17th January 2022, 22:02
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| My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review 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. However, Ford had other plans, decided to shut shop. While the service continued, Endeavour was 6 years old, though hardly showing signs of age. Would have easily lasted another couple of years but life is too short not to experience and experiment. Decided to sell Endeavour provided we get fair price for our car and good deal for new car. I didn’t have any specific car in mind to begin with, kept my options open including used cars. Wanted next car to be an upgrade over Endeavour in terms of brand, drive, power. Since my cars clock decent miles, want to be practical and donot want this to end up as my weekend toy or a garage queen. Below are some of the cars considered/test driven. Mercedes A/GLA/C: A class-except for the badge nothing much to write home about. Did not like the GLA either, compact and still looks more like hatchback than crossover. C was clearly showing its age, lack of space, bland interiors, dated looks did not impress at all. All new C was expected, and review did not seem impressive either. Again, personally I am not a fan of brand Mercedes as my better half always taunts as a brand that I can buy after retirement. Mercedes GLC(Used/New): Not a big fan of the design and dated interiors but overall 220D did look like a good package. Limited units of new one was available and at nearly 85L OTR did not seem worthy at all. Used ones were available but had high mileage or very old. Getting a used premium car in Karnataka is a nightmare. BMW X3/X4: New ones were out of stock and used X3 were like GLC. Either too old or had high mileage. Came across a decent X4 20D and managed to negotiate an exchange with Endeavour. There were few red flags though like scratches on door and bumper. Service history and warranty was a bit shady. Put this on hold. MG Gloster/ZS EV: Standing inside the showroom, Gloster looked nice. Good interiors-better than Fortuner /Endeavour, spacious, good kit and VFM pricing. Road presence was lacking especially from front which is important to me in these body on frame large SUV. MG brand did not pull the right strings either. That said test drove the car and did not take much time to strike off. Felt super soft, lot of sideways movement, light steering, lack of initial grunt from engine, the drive was anything but impressive. I have no issues with Chinese pedigree but I don't have the courage to invest 45L on a new brand. Next up was ZS EV, good as a city and secondary car but did not seem to fit my requirements. The quality was ordinary too for a 26L car. Demo car rattled and squeaked, had malfunction lights on dash and interiors do not seem to age well. Audi A4/A6: A6 was bit too large and petrol only. Not a fan of boring design language of Audi too. Dealer was willing to negotiate however did not find overall package impressive. A4 on the other hand had perfect size apart from boring exterior. Interior’s design gave me VW vibes especially at the back. That may be good thing, but I have bad memories with VW and still not able to get over it. That said I believe If I pay more, I should get better engine, A4 had same engine that comes with cheaper VW/Skoda, I will happily get latter and save some money. Audi India’s current state did not give me positive vibes either. Audi though seem to have a strong action plan when market switches to EV. Toyota Camry: This was a surprise package. Its big, has good amount of space inside and the engine is anything but boring. I always thought Camry as a boring car but the car is quite fun. In pure EV as expected is super silent and even with ICE turned on, its quite silent. Has all the basic feature apart from Android Auto and Apple carplay. The major drawback was though, if I am to get this, it will be third Toyota at home and my garage will look like a Toyota showroom. Another aspect is the new car s about 52L OTR and while the car is good, will miss the badge value of Germans which is not too far away. Fina nail in coffin was unavailability of car, dealer had no idea when he can deliver the car and did not seem keen on Endeavour exchange. BMW 3 GL/5 series: X1 felt a bit dated and did not impress last time around, 3 Series however left me grinning, only downside family was not ready for a sedan especially a cramped one. Regular 3 was out of stock, albeit for 330i MSport. Folks at family are not comfortable in a sedan, the GL comes a savior. Keeps the enthusiast in me happy and at same time, offer plenty of room for folks at back. For my kind of usage and driving style prefer torquey diesels. That said one who loves to push hard(pedal to metal kind of driving), 330i is a hoot. Engine note alone will make you grin, and a drive will just elevate the feeling. That’s said 320D is an allrounder, is quite fun, has good grunt and will keep your wallet happy too. Shortlisted 320D GL. Since 5 series was available at some premium gave it a look. Biggest downer was ride height and ground clearance, everyone felt too low and uncomfortable. On test drive did not find it as nimble/fun as the 320Ld and driving position was too low for my liking. The 5 though certainly had extra kit like Adaptive suspension, better lights, comfort access and few others. For additional 10L I get additional kit but goes against my thumb rule, for the premium I pay, I get 520D with same engine/gearbox as 320D. 530D would have been a different animal altogether but that means 20L over 320Ld. I had two options left a new 320Ld or used X4 