Necessary upkeep should be reasonable for a middle class, or salary earner.

BHPian Overlander recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Ok, so let us get real. You are a TeamBHPian. Or at least someone who frequents these forums in anonymity while still wiping the grease off your palms in a towel. Your living room drawer have the latest electricity, PNG, telephone, school bills that need to be paid. You are enjoying a perfectly (and directionless) sedate weekend after a strong grind at the office, or the modest workshop you call home for 5 days a week. You are already looking deep and long into the horizon, where you would wish for jumping dolphins, and ochre sunset to be setting in. Instead, you are not sure of what Monday holds for you. And then while you stand perilously close to the thought-cliff, someone comes and just gives you a gentle nudge.

It could be a classmate, now showcasing their latest garage acquisition on Facebook/ Instagram (the holy grail of this generation's existence); or it could be that annoying neighbour you scoffed at for their disenchanted pompousness. It could be easily that match-box of a car sketch that your child proudly handed over to you, reminding you of the silhouette you used to sketch at their age. That's all it takes, you know!

You are laughing? This car has suicide doors man!

<Lest I digress, scene pans out and returns to the story> You forget about your middle class dispositions, and dive into a myriad of online portals/ resources at your disposal and while still being able to carefully (somewhat hesitantly but cautiously) keep moving the price range slider to an acceptable range. 40 lakhs? Sure, what are these mushroom-banks going to be come to work if not now. There is this hilarious Bengali-quotation shirt I have in our family which say "Jaa kamai, shob EMI"  (eloquently loosely translated to - "All Earnings, Wasted on Yearnings"!) Nope, you put it to 20 Lakhs.

So very recently, let us say a friend of mine got down this rabbit hole. I (sorry, I meant HE) scoured through the threads available on TeamBHP to find optimum utilisation of scarce resources a new definition - 101 ways to 'invest' 'small savings' into a car that puts a 'smile on your face'. Requirement? Satiate that long standing penchant to own a car (fossil based) that will plaster a grin that you do not want to post on social media, because it made you look stupid.

Now anyone who has been even slightly diligent with their searches (I am not referring to generative AI search capability - just a sliver of common sense capability) will know there are tons of such threads on this forum. Some basic educational threads, that will try its level best to knock some sense into that hard shell of yours.

• A fun-to-drive pre-owned car for an enthusiast
• Buying used cars in India: Advantages, doubts & expert advice (The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars)
• The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars
• ARTICLE: The Beauty of Lateral Upgrades (Getting MORE CAR for LESS $$$)
• ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India

But then here you are, looking at yet another one. Then you realise, why is this required on the first place? The purpose of this thread will be to note down defined price bands, and listing down options on a basic rule of 'feasibility' within that price band and tingles your senses on nostalgia (Yes! I am looking at you, please do not say M340i 10 years down the line at 25 lakhs). How do you know either of us will live that long for the other person to say "I told you so!". Therefore, here are the ground rules:

• Price Bands: < 10 Lakhs; >10 lakhs but < 22 Lakhs (Nothing more, please refer the Thread name!)
• Car Criteria: Fun to drive enthusiast car, it has to be special and it has to be fast. Reliability is definitely a thing, so no references of 1985 LR et al. Therefore, by that design, you cannot recommend a car of extraordinary vintage, which will need 3x price to make it road-worthy.
• Maintenance: Necessary upkeep should be reasonable for a middle class, or salary earner. No point adding to Pics: Imports gathering dust in India <sad face>.
• Vintage: Now for the demography, it would be nice to be able to drive it for at least 2-4 years before 'khatara'-police (read NGT) come knocking on your door!Most Importantly: Be honest! If you will not buy the car, please do not recommend. This forum is something that non-enthusiast also refer, it would be our moral obligation to ensure recommendations here are things that we, as ardent car enthusiast, will also don't mind buying.

The question to answer is, which car that attains to your nostalgia and one you would like to consider, given a restriction on funds available? During the time on this thread, one would like to come to answer that very question.

Less than 10 Lakhs: I am positive that other members would chip in with their inputs as well, for the time being, I do not fancy any other cars in this group.

Note: Pictures courtesy Google images, and respective upload owners.

Mercedes E350 CDI (2011-2013):

• The daddy of Octavia with quad-headlights
• TeamBHP review suggested it had S-Class interiors. Need I say more?
• 3.0 V6 diesel, 231BHP, 540nm torque. If you feel 530D prices are obnoxious, this is the alternative.
• Make sure to read this thread before you start financially planning for it

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro (2012-14):

• If you like your tail to point another direction and your steering to other, this is not the car for you. For everyone else, the venerable Quattro ensures your leach of a car stays firmly rooted to the road.
• When Renuka was still making the auto world sit up and listen, she had chosen this over the other 2 marquee offerings.
• Do not be surprised to see VWAG branded parts used in the car. There is a lot of cross-pollination in the brands.
• A4 3.0 would be a better handler, so would the 530D. This would be a sleeper car, and could potentially sleep for some time in the garage if something went wrong. An acquaintance waited well into 2-3 months trying to prim up his pre-owned car recently.

Fiat Punto Abarth (2015-16):

• Remember the time when India got excited at sub-10 0-100kmph timing? Yes. This is the one that made heads turn then.
• Powerdrift had a very emotional video on this car. This was at a time when they hadn't migrated to gaming-console-inspired graphics; and somehow made more sense.
• Built like a Tank! While the space inside is not near as a family person would want, the steering is more a place to hold on to than steer the car.
• Fiat's future in the country? Oh well! There have been rumour mills since acche-din was not even a thing.

VW Jetta TDI (2015-16):

• The Jetta in this vintage came with a multi-link suspension at the rear offering great ride quality along with very good handling. The Octavia came with a compound link crank axle.
• A very dear friend of mine bought 2 of them recently. Unfortunately sold both of these, for no reason given by the car. But any garage specialising in European cars can upkeep it perfectly.

E90 BMW 330i (2010-11):

• Paraphrasing from what Dark.Knight had written on this very forum while disclaiming his inability to write 'drab, boring language' "For the E90 I cannot exercise that restraint, Freude am Fahren is an understatement for the car, even ahead of the present F30".
• It will be extremely rare for you to find one that is in half decent state. But if you do come across one, you will do well to put a token money down at the least.
• The 330i after this generation lost 2 cylinders in the engine bay.

