BMW 320i: First 10 days/700 Kms Review- Pics included

morphin1 · 5th January 2009, 15:58

Congrats there Diki on buying a fabulous machine.
I personally think the 3 pawns the Accord/Camry any day for self driving as those boats have so much space you really never need it.
Enjoy the car and keep us updated.
Will be getting my 3 tomorrow or day after, waiting for it eagerly hehe

diki24 · 6th January 2009, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphin1

Congrats there Diki on buying a fabulous machine.
I personally think the 3 pawns the Accord/Camry any day for self driving as those boats have so much space you really never need it.
Enjoy the car and keep us updated.
Will be getting my 3 tomorrow or day after, waiting for it eagerly hehe

Thanks Morph, Yeah, Accord is just too huge. I rather prefer the earlier one.
BTW, What color did you finalize, White-Terra ??

diki24 · 6th January 2009, 16:40

Guys, can you tell me whats the max RPM that one can have for long durations? What i mean to ask is can you drive at say 5500 RPM continuously for say 2 hours, without hurting the car?

Also what i have noticed is that initially the Car used to get hot, meaning you would feel the heat near the bonnet after a drive of say around 40-50 Kms. That has now reduced but i feel it some times and randomly. Any explanation for this? Or is it normal. Someone told me that new cars initially have this heating tendency, it will go away after few weeks.

Sahil · 6th January 2009, 16:48

why or rather how would you drive at 5500rpm non stop for 2 hours!?!
You probably find the engine cooler because of the chill in the air.

ImmortalZ · 6th January 2009, 17:28

diki, every car's bonnet gets hot man. Most of the energy from the combustion of fuel goes to waste as heat. As long as the temperature needle stays at the middle of the gauge, you have nothing to worry about.

I don't know what's the redline on a 320i, but I doubt you'll be able to hit and keep 5500RPM on any car continuously on our roads in higher gears. If you are going on a long trip, you'll ease into a cruise in 5/6th gear at a very low RPM and only rev up when you need to overtake.

diki24 · 6th January 2009, 17:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

diki, every car's bonnet gets hot man. Most of the energy from the combustion of fuel goes to waste as heat. As long as the temperature needle stays at the middle of the gauge, you have nothing to worry about.

Thanks Immortalz, yeah but i feel it gets more heated than my Ikon. Do bigger cars, meaning more powerful ones tend to get more heated. I though apart from more power these cars might have better cooling mechanism in place as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil

why or rather how would you drive at 5500rpm non stop for 2 hours!?!
You probably find the engine cooler because of the chill in the air.

Sahil, It was kind of a Hypothetical question. About me, i struggle to even go past 3000 RPM

.

Raj1008 · 6th January 2009, 19:58

I didnt know they still made 320s, they are replaced by 323 and 328 here in North America. Are these imports from Europe perhaps? Whats the engine spec on these?

ImmortalZ · 6th January 2009, 20:33

Dude, your question was already answered pages ago.

morphin1 · 7th January 2009, 00:37

Hi Diki,
You have to run in the engine which happens at about 2000 kms.
For petrol 3 series the highest rpm you should go to is 4500 rpm and don't exceed 160 Km/h.
For diesel it is 3500 rpm and 150 km/h.
Don't use kickdown and don't use full throttle.
Also don't drive in water that is more than 1feet deep and don't go faster than normal walking speed in case of excess water but avoid more than 1ft water at all cost.
But please do recheck the above info with the dealer in case i am giving some wrong info.
Cheers

madan80 · 7th January 2009, 07:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

AFAIK, all the 3 series vehicles are imported in CKD form from Europe and are assembled here.

there is certain amount of localization on the cars - the plastics and the fabric is local.

diki24 · 10th January 2009, 12:36

Hey Morph, where are the pics of your snow-white ??

morphin1 · 10th January 2009, 16:42

Pictures are posted in my thread

Hope you all like it

razrman · 21st January 2009, 21:01

Congrats diki. Wonderful machine and very well written review.

AirbusA340 · 23rd January 2009, 13:24

Note from the Team-BHP Support : SMS / Slang is STRICTLY prohibited on this community. We would much appreciate your using full & proper english in posts, for the benefit of other forum users.