20D. X420D Advantages Higher Ground clearance Car from higher segment Cheaper price to pay AWD 320Ld Advantages Brand new car with full warranty More space/well-appointed interiors More features Better to drive on good roads As I said X4 had few red flags, and my family is not very keen on used cars. X4 even though a crossover, I may not be able to drive it like a true-blue SUV and already have couple of them at home for SUV duty. My personal pick would have been a 330i/320D Sport however to convince family for a sedan, added space and kit became important- Hence 320Ld. Car details Manufacturer- BMW Model- 320Ld Variant-Luxury Line Color- Mineral white with Cognac Interiors 320Ld in flesh, taken during a drive to Mattu beach  Car buying experience I tried negotiating with all dealers available in Karnataka. Mangalore got its new dealership- Varsha Autohaus who offered me with best deal. Being new entrant, they were aggressive and kept following up on regular basis. I was given each and every details of the car and so far, have offered me what was promised. Car was booked toward end of November and reached showroom within couple of days. Did a thorough check of the check before signing off. Delivery was smooth and folks at Varsha (Rajith and Sreejith) ensured we had a top-notch experience. Liked their proactiveness and were patient enough to drive down 100KM multiple times to ensure we picked up right car. What I like about 320Ld 1. Engine Gearbox and driving dynamics 2. Space on offer especially at the rear. 3. Decent amount of kit 4. Well-tuned suspension that will keep passengers happy. 5. Exemplary Fuel Efficiency 6. Good Build quality and top-notch safety kit What I don’t like about 320Ld 1. Missing essentials-comfort access, ventilated seats, half LED lights. 2. Limited color options 3. Speed warnings at 80 and 120KM/Hr 4. Small boot for such a large car 5. As an enthusiast when driving solo, would have preferred slightly stiffer suspension. 6. Rear AC cooling is below average Exterior 320Ld is quite a large car. Measures over 4.8M in length and right in middle of regular 3 and 5 in terms of length. What I like is how well BMW has extended the wheelbase without making car look awkward like previous gen Superb or LWB E class. Someone who has not seen regular 3 series in person will easily pass this off as 3 series. I had an option of carbon black and mineral white, felt the alloy, tail lamps, headlights and few other bits get highlighted more in white than black. Also owning a garnet red Innova, I know the pain in maintaining a dark car in India. 3 series to me looks best from rear, and the taillights looks sexy in night. Alloy wheels are dual tone simple V spoke which compliments the white color car. 50 section tires are perfect for Indian road conditions, but a wider lower profile will improve driving dynamics. Car comes with DRL’s, but I prefer the looks of corona rings of older BMW. Headlamp is quad lamp projector unit, only exterior ones are functional though. They move along with steering inputs, have decent throw and intensity but given low slung nature of sedan, bit inadequate in state highways. Foglamps are missing for reason well known to BMW. Paint quality is top notch and has good finish as well. Strangely GL misses the signature BMW blue as an option. Not much chrome bits except for large front grille. Its again mix of chrome and black, does not look too awkward in a white car. The pic was taken when the car was stationery, hate it when someone peaks through sunroof while car is in motion.  Another closeup shot  Headlamps up close. Inner projectors are dummy, gets DRL lights below though.  I like the alloys, goes well with white car. Simple and neat, not a fan of busy designs  A look at ORVMs. They close automatically on locking.  The grille is supposed to open when needed, sadly I won't be able to see. May be a hot pursuit and acrobatic skills will reveal?  Few candid pics taken during a drive to Madikeri   Height comparison, 3 series is typical low slung sedan(Sorry for poor quality pic)  Interior I like the Cognac interiors and leather are of good quality. Compared to X4 that I checked, 320Ld has soft touch plastics for entire door pad, has better ambient lights and larger screen make’s the interior a better place to be. Front seats are accommodative and gets under thigh support extenders. Cushion has right firmness to aid both city and long highway drives. Rear seat is wonderful place to be. Oodles of leg space and with legs stretched there is decent under thigh support too. I am 5’10 and find headroom adequate too. Special mention for the rear headrests, they are very well designed. I am not much into features and don’t buy car for feature it offers. In current times, features get outdated in 6 months- 1 year. I am happy if car offer basic features which 320Ld does. Digital displays, electric seats, reversing assistant, sunroof etc. However also misses some basic stuff like comfort access, ventilated seats. Overall good place to be for enthusiastic driver as well as the family members. Front seats are a nice place to be. Dashboard is neat, has soft touch plastic allover and some nice leather at all touch points.  320Ld gets digital display which is not configurable but easy to read  Mix of black and brown for that contrasting look. Compared to all Black or All beige, this should be easier to maintain.  Close up shot of the large head unit and AC controls.  Rear is nice , especially that extra legroom makes for a comfortable ride.  Nice touch, back of front seats get ambient lights, which looks cool at night  Ambient lights are configurable and quite bright.  