Honourable Mentions: Volvo came with >300BHP V8 at the turn of previous decade. Audi A6 came with stonker of an 3.0 TFSI till 2014. Octavia was similar to Jetta in many ways, and therefore can be considered as well. YouTube is flooded with modifications that give the current vRS a run for its money as well. Last, but not the least, VW Polo GT TSI, but it is not "special" enough.

Continue reading BHPian Overlander's thread for more insights and information.

It was mega fun to watch the Polo 1.0L TSI move. The BMW 530d was built to do this and it was perhaps the least exerted on the highway run.

BHPian megazoid recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Max Verstappen was going about his business in style and Kalle Rovanpera had already claimed this year's WRC crown. What remained was for us to make our Sunday a wee bit special.

The city and nearby areas had got a fair bit of rain in the past few days and everything was looking pretty. Woke up to good weather and tried sneaking out of the apartment without disturbing anyone. Promptly dropped the water bottle, which bounced in numerous ways not only waking up folks at home but also the neighbour's dog. Cursing the water bottle, made my way into the car and saw the fuel needle resting on its side making no effort to wake up. Realized I needed gas and that would make me further delayed.

Drove into a neighbouring pump and filled regular petrol, rolled the windows down, made small sounds of happiness and drove to the meet point about 20kms away. The day looked lovely with the sun slowly popping out and the early morning folks were up and about, enjoying their day. Tried to fiddle around with the phone while driving and saw a board clearly stating "No mobile phones while driving", refrained from doing anything foolish and concentrated on getting to the location safely.

Low and Fast

One interesting thing about our bunch of driving buddies is that everyone is extremely punctual. Nothing gets more irritating than to see a friend turn up sipping orange juice with a smile while others are melting in the sun. Everyone wanted to quickly get on with the drive and we started moving quickly.

There was a 1.0L Polo AT, a 530d, a 340i and a 330i. We kept a nice rhythm and picked up pace as we left the city behind. After an hour's drive, got to our breakfast point where a BMW Z4 was gathering eyeballs along with a bunch of big bikes. Felt that our day had started on a good note. Had a quick breakfast and polished off a coffee before continuing with the drive.

It was mega fun to watch the Polo move. As a past Polo owner, I could imagine the fun Nerd1200 was having behind the wheel. The 530d was built to do this and it was perhaps the least exerted on the highway run. d3mon knows his car very very well technically had put all his buttons to good use and used his locomotive torque and set sail. The M340i has seen most roads around these parts and it likes fast action and robimahanta happily obliged.

We veered off the fast highway into an undulating curvy stretch which had lovely tree cover. Apart from the beautiful scenery, the car and its occupants were subjected to strong lateral forces that proved beyond doubt that our heads weren't just freely mounted on our necks. Every now and then, we would park, jump out of the car gesticulating wildly about the beauty of the cars making the villager going about his life obviously puzzled at these antics.

Reservoir

After being challenged by curvy two-lane roads, we decided to make things more interesting and landed up on a single-lane winding piece of road that turned out to be super fun. We gathered together at some nice spots for some photos and some relaxation before starting to drive again. At some point, I lost my bearing and went deeper and deeper into some bylanes and finally reached a point of no progress. The Big 5 series just would not be able to squeeze through this alley. This brought out another interesting aspect of the group. People are extremely accommodating even when something were to go wrong with the plan.

Fast and Furious

A short fuel break and we were on the move again. The pace picked up again once the small settlements were behind us and all the cars and their occupants had a great time. We got through a tight ghat that had the 530d tires squealing in protest. The 340i was clinically fast and the Polo was sitting pretty in the rearview mirror easily.

Robi had to drop his friend, who was with us on the drive, at the airport. The friend turned out to be a very good pilot and drove the 340i really well. They had to make it back and could not join us for lunch. The rest of us had a late lunch and then parted ways making it a small yet happy driving day.

Men of honour

Credit for all the pictures to the rightful owners.

May the tribe grow!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The vehicles, including EVs, I have explored so far include the Mercedes GLA 35 AMG, Volvo C40, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, BMW i4 and M340i.

BHPian nmn.070 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone!

Background

I have been a car enthusiast since my father got a Standard 2000 home. A black beauty which was our pride and joy. Fast forward a couple of decades and I got the chance to buy my very first car at the University. Found a stunning 2008 Mazda RX8. The rotary engine and the sportscar agility were leagues ahead of anything I had experienced until then. I kept it for 3 years before I returned home.

I again started looking for a car in 2014 after spending a few years just using available cars in the family out of which the Duster and dad's Laura stood out. These cars were good but something about a RWD setup that is fascinating. FWD is just wrong in feel, regardless of the power output. Imagine if someone pulled you on a swing instead of pushing you.

Cutting short, I narrowed down to the F30 328i after some deliberation. It is the ideal car for a young enthusiast and I was lucky to be in a position to get one. The only one registered in my diesel-dominated state. RWD, red color, M performance accessories, BMW quality. It was perfect. The car still serves me after 9 long years. It's been a joy and I have taken it places even a Creta would not dare tread. Now I wish to replace the car with another.

Requirements

• Rear Wheel Drive - I want a RWD or rear-biased AWD setup only. Call it a bug in my head but I can't have it another way.
• Reliable - I like dependability. The BMW was surprisingly good on this front. Father owned a Jaguar XF which was the complete opposite, so no JLR ever for me. This factor makes me curious about electric options because of fewer parts and general reliability.
• Fast - I am spoilt by the RX8 and 328i experiences. Although I drive sedately 90% of the time, knowing that I can make an overtake whenever I want is something that is desirable.
• Value for money - not everything expensive is overpriced. My budget is loosely defined. Anywhere from 40L OTR to 80L OTR. But I do not wish to overpay for the vehicle I get.

Usage will be mostly in the city. Occasional jaunts from Jaipur to Delhi. Should fit a family of 4.

The above list is also my criteria in order of preference. The cars I have explored so far are mentioned below with their perceived pros and cons:

Options

• BMW M340i - RWD biased AWD, fast, and value for money. However, reliability and dependability are still unknowns in the long run.
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 - RWD, value for money. But not fast enough.
• Kia EV6 AWD - RWD biased AWD, fast but not VFM after knowing the price of its sister Ioniq 5.
• Volvo C40 - RWD biased AWD, fast, reliable brand. VFM is something I'm not sure of as it is based on a much older platform than the Korean twins. EX30 around the corner.
• Mercedes GLA 35 AMG - fast but not RWD and VFM I guess.
• BMW i4 - RWD, fast, VFM considering the brand but not available for now.