Please view our board rules carefully before proceeding any further.

diki...excellent picture you got as your image!

anyways,...,nice pics of your beemer! initially the 320i was not delivered with the xenon's. Only the 320d Highline was.

but you got an excellent exterior which is surely easier to maintain than the saphire black!

njoy n keep your 2000kM+ reports pouring in.

yo'!

FlyingSpur · 24th December 2009, 20:20

Hey, what's the update on this one?

5th January 2009, 15:58	#46
morphin1 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 182 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	Congratulations Congrats there Diki on buying a fabulous machine. I personally think the 3 pawns the Accord/Camry any day for self driving as those boats have so much space you really never need it. Enjoy the car and keep us updated. Will be getting my 3 tomorrow or day after, waiting for it eagerly hehe
	() Thanks

6th January 2009, 16:40	#48
diki24 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 81 Thanked: 4 Times	Guys, can you tell me whats the max RPM that one can have for long durations? What i mean to ask is can you drive at say 5500 RPM continuously for say 2 hours, without hurting the car? Also what i have noticed is that initially the Car used to get hot, meaning you would feel the heat near the bonnet after a drive of say around 40-50 Kms. That has now reduced but i feel it some times and randomly. Any explanation for this? Or is it normal. Someone told me that new cars initially have this heating tendency, it will go away after few weeks.
	() Thanks

6th January 2009, 16:48	#49
Sahil Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 6,292 Thanked: 7,607 Times	why or rather how would you drive at 5500rpm non stop for 2 hours!?! You probably find the engine cooler because of the chill in the air.
	() Thanks

6th January 2009, 17:28	#50
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	diki, every car's bonnet gets hot man. Most of the energy from the combustion of fuel goes to waste as heat. As long as the temperature needle stays at the middle of the gauge, you have nothing to worry about. I don't know what's the redline on a 320i, but I doubt you'll be able to hit and keep 5500RPM on any car continuously on our roads in higher gears. If you are going on a long trip, you'll ease into a cruise in 5/6th gear at a very low RPM and only rev up when you need to overtake.
	() Thanks

6th January 2009, 19:58	#52
Raj1008 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 119 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	I didnt know they still made 320s, they are replaced by 323 and 328 here in North America. Are these imports from Europe perhaps? Whats the engine spec on these?
	() Thanks

6th January 2009, 20:33	#53
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Dude, your question was already answered pages ago.
	() Thanks

7th January 2009, 00:37	#54
morphin1 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 182 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	Engine run in Hi Diki, You have to run in the engine which happens at about 2000 kms. For petrol 3 series the highest rpm you should go to is 4500 rpm and don't exceed 160 Km/h. For diesel it is 3500 rpm and 150 km/h. Don't use kickdown and don't use full throttle. Also don't drive in water that is more than 1feet deep and don't go faster than normal walking speed in case of excess water but avoid more than 1ft water at all cost. But please do recheck the above info with the dealer in case i am giving some wrong info. Cheers
	() Thanks

10th January 2009, 12:36	#56
diki24 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 81 Thanked: 4 Times	Hey Morph, where are the pics of your snow-white ??
	() Thanks

10th January 2009, 16:42	#57
morphin1 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 182 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	Posted Pictures are posted in my thread Hope you all like it
	() Thanks

21st January 2009, 21:01	#58
razrman BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 184 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Congrats diki. Wonderful machine and very well written review.
	() Thanks

23rd January 2009, 13:24	#59
AirbusA340 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 131 Thanked: 30 Times	Note from the Team-BHP Support : SMS / Slang is STRICTLY prohibited on this community. We would much appreciate your using full & proper english in posts, for the benefit of other forum users. Please view our board rules carefully before proceeding any further. diki...excellent picture you got as your image! anyways,...,nice pics of your beemer! initially the 320i was not delivered with the xenon's. Only the 320d Highline was. but you got an excellent exterior which is surely easier to maintain than the saphire black! njoy n keep your 2000kM+ reports pouring in. yo'! Last edited by GTO : 23rd January 2009 at 16:30. Reason: See note : Do NOT type in SMS slang. Read the rules please.
	() Thanks

24th December 2009, 20:20	#60
FlyingSpur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 1,422 Times View My Garage	Hey, what's the update on this one?
	() Thanks