My BMW 330Li at a month & 1000km: Thoughts on FE, comfort & handling

After going almost a year without a luxury sedan, I had really forgotten what no body roll felt like, but the car really handles well.

BHPian TheBimmerBoy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I took delivery of my 330Li on the 28th of September.

I have owned a 320D GT from 2016 to 2022 and something I just couldn't let go off from that car.

The fuel consumption - I live in Bombay and my GT would do upwards of 35 km a day in the city, and still reward me with close to 11-12 kmpl, which was really good. Last year again, somehow on the 28th of September (pure coincidence), we took delivery of an Audi Q5 45 TFSI Technology (2023) after selling the GT. It was really amazing and I expected the mild hybrid tech to really give me some good coasting power. But to my surprise, after over a year of owning the Q5, it only returns an abysmal 4.5 kmpl. So when getting the 330Li, I really had no hopes with regards to efficiency. But to my surprise, the GL in Eco Pro will really coast like a monster. I mean on highways, with feather-footed driving at 80 kmph like I have done a couple of times, I've seen upwards of 14 kmpl. So me too mate. I'm glad I didn't go for the diesel.

It has been just over a month now as I'm writing this and I've already crossed over a thousand kilometers. The car has been an absolute gem except for the first day. On my way back from the showroom after taking delivery, I noticed a juddering sound from the front left of the car, and that left me pretty appalled. I contacted my salesman and my friends at the service center and let them know about the issue. They took the car 3 days later to try and figure out what the noise was. It turned out to be easy to fix as just some sound dampening of the car had not been attached properly which was juddering around. They were very efficient and quick to help me out, but it was just sad to see this on the first day of owning the car.

The comfort is really magnificent. After going almost a year without a luxury sedan, I had really forgotten what no body roll felt like, but the car really handles well. Most importantly, where I think it handles best is during turn-ins into corners. I've driven the 340i, and the 340i doesn't turn into a corner like our 330s. It's probably because of all the weight up front (B58, S-Drive), but that eagerness to just go into a corner is what really amazes me. On certain freeways within Mumbai, I've noticed myself turning into corners which I shouldn't really be doing, which really is a breath of fresh air.

It's my first post on here. Hope you enjoyed reading.

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