Please suggest anything I'm missing out on. I feel EV will allow me to hold the car longer as I generally keep them for 5+ years with a low cost of ownership. Range is not a big concern beyond 300kms real world. I'm ambivalent about sedan vs crossover. I saw another thread on someone going ahead with the Volvo C40 in a similar predicament. All the help is much appreciated.

Here's what BHPian iliketurtles had to say about the matter:

Hi there. I appreciate the quandary you're in, it's one I'm sure quite a few have on this forum and beyond, with most going for the M340i.

My advice to you would be to try and get an extended test drive of the 340i, and see how it handles the wonderfully rutted and pockmarked roads of your area. Those tyres (especially runflats) can easily give way thanks to the low profile nature of it, and the ground clearance isn't much to write home about either, which becomes maybe even more of a concern with 4 aboard.

Those factors, plus (IMO) the sub-par sound system (compare it to the Burmester in the A and C Class) and questionable interior quality (feel the interior plastics below your waistline, in the door bins etc.) should make you question if you really want to spend 80 big ones on it. That engine is unmatched at that price, but walk in with eyes wide open. If that amazing engine blinds you to its faults, so be it.

From your shortlist, I would knock off the Ioniq 5, for the same reasons you mentioned. However, I would persist with checking out the EV6. It has a very well-balanced ride and handling for what it is (a proper 5-seater family crossover/wagon), with ride quality I would put at par with a 5 series. The issues with the EV6 are similar to the ones on the 340i; poor interior quality for the price point, and a mediocre sound system. But it rides beautifully compared to the 340i and is properly fast.

I would also eliminate the Volvos from your list. Being fast does not equal fun, the C40 is tuned for families, not thrill seekers. I would also encourage you to travel with 4 in the car and check it out, that sloping rear roof could be problematic for rear passengers on long drives.

Above all, I would highly encourage you to revisit the GLA35. It's not VFM for sure, but it honestly is fun and fast, with superb interiors and a fantastic sound system. Take a test drive and keep an eye on these two factors, you'd be surprised how much better it is than anything else at its price point. Put a downpipe and a stage 2 tune on it, and this baby will be rocking some 350+ BHP and will drive like it's on rails thanks to the AWD system.

There aren't many options you've overlooked in the brand-new car market, honestly. Maybe the C300d? But I'd ignore it given the uncertainty around diesels, even though it has great interiors, rides well, and is nice to drive.

In summary, I'd rejig your shortlist to a three-car list:

• The GLA35 (well-rounded car for Indian conditions)
• The M340i (The best performer of the three, with some fatal flaws)
• The Kia EV6 (Excellent EV that stops short of true greatness)

Happy hunting.

Here's what BHPian dealer had to say about the matter:

I’ve had a garage similar to yours with a tuned 320i that I let go a couple of months ago and now am using an XC40 Recharge as a daily driver in Jaipur.

The XC40 is great but not for 4 adults on a long journey. I would stay away from the i4 as the low ground clearance is a constant bother in my opinion. GLA 35 and the M340i should be your top choices but the acceleration of the XC40 after one test drive will spoil most cars for you.

Here's what BHPian sandeepmohan had to say about the matter:

With the budget you have, you should be adding a couple more cars to the list.

• Mercedes Benz E Class
• Audi A6

The E Class will blow the BMW away when it comes to the interior and ride (Yes, it does sit a segment higher)

The Audi A6 is pure Elegance.

The above two are unlikely to be anywhere near as fast as the M340i. That said, 0-100 dash in just over 6 seconds is decent. Pottering around in the city, I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference.

Personally, I find the M340i's springs a bit edgy for day-to-day use. Flat out on the highway is where this car belongs.

As a few have already said, an EV should be on top of your list.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It was clearly a bad judgment call someone took in the spur of the moment and I am willing to look past it since they are now doing everything they can to make it right.

BHPian msnarain recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

We are looking to buy a bigger car and have been evaluating the C220d and the 330Li. We got a good deal from a BMW dealership - so we went ahead and booked a Portimao Blue 330Li. We have been having the most amazing experience throughout our journey with the showroom so far (started months ago).

The entire experience came to a rude halt when the sales person refused a yard visit for a PDI. His claim was they don't let prospective BMW owners visit the yard anymore for PDI as the rules have changed. The reason - this dealership shares the same yard with multiple dealerships like BYD etc. On top, they insisted that BMW has stopped shipping their cars with the protective sticker/film on the roof and bonnet. He offered to have the car driven to the showroom where I could inspect the car.

I flatly refused to have the car driven around like that for a PDI.

Something felt off, and I told them I was not proceeding further without the yard visit. Finally, they owned up to the fact that the Portimao Blue 330Li they were planning to sell me is a display model from a different showroom.

And that is exactly why they were not willing to let me enter the yard. Because the car had been sitting in a showroom elsewhere with every prospective buyer getting in and out of the car, slamming the doors shut with the least care in the world.

Now, it's perfectly normal for a dealership to offer the display car for sale, but if they had been honest about it from the start, that's a different story.

Now, the apologetic sales person sent me his open stock list - it showed two Blue Portimao 330Lis. Upon quizzing the location of the other, he claimed both were displayed at the dealership's different showrooms.

He then asked me if it was okay if they got me a car allotted from a different location - like Coimbatore etc. I wasn't too keen on this - I told him I would have no idea if it was indeed a fresh car or a display car and he agreed with me. Their final reply to me was it would take 2 months to get a new Portimao Blue 330 allotted to me if I wanted a fresh car straight from the factory. I told them I was in no hurry, though I reminded them of their initial delivery promise - 1 week if the colour was in stock and 1 month if not.

The next day, I got a call from them saying a new Portimao Blue 330LI had left the factory and that they had allotted it for me. They said they will unload the car in front of me. But here's the kicker - they still insist that BMW doesn't ship with protective film/stickers on the roof and bonnet anymore. I asked for the manufacturing month and he said it's August. He claims no way one can get a September-manufactured car.

I normally would not probe this much, but the initial sleight has left a sour taste in my mouth and has made me super apprehensive about their intentions. I have a strong feeling the car that is "on the way from the factory" is probably coming in from one of the dealership's non-Chennai showrooms where it had been on display.

This has been frustrating and definitely not the experience one has to go through for a car that costs 60 lakhs ex-showroom.

I initially wanted to cancel the BMW and explore other options, but good friend and fellow Teambhpian nimishlalwani reminded me not to let a poor sales experience come in the way of driving my dream car.

Update

Dealer invited me to the yard to see the car being unloaded. They kept the truck waiting though they could have started unloading, at least the other cars.

