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-   -   My BMW M340i LCI | A case study in YOLO | Ownership Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/261604-my-bmw-m340i-lci-case-study-yolo-ownership-review-2.html)

Welcome to the club! Nice detailed review.

Enjoy your new car. And don't stress too much about the GC. Now at almost 4000 kms and only 3 hits (2 minor) so far with my M340i :)

Do write regularly about your experiences.

Thank you mobike008! Have taken a quick video of the cold start exhaust note. Do let me know if you find the note different.

https://youtube.com/shorts/mjYgZy-7sM4

Thank you kiku007. I think I'll just keep it with the current pressure for now.
After driving the car a bit more on my regular work commute (around 35km round trip on the EEH, Mumbai), I think it's more or less manageable, unless you go on really bad roads.

Thank you JoshMachine. With /M power comes great responsibility, I guess. :)

I believe BMW globally have some association with Shell - if I'm not mistaken, the engine oil is also from Shell. Maybe that's what got carried forward.
For India, the choice of petrol is limited to XP95 or XP100 though, given the recommendation of 95 RON.
For now, I've filled her up with Speed (the min. requirement), as I have to find a decent IOCL pump nearby. Think there's one in BKC.

Thank you GTO! Means a lot, coming from you.
Like I mentioned in the other thread, the 330i didn't feel an adequate upgrade from the spectacular Octavia. That I had to come all the way to an M340i is testament to how well packaged the Octy is.


Thank you Couper72. While the stiff ride is pronounced on bad surfaces, on smoother roads like parts of the EEH, it's actually quite okay.
Of course, I guess the absolute fun of it would be on the open highways and twisty mountain roads.
The Republic Day weekend couldn't come sooner!

Ah! Thanks ImmortalZ. Let me try this out tomorrow and see what changes on the instrument cluster.

Congratulations Krishna, the car looks like a dream! You've just helped me clear up all remaining doubts. Based on your recommendation and positive experience, I'll contact Navnit Motors in Mumbai once I'm close to pulling the trigger.

All the best!

Thanks for the quick posting of the exhaust note.

My exhaust note below in the link post below. Hear for yourself (Please do use a headphones or on a computer).

I do feel the exhaust note of newer B58's (TU version) have become a little more subtle.

Imagine how lovely the sound of 2018 models (first versions of B58) would have been in comparison. Absolutely monstrous sound.:)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5479321


Agree.

I have driven the vRS and also the 330i. The vRS feels lot more powerful and a better package compared to the 330i. What it lacks is the BMW badge.

In fact, I have driven a few more BMW's like the 530i, X3 (regular) and X5 50i (V8 with 450 HP) and when I get back to my X3 M40i, the difference is massive in every aspect of the car (Power, Handling, Overall tightness to the feel of the car and most importantly the sound).

Lets be honest. Do you really care? :)

Push down on that gas pedal and you leave the world behind. There is no better feeling than this. In your case, you even have a sonorous exhaust sound.

I drove a C43 last month. The owner of the Mercedes had driven the M340i before buying the Mercedes. He said it was a stunning machine. His only gripe was the hard suspension. Still, that is high praise for a 3 series!

Well done on the car. Drive safe.

Well written. Would like to know more on the YOLO quotient though, as most of us, just like the Tata AIG insurance ad fellow take a step back when we think to splurge on ourselves.

Congratulations on acquiring one of the first 2023 models on T-BHP! Hope the car gives you lots of sheer driving pleasure. I know mine does!

Congrats KD. What a hoot of a machine. Cant wait to get a ride!!

Its so amazing to see a friend get something off their bucket list. Needless to say this is probably the most “practical” way to live the supercar dream in the Indian reality!

Thanks!
On the YOLO quotient, my fear was on 2 counts:
1. I don't buy the M340i now, and later on, other compulsions of life put a financial constraint on such an investment.
2. I don't buy the M340i now, and I may not be able to enjoy it as much as I would now, maybe 10 years later.
Since the finances - responsibilities matrix aligned, I felt this was the right time to make the jump.
Still, finances were a stretch - I was adequately covered for the C300D, but I decided to dig in a bit deeper to achieve the dream.

What did help me to make the decision was calculating the lifetime costs of an M340i vs the C300D.
There's a service calculator tool that BMW has, which helps estimate projected service costs.
Basis that, the M340i's TCO was just slightly more than the C300D's. For the incremental smiles per km the M340i would give, that difference was worth it.


Thanks buddy! We'll take it for a spin after office hours soon. :)

It's been 14 days since I got my hands on this incredible machine, and I'm absolutely happy I made this plunge.
We did a Republic Day trip to Lonavala and back. It seemed everyone was going to Pune that weekend and the Expressway was packed. The Ghat section took us almost 1 hour to cross - not really how one would want to experience a car like this.
Thankfully, there were stretches where I could push it into Sports mode and open up the throttle.

