Hi All - We are currently on vacation in Malaysia where I rented a BMW G20 330I for 3 days and drove it all over the country. Wanted to summarise my findings in case it helps someone in their buying and ownership decision. I do follow some of the Malaysian car bloggers such as Bobby Ang and others and some of the observations I had were really interesting and honestly some not so good things about this new gen of the 3 series.
First some background: We moved back to India a few years ago after a pretty long stay in the US where over the years the cars I have owned include a Subaru Forester, Honda CRV, Acura TSX, Acura MDX, E90 3 series, MB E class E400. Have also rented a few other luxury cars over the years including the F30 328i and other Audis. I have a habit of trying to rent cars that I would like to own at some point as a way of validating online reviews over a several day time period.
Since moving to India, currently live in Bangalore and I now have a Skoda Superb and Jeep Compass both of which I purchased after reading through valuable posts from experts like GTO and others.
What I got: Pre-facelift G20 330i non-xdrive in white with a lot of m-sport garnishes including a wrap on the key fob. Picked it up in KL and drive down to Johor Bahru, drove around there for 2 days and then back to KL, to Genting Highlands and back. Over the course of 3 days, got to experience it on highways, local roads, extensively inside metro KL and JB. Malaysia by the way has excellent road infrastructure and you can really drive fast.
Pros:
1. Engine, transmission and chasis: They are simply amazing. The car I would say has explosive power and sent to the rear wheels instantly. The body has very little flex and it is a lot of fun just mashing the accelerator pedal and getting the push out of the corner feel.
2. Compact size: Feels very manageable in tight corners and parking situations although some underground garages can be tricky.
3. Suspension: This is both a pro and con. On the positive side, don't know how to describe it but it feels more sophisticated over bumps then say my Skoda Superb. Will cover it more in the cons below.
4. Steering: This one was honestly a revelation for me. The steering really feels good while cornering and gives you a lot of confidence. However the big surprise for me was out on the open highway. More on this below.
Cons:
1. Steering: Can't believe I have this in the cons but for the first time I have felt the steering on a 3 series to be weird. It does not track straight and has a deadzone in the center with a potential half and inch movement side to side. I am able to wiggle it while on the highway and this is something I have hated on my prior cars including the Acura TSX that had that problem. Your hands get tired and does not feel good.
2. Suspension: It feels hard over mildly rough surfaces even in Malaysia where the roads are really good. Can't imagine feeling good over our broken Bangalore roads at all. Malaysia has these yellow lines to slow you down instead of speed breakers and I could feel every single one of these lines.
3. Road Noise: This one was also a surprise. The 330i gets pretty loud on highways with a lot of wind noise and general ambient noise coming through the cabin. Wish there was a little more isolation offered.
4. Boot space: Feels a little cramped, more so since I own a Superb that is simply above all else. We had a hard time fitting all our luggage and I can imagine road trips will be a little tight in this.
5. Seats: Honestly they are really bad. Too hard with a atrociously bad lumbar support mechanism and goes along with the side bolsters. I was never comfortable and my wife started complaining just after 30 mins. Both my Jeep and Skoda have far better seats with more support.
6. Audio system: This one did not have the harmon kardon unit. The base version included was simply trash with absolutely no base. Honestly can't believe they include this as their base offering.
There were other minor niggles which I can probably ignore such as one of the panels below the steering wheel kept falling down and the doors lock-unlock was inconsistent probably due to a bad battery.
All in all, I honestly am a little confused. The 330i is definitely a very entertaining machine. But I am torn on it being a holistic ownership machine especially if you have a family and have road trips in mind. The other thing is living in Bangalore, you hardly get an opportunity to experience its USP which is taking corners at speed unless you take it outside the city on the highway. But some of the surprises I had on the steering and seat comfort left me really wanted. I mean cmon, the 3 series is supposed to be the epitome of steering feel. The E400 I owned in the US honestly as well as the Skoda and Jeep I have now all have more natural feeling steering but in the corners is where BMW gets better.
Hope this all made sense. I am still thinking what a future luxury car purchase for me in India should be. Maybe the new X1 with all its front wheel drive limitations and power deficiencies is a better bet for inside Banaglore.