I have been interacting with representatives from BMW India over the last couple of days and they told me the protective sticker on top isn't mandatory anymore - some batches have them and some don't. They are very responsive and helpful - they asked me to give them the VIN once I see the car so they can check from their end about the car's history.

BMW India also offered to take an official complaint against the dealership which I refused - I really like the people in the showroom - especially our sales consultant and the sales manager. The display car tactic was clearly a bad judgement call someone took in the spur of the moment and I am willing to look past it since they are now doing everything they can to make it right.

I am really happy with the way the dealership has turned things around for me. My sales person was away on personal leave, and the sales manager himself traveled all the way to the yard from the showroom for this - it's 30 km one way across the city during evening peak hour traffic - he could have easily asked someone from the other showroom to take me to the yard.

The protective stickers weren't there as BMW India and the dealership had told me earlier.

But everything else was there - plastics on the seats, protective stickers near the floor by the door, protective foam at the edge of the door, stickers on the screen etc. Checked the VIN and it showed Aug 22 2023 as the production date.

I feel a bit bad that I gave them a hard time, but I think I just had to be extra careful because of the initial misleading.

But I am now happy with the turn of events and I can't wait to drive my own BMW - but sadly, this will have to wait as I have a work trip over the next two weeks.

Thank you Ashish2135 and Laks (who replied in the other thread). And once again thanks to Nimishlalwani for guiding me throughout the process and for being a sounding board and the voice of reason!

Watching the car being unloaded itself was a very therapeutic and satisfying experience!

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

To remind everyone of the importance of a PDI. I don't buy a shirt without a PDI, a car is out of the question.

Here's what BHPian shrinath_m2 had to say about the matter:

Your sentiments and brain are absolutely in the right places. Ultimately you are paying them in real money, not stones. So they better tell you everything up front without masking details that you ought to know. Like you said, somebody was having a bad day and made a bad call - all solved now.

Do not feel bad about giving them a hard time if they aren't upfront. At the same time, I like that you decided to put this behind and take delivery of a fresh one.

Congrats on the purchase, and more ++ for the right mindset. Enjoy your sweet blue beemer!

Here's what BHPian dearchichi had to say about the matter:

Just to confirm that I understand your issue, did you want to view the car being offloaded from the truck, so you know that a fresh copy is being assigned to you? Is this now the recommended precaution that every new car buyer needs to take?

If not, what is the drawback of inspecting the same car when not in the yard? Would the fact that it was a display car be less obvious when not in the yard? Would the VIN not have helped you discover its history of manufacture?

Thank you.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I have driven the car for 11,500 km in 9 months and it has been simply fantastic. Even the service experience has been good.

BHPian tech_mate recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

11,500 km Update

Hope you all are doing well!

Done with a satisfying 11,500km in 9 months of delivery along with a smooth first service. Majority of the kms were on highways stretching towards Mumbai, Goa, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. All were self driven.

The car has been simply fantastic with no issues, rattles, niggles thus far. Service experience at BMW Bavaria in Pune was good - prompt and transparent, with a turnaround on the same day. It was a basic service with engine oil and air filter change.

Having spent about 9 months with the car, the following are a few highlights:

1. Engine gearbox combination works like a charm, effortless and sporty - blends beautifully for my driving style!
2. My preferred driving mode is ‘comfort’ with ‘sport’ transmission (slot gear lever to left) on the highways, with occasional bursts in ‘sport’ mode. I just can’t get enough of this.
3. Ride quality is supple - well-tuned for comfort and performance.
4. The car was able to tackle broken / no roads for a good 15-20km near Ajara back in June (en route to Goa) without a sweat, of course, had to take it easy on the throttle.
5. All round visibility and sensors make it quite easy to manoeuvre the car in city traffic.
6. Sound system, AC, CarPlay, and sunroof were used regularly and worked as expected.
7. We found the boot size sufficient for a family of 3 to pack in a week's luggage.
8. GC is sufficient as I have not yet scraped the underbelly with 4 occupants and luggage.
9. Speed gongs have been a pain from day 1, have learnt to live with it.

Questions:

1. In eco-pro mode, the car seems to coast quite a bit without A-pedal input. Also, the graphic on MID shows a battery-like icon. Is there some sort of regen / hybrid battery tech built in?
2. Does the engine / exhaust sound get piped in the cabin somehow or generated artificially from the speakers? Is there a setting in iDrive to adjust it?

Overall, very satisfied with the purchase thus far and looking forward to more long trips.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The brakes are pretty sharp and take a little getting used to at first. They bite into the road with an unrelenting grip.

BHPian rahul_jo recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So I've been driving the Slavia for the last couple of days and the initial impressions are as follows:

• The car simply feels light. A little too light on some occasions. Almost like a go kart.
• At higher speeds under sudden acceleration it might make you feel slightly out of control. But it's in that very sensation that the essence of its fun factor resides.
• The brakes are pretty sharp and take a little getting used to at first. They bite into the road with an unrelenting grip.
• The steering feels light to the touch, yet heavy with purpose. It is a decent harmonious blend of responsiveness and control.
• As you peer through the rear view mirror, your vision is constrained. The field of vision through the rear window is very tiny in my opinion.
• The front seat angle pushes your body into a peculiar posture. It is at a slight incline under your thighs that simply can't be adjusted. I looked around but the incline isn't adjustable. Could cause back pain over longer drives.
• And yes. The notorious issue of Slavia rattles is true. It's a brand new car but with each pothole the car seems to voice its protest with a lot of squeaky sounds coming from all over.
• The sound system is pretty average but the infotainment screen is pretty neat.
• My current daily driver is a F30 3 series and that feels completely planted on the road even at higher speeds but this Slavia drives like a fun go kart. It is a completely new yet exciting feeling.

After driving it for 2 days, I barely care about the other little niggles here or there because I had an awfully fun time driving it.

This also serves as a gentle reminder that not every aspect of the car needs to be exceptional to contribute to your overall experience.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

A 200km Sunday morning drive with a mix of rural roads and small hilly roads on the onward journey and fast six-lane highways on the return journey.

BHPian Dr.AD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Service Update and a Sunday Drive with Friends!

After the monsoon drive through Chikmagalur (described in earlier posts in this thread), the oil change requirement in CBS dropped to 800 km. I had one more drive planned after that, to Thanjavur, and given the nice fast roads on that drive, I wanted to take my 320d there. That was another 800 km to 900 km drive, and unfortunately, it was way too close to the remaining oil life of 800 km. CBS had created a similar dilemma for me in the past too, and every single time in the past, I decided to play it safe and let the servicing take priority over driving plans. I have never exceeded any CBS requirement. The car is always serviced well in time.

