to be retired in the coming few years. I have no doubt about the comfort and performance aspect - what I'm keenly following is the GC aspect of the LWB 3 series and judging from your review so far it is exactly what I was expecting.

Wish you many happy miles of ownership with the 320Ld.

Cheers

[PrideRed]

After 5K, IDrive is showing AdBlue level at 100%. That's quite surprising. In my Fortuner, i get a warning to refill after completing 5000KM. Possibly BMW has larger tank, and smaller engine doesnot consume as much.

[PrideRed]

G20 design will age well, quite timeless yet not too boring. After one of the weekend wash and wipe.

[PrideRed]

Holiday season, rains seem to have bid adieu for the year, a peaceful night, time to click a car photo and some editing.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Holiday season, rains seem to have bid adieu for the year, a peaceful night, time to click a car photo and some editing.

Attachment 2364824

Saar, these kind of dreamy + cryptic + Maggi tonight type posts won't do. You need to expand on the 2.0 diesel more. .

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Saar, these kind of dreamy + cryptic + Maggi tonight type posts won't do. You need to expand on the 2.0 diesel more. .

The pre-quel to the picture is a secret But luckily picture does say things did end well!

[PrideRed]

ODO is close to 8K, took for drive to Hampi and ended extending the drive a bit as this was unplanned and long weekend. For Bangalore folks this road is probably the best to enjoy driving. Manageable traffic even during holidays, great roads minus roadhumps/potholes. Only problem, very few options for food enroute .

The road is perfect for a low slung sedan and even with 4 adults + 2 kids , car did not bottom out anywhere. Infact Google maps managed to take us through unpaved roads at Hampi, yet managed to bring car back without bottoming out .

Did do good speeds on the way to Hampi and return was with comfortable 3 digit speeds. The suspension is a bit soft to my liking but on the flip side keeps the family happy. AdBlue finally has come down, iDrive now shows tank has 90% and can take 1L. Overall FE for the trip was close to 15KMPL and I am quite happy with numbers given the speeds I did.

Due to crowd and late plan, had to drive upto Gangavati to find a decent hotel. Hospet to Gangavati makes for a super drive with mix of 2/4 lane road with beautiful scenery.

Hampi as expected was crowded though we managed to take the car to cover most of the important places. My favorite place from the trip is the Munirabad side of TB dam. Was expecting good crowd, but was almost empty with couple of localites.

Some shots from the drive

[tech_mate]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Attachment 2371421

These are some beautiful clicks, especially the one quoted here, seems like a perfect combination

I am heavily inclined towards a 330Li Luxury Line, since it satisfies the enthusiast in me and keeps the family comfortable. I am hoping it to be my first luxury car experience, however, have a few pretty basic questions before I take the plunge:

1) What is a good / great OTR post discounts for this car / variant given we are close to year end ?

2) Are there any specific accessories I need to seek from the dealer as a part of the deal ? Anything beyond accessories ?

3) My annual running would be in the range of 10,000 km, any recommendations on BSI, BSI+, extended warranty ?

4) Since 320Ld and 330Li Luxury Line both come with 225/50/R17 RFTs, any feedback on how these tires take sharp edges of road / bridge joints, potholes in the long run ? I am really concerned with all the stories of RFTs I have heard so far (albeit for larger rims and lower profile tires).

5) Can someone help me understand the difference between puddle lamps and welcome light carpet ?

Appreciate all your responses in advance.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by tech_mate

These are some beautiful clicks, especially the one quoted here, seems like a perfect combination

I am heavily inclined towards a 330Li Luxury Line, since it satisfies the enthusiast in me and keeps the family comfortable. I am hoping it to be my first luxury car experience, however, have a few pretty basic questions before I take the plunge:

1) What is a good / great OTR post discounts for this car / variant given we are close to year end ?

2) Are there any specific accessories I need to seek from the dealer as a part of the deal ? Anything beyond accessories ?

3) My annual running would be in the range of 10,000 km, any recommendations on BSI, BSI+, extended warranty ?

4) Since 320Ld and 330Li Luxury Line both come with 225/50/R17 RFTs, any feedback on how these tires take sharp edges of road / bridge joints, potholes in the long run ? I am really concerned with all the stories of RFTs I have heard so far (albeit for larger rims and lower profile tires).

5) Can someone help me understand the difference between puddle lamps and welcome light carpet ?

Appreciate all your responses in advance.

1) Back then, 6-7L discount on OTR was the norm. From what I know regular 3 is short in supply(LCI is due for launch) but dealers have healthy stock of Limo versions. You can start with discounts of 7-8L and see how things are shaping up.

2) I didn't opt for any accessories and was quite happy with what the car came. You may look at all weather mats.

3) BSI was bundled with my car deal, if your running is at 10K, BSI should suffice. BSI+ may work out incase your running is higher. Standard warranty is for 2 years, I have bought 2 year extended warranty(BRI) and most likely will get this extended later on. Not getting BSI is ok, but definitely go for BRI.

4) 17 inchers in L variant are a bit comfort oriented. Taller sidewalls gives that extra cushion and probably not as prone to tire damages as lower profile tires. On the flipside, you lose out the grip/fun offered by 18 inchers(MSport gets staggered setup). Overall I am quite ok with RFT, may change to regular tubeless once I exhaust current RFT.

5) Light carpet is probably puddle lamp pro max, light extends till rear door. They are well integrated to the door though.

My car went for first service last week. Everything was covered in BSI except a minor rat bite repair which costed about 1.5K. Also picked up a pair of new RFT from the dealer. Overall service experience was good and having BSI meant I wasn't pushed for any optional extras.