Engine + Gearbox This is the best thing I love in the car. Engine has good grunt, and the 8 speed TC is match made in heaven. 99% of the time the gear is right, and you are never short of power at given point in time. Even in Eco pro mode there is good amount of performance on offer. That said Sport mode is where all the action is. Push the Sport button and move the gearbox to sport mode, car simply plunges ahead. While you get the typical torque rush of diesel, the car also gains speed quite rapidly. The 330i in comparison is notch above in terms of performance. Where the 320Ld shines is w.r.to its all-round nature. After my recent 175KM drive to hills and back, car returned a decent 16KM/L as indicated by MID. Comfort mode as it states offers best mix of comfort and performance. The steering in default Eco pro and comfort mode is light to my liking, in Power mode gains good weight. The steering is sharp, and drivers delight. The car shoots in the direction you point and holds on track like a leech on corners. Again regular 3 does even better based on my previous drive experience. Insulation is good, there is not much engine noise that seeps into cabin. Wind noise is also well controlled but there is some tire noise at higher speeds. Ride and Handling If you are looking at a pure driver’s delight, regular 3 series is the one to go for. However, 3 GL without losing much of the fun quotient adds a bit of practicality too by offering extra space at back and reworked cushioning. Ride is supple and at times for an enthusiast can get tad soft but will keep the family happy while moving across those bad patches. There is a bit of bounciness at rear, thanks to softer suspension and 50 section 17-inch tires, but it in no way robs the fun to drive nature of the car. The car overall is still a bit stiffer than competition, its only when you compare against regular 3, one can notice the difference. Steering has good amount of weight especially in Sport mode and is direct. Hydraulic unit would have been lovely, but the EPS offers good balance between fun and practicality. 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. The driving position is just perfect for me. Even though this is a low-slung sedan, you don’t sit as low as say 5 series and I get a clear view of bonnet and everything that’s happening upfront. The seats offer good support for that aggressive driving. Stuff that does (and not) matter Harman Kardon Audio- Initial few days was a bit apprehensive about the sound quality. Over time the speaker has settled down and sound crisp and nice. Good audio quality is important and Harman Kardon unit has good bass and clarity. If I am to compare, bass is slightly lesser than Endeavours unit and somehow find JBL in fortuner a bit richer. The Harman Kardon has the perfect balance and offer good quality sound for all passengers. Head unit has equalizer which helps one tune as per preference. 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. That said rear seat is best suited for 2 adults plus a child. 3rd person will be a bit of squeeze, thanks to large floor hump. There is decent mount of headroom too. May be passengers up to 6ft will not have an issue. Sunroof- This is my first car with sunroof and first few weeks did excite me. However, as days passed, the excitement has started to die down. While it brings in more sunlight, makes the cabin hotter when you open the shade. I hardly open windows while driving and same applies to sunroof too. Given the average performance of rear AC, I don’t think will be able to use Sunroof much especially in hot and humid place I stay. Good to have but will not influence my purchase decision for future cars for sure. Air-conditioner- 320Ld gets 3 zone climate control . Occupants at front won’t complain but the ones at rear find cooling a bit underwhelming especially when you open the sun blinds. Sorely miss ventilated seats, for a car costing about 70L OTR with leather seats, not offering ventilated seats is a crime. Head unit and digital instrument console- Not a big fan of digital instrument console but the unit in BMW is simple, neat and easy to read. Both displays are crisp and does not suffer much from glare. There are few stats that display shows up, but in this car the ride/handling and engine gearbox makes you forget everything else. The only feature I ensure to check when I sit is to see if car is at least in comfort mode. That said I like the implementation of idrive physical controls, always nice to use those physical buttons. Rear camera quality is good, though only small part of of display is used by rear camera. Wireless Android Auto and Apple carplay works flawlessly. Head (and other) lights- BMW has offered plenty of lights in and out. There are welcome carpet lights, ambient light at front and back doors and even on back of front seats, puddle lights etc. However, they have forgotten to add lights to two of the inner projectors of headlight and Luxury line also misses the useful fog lights. The headlights as such are decent but extra light would have made it better. Low beam  High beam. Lights are bright and has decent throw.  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. The car has covered close to 2K KM’s in 1.5 months and so far, has been rewarding experience. I don’t intend to take it for touring or grocery shopping but would like to use it pre-dominantly for highway drives of 300KM/6Hr. Down the line plan to take extended warranty, the car came with 3-year basic service which was included in the price. Now for the big question, how did someone with only body on frame old school SUV shift to a sedan and in this age of dying sedans is it worth buying one? Well to be frank if it’s your sole car and if you intend to travel a lot/explore places, Crossover or SUV may fit the bill better. Not that you cannot go in a sedan, but crossover/SUV offers a bit more peace of mind. Where the sedans claw back is w.r.to value they offer and fast performance which brings smile every time you hit a corner or that confidence while doing higher speeds. Thanks to itwasntme for the detailed review of 330i, answering my queries patiently and Dr.AD for beautiful travelogues and insights into ownership of 3 series. Cars from opposite poles and different capabilities. Both are super fun when you know what car to use where.  Last edited by PrideRed : 18th January 2022 at 12:57. |