This time, after some deliberation, I decided to play it safe and let service requirements take priority over my driving plans. Thus, I ended up driving my Thar to Thanjavur instead of the BMW.

Anyway, that decision turned out to be wise because the 800km oil life immediately dropped to 700km the next time I started the 320d. The Thanjavur drive ended up being 850km, which would have meant I would have most certainly returned with an oil change overdue and CBS throwing warnings on the dashboard. I was happy I avoided that.

The CBS told me that I needed to change the engine oil at 700 km:

EGR Cooler Recall: Just about 2 weeks ago, I received a recall letter from BMW (by speed-post! - very surprised to see this old-fashioned mail and not an email notice) related to EGR Cooler checks/replacement to avoid a potential fire hazard. This is a global recall and happening since 2019 or so. I received a similar recall in 2019 (in the first round of global recalls), and at that time, they had actually changed the EGR Cooler in my car. I was surprised to see another recall on exactly the same issue now, and was keen to get this checked by BMW at the earliest!

I made an appointment at Navnit BMW and asked them to take care of the oil change as well as this EGR Cooler recall.

My car the BMW Navnit BMW for servicing:

Advantages of NOT having BSI: From my experiences, I have started preferring not opting in for BSI and rather using the "pay as you service" model. Below is the latest example of what I mean.

CBS was showing "Brake Fluid Change" as the next service requirement (this is typically done every 2 years) due in October 2023. Thus, if I had the BSI, they would have done only the oil change now (which was due now) and asked me to come back in 2 months for the brake fluid change. During my BSI period, I had plenty of occasions when I had to visit the service centre multiple times for such CBS requirements. However, now that I was paying for the service and there was no BSI, I asked them if they could change the brake fluid along with the engine oil. The service centre happily agreed and I changed the brake fluid too now (2 months in advance of the CBS requirement), and saved myself another visit to the service centre in just 2 months' time.

Thus, in the end, that day I ended up doing a comprehensive service and check-up! They changed the engine oil, oil filter (this is not changed in every service, and only changed when it is really required to change based on some measurements), air filter, AC filter and brake fluid. They also did the endoscopy check of the EGR Cooler (as per the recall campaign) and certified that the EGR Cooler is fine. They also did complete underbody checks, checks of all the suspensions, and other checks (battery etc.). My car passed all the tests and was certified to be in fine condition. The total bill for all of this was about Rs. 30k. The service bill is slightly higher than what one would expect from such a routine service, but at least the service experience was great and the car feels perfect again!

Overall, I had a great service experience at Navnit BMW. I am very happy with my service advisor and the overall service experience there.

All OK after the service and a comprehensive check-up:

After the service, my routine there is a test drive by my trusted test drive expert at Navnit BMW. This expert person drives my car every time after any work on the car, and he knows my car well. He took a test drive and confirmed that the car was absolutely fine and in ship shape.

The car is now at 87,400 km and still runs absolutely fine and is in ship shape! I love this car for both the driving experience and the reliability! While service costs can be a bit high, what compensates for that is the great driving experience and the great service experience too. Timely and proper maintenance is the key here, and I feel that with timely maintenance, the car can still run much longer.

Sunday Drive with Friends:

I was itching to go for a nice drive after servicing the car. Thankfully, on Sunday morning, such an opportunity came. We did a nice Sunday morning drive with my close friend @robimahanta (driving his BMW M340i) and another friend (who is not a forum member yet) who was driving his BMW 330i M sports (G20).

We drove on some local roads and some small rural roads and reached a point known as "Tri-State Point", a location where the borders of three states (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) meet. There are some nice small hills and some hill drives around this Tri-State area, and we enjoyed driving around there and taking photos of the car. This turned out to be about a 200km Sunday morning drive with a mix of rural roads and small hilly roads on the onward journey, and fast six-lane highways on the return journey.

The three 3-ers on a Sunday morning drive:

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There is nothing fast you can do here. This Road Top upgrade needs time and patience. No way you are going to do this in 30 minutes as shown on You Tube.

BHPian sandeepmohan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This post is about a Apple Car Play/Android Auto box install. The product is made by the ever popular and known brand called Road Top. I think there are a few Audi users here who’ve done the install.

Road Top decoder box for CIC HI enabled Head Units

My car is a Japanese Import of a 2013 328i sedan. The idrive is practically useless in this day and age. The only thing working or doing its job being the radio and Bluetooth audio streaming. While the inbuilt navigation was updated by the dealer to New Zealand maps, it is a pain to use and outdated in terms of knowledge of roads.

For BMW’s and maybe even most other cars, the compatibility of Road Top products depends on the generation of your car stereo. The stock BMW head unit I have is the older generation one known as CIC HI. Make sure you order the right one. The plus side is that the chaps at Road Top are proactive online and you get a response to a query fast.

I went with the usual box unit where the stock head unit plugs into it and you link the car’s stock center console display to the Road Top box. They have another version where the entire screen is replaced to a touch screen unit and the hardware is also housed in that new screen (No external decoder box). I did think about. The cost was quite a bit higher which is why I didn’t buy one.

I attempted this as a two part DIY. Thanks to several users on the tube who’ve shared their install process. This helped immensely. The hardest part of the job is unmounting/refitting the glovebox, followed by all the cable routing required more for CIC HI head units. Units after this such as the NBT and Evo series are a little less complicated to install.

Challenges faced:

• Routing of the Aux audio cable from the Road Top unit to the center armrest console, where you have a USB and Aux input. This needs to be plugged in else there won’t be any audio.
• Tapping the stock mic from the roof liner with the Road Top supplied mic jumper cable and routing it through the dashboard.
• Tidying up all the wiring can be time consuming.
• This part is specific to my car only. Being a Japanese import, the previous owner had fitted what looked like another Apple Car Play/Android Auto box, which ended up being a TV Tuner sort of thing as I later discovered. Removal of this unit took time as I had to trace all the wiring and not cut off, remove anything by accident.
• Dropping and refitting the glovebox

Tools:

• A trim Removal Tool
• A T20 and T25 Torx screwdriver
• A small reversible ratchet wrench which can handle T20 and T25 screw heads and sockets
• A motor driven screw driver, if you can manage. Makes the job a whole lot easier, as I later discovered.
• A lot of patience
• Fine work Gloves or Band aid. Brace yourself for a few small cuts and bruises

DIY Part 1 : Started and Abandoned

I started with pulling off some of the dash trim, which came off as expected based on all the footage I had watched. Disconnecting some of the cables, especially the center console screen can be hard as the cable length from the head unit isn’t much. Plus, the cable is a tight fit behind the screen.

