All new BMW 3 Series launched @ INR 28,90,000

The highly publicized F30 3 Series was formally introduced to the Indian market today. While a few units of the F 30 3 series have been seen plying on Indian roads since quite some time, the prices were made public only today. 

Dr. Andreas Schaaf, President, BMW Group India said, “The all-new BMW 3 Series is a vehicle that has an unbeatable profile and is born from pioneering technology, a beautiful design and a lot of passion. In addition to the powerful performance and increased efficiency, the all-new BMW 3 Series offers unparalleled comfort and space. Since its inception, the BMW 3 Series has been the undisputable leader in its segment and there is no doubt that the sixth-generation of the BMW 3 Series will surpass the magnificent success that its predecessors received. The new BMW 3 Series will establish a new benchmark in the Indian luxury car segment and contribute to BMW’s winning streak in India.”

The 3’er, which is a bread and butter model of BMW India, comes to us via CKD route and is assembled at the manufacturer’s Chennai facility. The new 3, which is a generation newer to the outgoing model, is wider by 37 mm on front and by 47mm at rear, is longer by 93mm and the wheelbase has grown by 50mm. It may be noted that a wide range of BMW 3 series buyers in India hand over the ultimate driving machine to their chauffeur and confine themselves to rear seats. This is where the new 3 will really score as it offers 18 mm of more legroom and 15 mm of additional knee room along with 8 mm of extra headroom for the rear passengers. The new car is also lighter by 40kg.

The cockpit is angled towards the driver by seven degrees and puts all the important controls within easy reach to provide a sense of personal control and comfort. Seats in the all-new BMW 3 Series are electrically adjustable on both the driver and front seat passenger sides. The BMW iDrive with 6.5 inch high-resolution display and BMW Radio Professional are featured as standard in the all-new 3’er. BMW Navigation Professional (integrated Global Positioning System – GPS), with an 8.8-inch high-resolution display and rear-view camera, debuts in the new BMW 320d Luxury Plus and all-new BMW 328i Sport Line. The full-color Head-Up Display in the all-new BMW 328i Sport Line projects driving information directly into the driver’s field of vision without diverting driver’s attention from the road ahead.

The car is available with two engine options. The 320d, the diesel variant, gets 4 trim levels and the petrol engined 328i is available only in Sport line trim. The 328i series of variants get a turbp petrol motor with 245 bhp at disposal. The new 320d series comes with the tried and tested 4 cylinder 180 bhp diesel motor and should contribute to the major portion of sales. Both these engines are mated to an 8 speed auto transmission that was first seen in India on the new 5’er. The 328i accelerates from 0-100 km/hr in 6.1 seconds with a top speed of 250 km/hr and the new 320d accelerates from 0-100 km/hr in 7.6 seconds with a top speed of 235 km/hr. BMW is claiming a Fuel Economy of staggering 18.88 kmpl for 320d and a decent 14.79 for the 328i. 

All models of the all-new BMW 3 Series also feature the new ECO PRO mode as standard, enabling efficient driving and reduced fuel consumption. Using the Driving Experience Control switch, the driver is able to choose between different driving modes to suit the driving conditions. (ECO PRO, Comfort, Sport and Sport+). *Sports+ available only in the new BMW 328i Sport Line.

Pricelist (all India ex-showroom): 

BMW 320d- INR 28,90,000

BMW 320d Sport Line- INR 31,50,000

BMW 320d Luxury Line- INR 31,50,000

BMW 320d Luxury Plus- INR 36,90,000

BMW 328i Sport Line- INR 37,90,000

While there is no Corporate Edition of this car on sale internationally, we are quite sure that BMW India will soon start working on the CEs.

It may be noted that Audi India managed to overtake BMW in Indian market in last month’s car sales and the guys at the BMW, which had been having a dream run of sorts until very recently, must be pretty much worried about the onslaught from their arch rival. It will be interesting to see how well BMW markets the new car to re-gain the sales it has been losing to Audi.