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19th January 2022, 05:15
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19th January 2022, 08:20
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| Distinguished - BHPian   | Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
 . Your choice is spot-on given your mileage, and the 320Ld is a real keeper for an easy 7+ years. The interiors look really rich and the white exterior makes the 3 look as big as a 5.Wish you years and years of enjoyable driving! | |
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19th January 2022, 09:49
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19th January 2022, 18:38
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| Distinguished - BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bangalore/Pune
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Congratulations on your new 320Ld. This is one awesome car. Looks quite hot in White. Also, seeing that you do a lot of long distance driving, this is indeed the perfect car for your requirements. You have summarized the positives and negatives very well. This is a very good review with both pros and cons logically explained. Thanks for this unbiased and objective review. Wish you many happy miles on this car! Quote:
And the best part is the built-in under-body protection. The BMWs in India come with the rough road package, which includes a complete metal plate under the car that shields almost everything underneath it. Therefore, in the rare case the car does take some hits on bad roads, there is enough protection. An occasional scraping on speed breakers will do zero harm to the car, thanks again to this under-body protection. This has given me enough confidence to take my car on some really bad roads and so far, it has done the job well. Quote:
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19th January 2022, 20:37
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2012 Location: BLR/PTR
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Last edited by PrideRed : 19th January 2022 at 20:38. | |||
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20th January 2022, 10:19
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
Coming to the cons the no. 3 con regarding the speed chimes that you have mentioned it's not really a con and can be disabled via coding using bimmercode in just a few minutes without affecting your warranty. A couple of friends have got this done recently on their BMWs from https://instagram.com/drcodemyvw?utm_medium=copy_link . Might make your experience just that much sweeter. I currently have a Fortuner, Innova and Thar 2020 in my garage and have always wanted to take the plunge towards the luxury segment like you have. Looking forward to your experience with the 3 after Toyota which might help convince me to finally take the plunge next year. Wish you many trouble free miles with your new machine. | |
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20th January 2022, 12:14
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20th January 2022, 12:59
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2012 Location: BLR/PTR
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
Quote:
Each headlight has 2 projectors, but the inside projector one is dummy , without lights. The 340i I believe has lights on all 4 projectors. | ||
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20th January 2022, 13:22
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
Whenever the speed warning buzzer starts your ICE volume drops by almost 50% and if you cross 120Kmph this goes on continuously. This draws lot of attention by fellow passengers and becomes really irritating. Other vehicles this speed buzzer does not impact your ICE volume and keeps buzzing independently. This is comparatively less irritating. If you notice a BMW going slow on an expressway, you now know who is responsible  | |
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20th January 2022, 17:01
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| BHPian  | Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
Great decision and great car! Wishing you miles of happy driving! | |
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20th January 2022, 17:04
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| Distinguished - BHPian  Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Mumbai
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20th January 2022, 19:58
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20th January 2022, 21:02
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2012 Location: BLR/PTR
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| Re: My BMW 320Ld Ownership Review Quote:
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22nd January 2022, 16:18
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