You go in this order for all the trim removal:

• Ambient lighting plastic trim unit below the Climate Control
• Removal of center console AC vents. This starts from the passenger side to the middle. It is one long piece. Does pop of easily. You have two cables to release in this step. The Hot/Cold air mix and the Hazard Light/Central Lock switch.
• Unscrewing of climate control unit and removal of the control cable
• Unscrewing the head unit
• Removal of the lower tray unit, below the glovebox.
• If you’re car has a knee air bag, then you need to remove this.
• Dropping the glovebox

In all of the above, I’d say dropping the glovebox was the hardest. 9 screws secure the glovebox and they are not easily accessible, which is where a motor driven tool comes handy. Mounting back the glovebox can be a challenge.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) my car did not come with a knee air bag unit so I had one less thing to worry about. Removal or unmounting of the air bag unit is required to gain access to 2 of the 9 glove box screws. If you do have an airbag unit and need to lower it, I’d recommend disconnecting the battery. All you need to do is lower the air bag unit. Don’t disconnect the cable that goes to it. In general, I’d say disconnect the battery before you start this DIY.

After removal of all the trim, I found what looked like an Android unit already installed plus another unit that looked similar to it, right above the glovebox. It had the same LVDS video cable connection and a dummy cable sitting behind the air vents. I tried to look into the routing of all the wiring and could not figure it out. It was frustrating. I wasn’t sure if the unit was active. It had a label on the unit that said Parking Assist feature. I wasn’t sure if the car’s reverse camera was connected to this unit. Not all versions of the 3 series had a factory reverse camera. Some were aftermarket installed. Without knowledge of what wires I could remove or even remove this unit, I decided to put a hold on this DIY. This unit was hidden in the section towards the left of the cars stock head unit. I took some pictures of the unit, did a bit of googling for a whole week, looking at wiring diagrams, etc. Figured out the box was linked to a Pioneer TV Tuner unit. These were popular in Japan back when this car was new. The previous owner must have installed this. Once the car was imported in to New Zealand, they disabled the unit. However, I could see a power lead running to the Pioneer TV Tuner box.

DIY Part 2 : Started and Completed. Between 5 and 6 hours of time.

Getting started was easy. I had removed all the dash trim as before. This time around, I had a Bosch Go electric screw driver. Made a world of a difference.I traced all the wiring for the Parking Assist box to the Pioneer unit and removed whatever I could, including the decoder boxes. As expected, nothing was connected to the cars main head unit. However, rogue cables were running everywhere. There’s still some excess cable which I decided to leave in the car such as 4 TV Antennas as the routing was going all the way from under the dashboard and towards the lower trim, besides the passenger front seat. They were also zip tied to some of the cars original wiring harness. I was nervous touch anything that could disturb this setting. One error with cutting or removing any of the cars stock wiring on these complex Euro cars and you’re done with the car.

First step was connecting the Road top power cable harness with the stock harness behind the head unit. This is pretty much THE main cable where everything plugs in and works. The process can be a little hard as stock cable play is minimum and the head unit is rather heavy. The stock head unit harness can have a optical fiber cable on it (some of them don’t). You need to transfer that green optical cable onto the power harness cable that Road Top provides. This is relatively easy. The next part requires plugging in one end of Road Top’s power cable harness to the stock harness and the other end to the stock head unit. There is one more end of this cable which plugs in the Road Top decoder box. Sufficient length is provided.

Next step is taking the LVDS cable from the head unit (Was connected to the stock car screen) and routing that to the Road Top decoder box. Another LVDS video cable goes from the decoder box to the screen. This cable is provided by Road Top.

Next is taking the Aux Audio cable from the main Road Top power cable harness, routing in through the center console which has the gear shifter and plugging this into the Aux input below the arm rest. Some cars have this, some cars don’t. If you have a USB, Aux input below the center armrest, you need the aux cable connected, else there won’t be any sound. Videos show removal of parts of the center console to route the cable below the unit. I took the easy path and just routed it via gaps on the side of the center console, where it meets the cloth trim of the car. I used a little stiff copper wire to pull the cable into armrest area. Its not perfect but does the job and there are no cables visible externally.

The next bit is taking the Road Top supplied mic jumper cable and plugging that into the mic on the roof liner. I did this on the drivers side. I don’t know if you can do it via the passenger side instead. It will make routing the cable a little easier as you’ve dropped the glovebox. Once again, this is a requirement for the CIC HI stock head unit equipped cars. NBT and later probably don’t need this step. You need to pull out a little plastic trim on the side of the dashboard and pull away some of the door rubber trim leading up to where the mic is located. The mic pops off easily with a trim tool. Disconnect the mic from the stock wiring harness. Using the Road Top supplied mic tap, you need to plug one end into the mic and the other end into the stock wiring harness. This ensures you can continue to use the mic via the stock iDrive system and Apple Car Play/Android Auto. Routing the mic cable via the roof liner and A pillar needs some care. I used a little copper wire to get over the A pillar air bag and pull the mic cable over this and down the A pillar. This mic cable needs to plug into the Road Top wiring harness. I used the same copper wire to pull the cable behind the dashboard and through to the other side of the glovebox. Tuck the cables and push the mic unit back into the roof liner, run the mic cable along the A pillar trim, put back the rubber door seal trim and put back the side dashboard cover we removed earlier. This whole process is relatively easy. Take care around the air bag unit is all.

Next up is the USB cable and WIFI Antenna. While you don’t need the USB cable for wireless car play or android auto operation, you do need this for future system updates Road Top may send out. I needed the USB cable as my phone is running Android 10 and wireless Android Auto is available only on versions 11 and higher. I tucked the usb cable on the side of the center console, on the passenger side. The Wifi Antenna is stuck to the center console.

With all the cable work done, I decided to test the system out before doing any cable tidying, routing and putting everything back. Started the car and the usual iDrive screen popped up. A good sign. Next was to hold down the menu button on the iDrive controller for a couple of seconds. This takes you into the Road Top decoder unit settings where you initialize Car Play/Android Auto. As my method of connection was wired, it worked at the first go. I was quite thrilled to see Google maps load up full screen. The resolution, color rendering and quality of maps is surprisingly good for such an old idrive display unit. You use the idrive controller to navigate around the screen. Super easy to use and there is zero lag. The one thing odd I found with Android Auto is that you don’t have all the Apps on your phone available on the screen. I found only a handful of them. The essentials are there so I am not worried. I got YouTube Music App which is all I care about. Maybe there is a way to get all apps visible. Steering wheel controls work. You can navigate the display using the scroll wheel, adjust volume, trigger Siri/Hey Google, Take/Reject calls. Everything works as advertised by Road Top.