The amount of power this car has is INSANE. It easily propels you to high 3 digits, and still keeps asking you for more.
One thing I found extremely special though, was the stability around curves.
The M340i offers a mindblowingly superlative driving experience on curves. It holds on to the tarmac like a leech - grip levels my Octavia could only dream of.
And because it's XDrive, you can almost never do something stupid; the car will bail you out.

The trip did help me realize it was not that the M340i had a bad ride, it was that Mumbai had such pathetic roads.
Over the smooth tarmac of Lonavala, the M340i felt like it was just floating.

We went to Fazlani Nature's Nest in Takwe, around 25km away from Pune. The resort is a beautiful 65 acre lake front property with lots of greenery and plenty of space to just chill and take a break.
It offers plenty of activities for kids such as horse riding, bird park (with geese, ducks, turkey, peacocks etc.), rabbit park, pottery classes, glass painting etc.






Organic Strawberry Farm


Goodbye work emails!

We left the resort on 28th and were back in bustling Mumbai in no time.
By the time we were back in Mumbai, I had covered 563 beautiful kilometers in the car.
Happy to report that there hasn't been a single instance of the body scraping bumpers, despite driving on that infamous Andheri - Ghatkopar link road with its 30 speedbreakers in 6km.


If you park your car and don't look back, you're driving the wrong car.

While most people take their cars straight from the showroom to a temple or to get a Puja done, my priorities were a bit different.
I wanted to get my car protected before anything else.
While initially inclined to do just Ceramic coating, like all my previous cars, tons of research prompted me to shell out a bit more and go for a full body PPF.

The options were Kavaca Self healing PPF done at Ceramic Pro, Vasai or between STEK Dynoshield and Avery Dennison Supreme PPF Extreme done at Optimum Detailerz, Chembur.

I had driven up to Vasai in December and met with Pratik from Ceramic Pro Vasai, who was very knowledgeable about the trade and his product. Having done Ceramic coating for my Octavia from Ceramic Pro, Kochi, their brand was a known one and a safe option.

However, Optimum Detailerz and Amol ji were highly recommended by TeamBHP and after meeting him, seeing his facility, and speaking to him, I came away impressed with his passion for the job and deep understanding of the craft.

Decided to go with Avery Dennison Supreme PPF Extreme and Optimum Detailerz, primarily owing to the confidence Amolji and his facility inspired.

Right after we came back from Lonavala, the M340i was in at Amolji’s Optimum Detailerz for a 10-year PPF installation. However, the job would take quite a bit of time and I'd get the M340i back only on Feb 8, a full 11 days later.

Amolji was kind enough to keep sending me photos and updating me on the progress of the job.

Some pics of the car washing and PPF application



















On my part, I am now like a kid who got his favourite toy, only to be taken back and promised on a later date – I'm counting down the days to Feb 8!

Congratulation on the be(a)st value for money BMW sold in India currently.:D

10 years down the line, they won't be making such cars. Seeing today BMW X1 petrol with 3 cylinder.:Frustrati

You took the right decision to take the plunge.

IND Number plates in boot.

Weren't these IND number plates actually riveted to bumper? So technically no one can remove it without damaging the bumper?

Or am I missing something?

Thank you! With all manufacturers moving Electric, I too feel this will be one of the last incredible ICE cars to be sold.

The HSRP plates are supposed to be riveted to the car but the dealer said for BMWs, they simply put it in a frame and attach to car.
Have to validate the legality of this, and rivet it later, if required.
For now, I wanted it to be removable to apply the PPF.

Congratulations on your new ride. How is the performance of the mild hybrid tech? Was there any significant change in the overall fuel efficiency?

I didn't get that option. :D

Haven’t checked this quite honestly. Getting around 8-9 kmpl but this is with Sports Plus and spirited driving mixed with Comfort as well as EcoPro modes. What is recognisable though is how smooth the Auto Start Stop system has become because of the integrated starter generator system. The engine start is almost imperceptible, with my family not even realising the car was doing this.

Ah! EVM BMW seems to be following the rules to the T! Didn’t realise you were in Trivandrum. I’m from Tvm as well, and will be driving down with the M340i in May. Would be great to connect! :)

Congratulations on your absolute beast of a car. The M340i is perhaps the best performance oriented 4-door sedan available in India. The Blue looks spectacular.

Looking forward to the pictures after PPF. What kind of protection do they provide for alloy wheels when you opt for full body PPF?

Maybe next time when you visit here, you could try the old highway if you like. I personally like the old highway over the expressway as it is smoother, has less traffic, and you can experience more twists and turns here with the M340i.