You need to disable or unpair your phone Bluetooth to the cars iDrive system and enable Aux input. Turn the Aux input volume up to 90%. If you don’t, there will be a imbalance in the sound for music while being played via Airplay and the various stock car chimes. This takes some trial and error to get all the volume levels balanced. Audio reproduction quality isn’t the best straight out of the Aux input. Fortunately, the Road Top decoder has a few Audio Presets, a customizable Equalizer and Loudness setting which allow you to compensate for some lost audio quality. Does the job. Don’t expect perfection to a stock and modern iDrive Harman Kardon unit. The one catch with adjusting audio parameters or the Equalizer is that you need to quit your Car Play session. You cannot make changes on the fly or hear changes as you make them.

With the test now successful, the next part was tidying up all the cables and mounting the Decoder box against a steel dashboard support brace. This is right between the glove box and head unit. There is a space there to place the decoder box. I used some 3M double sided tape for this. Only time will tell if this will hold up and hopefully no rattles surface. Its definitely a lot of of cables leading to the Road Top decoder box and there’s not much you can do about. I did the best I could of tidying them up while not causing too much stress to the cable bends.

Putting things back also takes some time. Pushing the stock head unit back into its slot needs some effort as the cables right behind it are more now. It can be done. A little patience and observation is all.

Refitting the glovebox is about the hardest part of this process. It goes in the same way you took it out. There are 4 support mounts under the glovebox that need to align. You need to do some acrobatics of looking below the glovebox area as you mount it back so you get this perfectly aligned. Not to forget, put back all the cables you removed that were attached to the glovebox such as the light, stock idrive usb cable and glover box lamp switch. 9 screws secure the glovebox.

Next you have air bag unit, if you removed it. Followed by the glove box under tray which has a cabin light connector you need to put back.

Put the screws back for the screen. Note that while the screws are the same T20’s for pretty much everything, the display screen screws are slightly shorter and thicker. I had made this mistake during DIY attempt 1 by putting in the wrong screws. The head unit will take another 4 screws to secure, followed by 4 more screws to mount the Climate Control unit. The final screwless bit is the AC duct and dashboard trim. This requires refitting the Hazard lamp and Hot/Cold wires and gently pushing the trim unit into the dashboard. Go easy while doing this.

As you would have understood by now, not the easiest or fastest of DIY jobs. There is nothing fast you can do here. This Road Top upgrade needs time and patience. No way you are going to do this in 30 minutes as shown on You Tube. Thats edited footage. I ran into complications primarily due to a third party decoder box already installed which took a whole week to figure out. Even without this, the process takes time. In the end, I am not regretting this upgrade. The screen is not a lot more useable than displaying the outdated idrive interface. You modernize the inside of the car a little bit. If you have the cash, I’d say go for Road Top Touch Screen unit. Will make things even better and more up to date.

The dashboard, before ripping everything apart. The green towel on the center console is there to rest the head unit after taking it out. Its a heavy unit with a lot of sharp edges. Can damage the dashboard and console surface easily.

Lower trim removed. Some cars have a ambient light placed here. Some cars do not. You can see the disconnected wire for that here.

Taking out the AC duct trim piece. This is a long unit and requires a trim removal tool. Take care when removing this as the red strip at the bottom is delicate.

The two circled yellow connectors need to be removed. One is for the hazard/central locking switch and the other for the Hot/Cold air mix control.

Next, take out the Climate Control unit secured by 4 screws. This revels the head unit. Cars with inbuilt navigation have this large 2 din sort of head unit. Cars that don't have navigation have a 1din size unit. Makes it easier to place the Road Top decoder box below the head unit for the ones without inbuilt navigation.

Its a bit hard to see. Above and behind the internal AC ducts are two screw that you need to remove to take out the screen. Note that these screws are slightly different to the screws used to hold the head unit and climate control unit. Don't mix them up.

Yellow box marking the type of head unit. In this case CIC HI. Later generations are NBT and EVO.

There are some steps to the process where I missed taking pictures. Was too involved that I forgot.

The next stage requires dropping the glovebox thats secured by 9 screws. Not easily accessible and some will require odd angles. This is where a motorized tool comes handy. Before you can drop the glovebox, you'll need to take out a glovebox under tray that hides all the screws. This under tray unit is secured by two bolts and has a cabin light fixture that needs removal. You'll find in one of the pictures of a screw hole with no screw in it. Thats for the knee air bag mount. My car does not have a knee air bag unit so that slot was free.

Black box on the floor mat is the Road Top decoder box. Everything plugs into this unit.

Yellow U and Yellow box drawing are markers to align the glovebox when you refit. If you don't get this right, you'll be pulling your hair out. There is a similar thing to be observed on the other side of the glovebox too. Best is to take pictures before removal.

Yellow dot seen deep inside the glovebox (right edge) cavity is the location of a steel dashboard brace. This is where I secured the decoder box. This was the same point where the Japanese Parking Assist box was placed.

The quad lock connector. You're looking at the Road Top connector that is connected to the cars Quad Lock connector unit. Its a big block connector that secures a green optic fiber cable on some cars. For cars with this cable, you need to take it off the cars quad lock connector and move it over the connector supplied by Road Top. The thick cables, limited stretch to the stock car quad lock cable make it hard to push all the cables back. Not easy work.

Next up was the mic tap. You need to do this for CIC HI equipped cars, else the mic won't work. Road Top supplies this mic tap cable. You need to take out the stock mic and disconnect from the stock wiring harness. Take the Road Top mic tap wire and connect one end to the stock mic wiring you just disconnected and the other end to the mic unit. Run the cable via the roof liner, down the A pillar and through the dashboard. I used a stiff copper wire to pull it across the dashboard. This is not a hard process. Take care around the curtain air bag unit and run the mic tap wire over the air bag. In the event the air bags has to deploy, the wire won't come in the way.

Securing the WIFI Antenna and USB connector. The WIFI antenna should not be stuck onto anything metal. Its possible to stick it on the glove box under tray. I stuck it to the center console. I can always move it later.

The all important Audio Aux cable you need to connect on CIC HI enabled BMW Head units. This cable runs from the Road Top main wiring harness, through the center console and into the armrest. I pulled the cable via gaps on the side of the console. Some folks have removed parts of the gear console for routing. I chose not to do that.

Test run and taking Android Auto for a spin. Works flawlessly. Stock iDrive based Reverse camera is triggered automatically and the display switches and goes back. The only thing I've noticed is that when I am done reversing, my car camera tends to stay on for a little longer. Unless I pop the gear shifter into D, it won't go back to Android Auto. Some fine tuning needed in the Decoder box settings.

You can prioritize which app to populate the larger part of the screen or make Google maps populate the entire real estate of the screen if you like.

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The S54 engine is the swansong for the naturally aspirated straight six and is what makes the E46 M3 what it is

BHPian mgup564 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My infatuation with the BMW 3-series started as a kid when my father brought me a brochure on the then recently launched BMW E30. And of course it was the six cylinder 325i that was my E30 of choice. Even over the supposed legendary E30 M3.

The E36 came around and I fell in love with its shape and lines. Not one bad angle on the car. So sleek and compact. BMW updated the M3 to the M3 Evo. The icing on the cake.

But the E39 5 series was such a beautiful lovely car too. The M5 soon arrived with a 4.9 litre naturally aspirated V8, those beautiful gun metal alloys. And updated later to have the beautiful rear lights with the LED light rods.

However, the car went out of production before I had the money to buy one. And a friend pointed out that the front of the E39 looked a bit weak compared to the rest of the car. And my brother said, why bother with a saloon?

So, to the E46. I was slightly disappointed to see how BMW had softened the lines on the successor to the E36. A sign of the times I suppose. Still, I thought I’d get the 330Ci.

Or a M3. By mid 2005, I was decided I’ll get one. A few emails to BMW Park Lane London and I had all the info I needed. A trip to London and a test drive later, I had put down the deposit for a LHD M3. The car was scheduled for production in September 2005 and I can pick it up on my next visit to London in December 2005. Those days, I was planning to settle in Germany so the car was ordered LHD.

Anyway, to the car and the ownership experience.

The car is all it is made out to be.

I loved the design language of the BMWs from the 80’s (E34/E36/E38) and the E46 was the last to carry on that styling before the Bangle era came about.

The S54 engine is the swansong for the naturally aspirated straight six and is what makes the E46 M3 what it is. Starting the car up is a highlight and though chances to explore the higher reaches of the rpm range are few, it is a delight when I am able to.

The interior is sublime too. With the low orange illumination and wonderful instrumentation and dials. The front seats are full electric and very comfortable. The lesser said about rear seat comfort, the better. There isn’t any!

The car was ordered with the HK stereo package. Which is rubbish. Thankfully, with the car sounding this great, who wants to listen to the stereo anyway?

Options that I ordered were the front heated seats, 6 CD changer, and electric rear blind. All of which I find very useful.

Another thing that I am not very impressed with on the E46 M3, and I believe it is a BMW trait and therefore nothing to do with this particular model per se, is the gearbox. I do find it notchy and long.

The car has travelled with me from the UK, to Germany, then France, and now finally in Dubai.

It also spent a year in India as a temporary export with the Bombay to Dehra Dun trip being a highlight of that stay.

The car has not suffered any major troubles in all these years of ownership but I have not yet addressed the rear subframe issue that is the design flaw on the E46 M3.

I have uprated the suspension/brakes/steering/wheels to CSL spec and run the car on road legal race tyres which have added that little bit of additional sparkle to the handling and the steering.

However, the car is strictly a two seater. You can fit two people in the back but anything more than short journeys and they will be complaining. It does get a little claustrophobic in the back.

Getting in and out of the car is troublesome too, due to its very low height and ground clearance. And when it was in India, it scraped at just about every speed hump.

Running costs and servicing for the car are not cheap, as expected. Fuel economy goes down substantially in traffic or if the car is driven in a spirited manner, to as low as 5-6 kmpl. As the engine is a high performance unit, it does not like anything less than 98 unleaded. Also, since I am running soft tyres on the car, they don’t last long and are quite expensive to replace. There is a range of engine oil brands to choose from for the car. From Liqui-Moly to Shell and BMW’s own brand engine oil.

The soft touch coating on interior buttons is now beginning to flake and even the slightest scratch shows.

But all in all, I find the car wonderful. It’s an iconic car and my conversation with people who know about it usually goes like:

• Stranger: Wow. E46 M3. Are you selling it?
• Me: No.
• Stranger: Well, here’s my card. Just in case you change your mind.
• Me: Save your card. No possibility ever of me changing my mind.

The car during its stay in India.

More photographs of the car over the years.

The first two at Premier Inn London Heathrow and the third one while on a trip in Munich.

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At 4.8m it is long, but never felt it’s length on narrow roads. It filled up our apartment parking space like a champ.

BHPian sandygordon recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Just took a brief test drive of the 330i grand limousine LCI

I've been driving the Octavia 1.8 TSI for two years now. I have been dreaming to buy a 3 Series from the E90 days when one of my distant relatives had one 320d.

Circa 2019, bought a Seltos, the experience changed my life. Sold it and bought an Octavia as lateral upgrade. Extremely satisfied with its performance and pleasantly surprised with the Skoda service.

Was waiting to buy a 330i lci but the SWB version is no longer there. So decided to think about getting a 3gl 330i. M340i is once in a lifetime car as per enthusiasts, but way out of my budget. Even the 70 odd for GL is a huge stretch, but hope it would be worth it.

My observations:

• The overall car looks odd. The long silhouette and the longish cabin with a stubby boot. Though it maintains the 50:50 weight distribution, it looks like a long shouted daschund with a short tail. At 4.8m it is long, but never felt it’s length on narrow roads. It filled up our apartment parking space like a champ. See the “looong” side profile in the attached picture.
• Ride of the car is much better than 330i swb, does not have the nose diving nature of the g20 320d SWB luxury line. I was pleasantly surprised by the ride quality and nimble handling. It took narrow and bumpy cochin roads with minimal fuss. I ve always considered my Octavia as a “sedanish” SUV but 3 GL rode like the softly sprung Octavia without the pitching and floaty ride quality.
• Sport mode makes it a beast. You do get a push, got this mad rush which I missed after the swift days. M340i would push harder but it does feel like softer 330i SWB.
• The large touchscreen though a treat to watch is cumbersome to use.

Waiting for the M340i test drive. Everyone s saying YOLO.

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