{"id":49706,"date":"2023-10-06T07:50:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T07:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highwaynewspro.com\/?p=49706"},"modified":"2023-10-06T07:50:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T07:50:04","slug":"bought-a-new-bmw-x3-30i-replaced-it-with-an-x3-m40i-16-months-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highwaynewspro.com\/news-features\/bought-a-new-bmw-x3-30i-replaced-it-with-an-x3-m40i-16-months-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Bought a new BMW X3 30i: Replaced it with an X3 M40i 16 months later"},"content":{"rendered":"
BHPian athray9<\/strong> recently shared this with other enthusiasts.<\/p>\n I had moved to United States in 2020 January from Chennai to pursue my Masters. Being a student, I couldn\u2019t afford to get my own car. I completed my masters in 2021 December, successfully graduated and ended up getting a dream job. So I could finally afford my own car.<\/p>\n Being an enthusiast, I was clear that I needed a fun to drive car. I wanted to go the used car route and get a fun to drive manual car but it was that time during semi conductor shortage where the used car prices were so high that it made no sense to get one. So I decided to go the new car route.<\/p>\n Few things I realized after living in the USA for two years were:<\/p>\n Based on these, I decided to change my requirements accordingly.<\/p>\n VW Tiguan:<\/p>\n Test drove the car with 2.0 TSI, 190 bhp and 320 Nm of torque, I liked exterior with the R-Line package looked sporty and the facelift interiors also looked good with quality materials. I was not the biggest fan of the new AC controls but that was not the deal breaker. The biggest deal breaker was the engine. The car somehow felt underpowered for US roads, which made it a deal breaker.<\/p>\n Ford Escape:<\/p>\n Test Drove the 2.0 Eco Boost with 250 bhp and 380 Nm of torque, the exterior of the car didn\u2019t look sporty at all, the interior of the car were practical, but they badly needed an upgrade. The top of the line model came with upgraded B&O speakers. I test drove the car felt it powerful enough. All of the power and torque were felt, but the gearbox was slow to react. Sport mode was just too sharp and there was this weird delay when with the throttle which again became a deal breaker.<\/p>\n BMW 330i:<\/p>\n My mom has a 320d G20 in India, and I drove it for an entire month in India just before test driving the 330i in USA, so I kind of knew what to expect. The white 330i MSport that I test drove had all equipment that I wanted. It was my first time driving the 2.0 I4 engine from BMW which had 255bhp and 400 Nm of torque. It felt plenty powerful with a nice exhaust note pumped through the speakers. Now some people may not agree with this but the exhaust note pumped inside the cabin through the speaker felt really good and does not feel fake to me. One difference I noted was the steering of the 330i Sport was much heavier than my mom\u2019s 320d. The car had 19 inch wheels and was lower to the ground compared to Indian model which made the handling feel even better than the already great handling 320d. I was sold on this particular car and started negotiating with the dealer and the final number was given to me.<\/p>\n BMW M340i:<\/p>\n I did not test drive this car but it did not fit my budget, so I decided against it.<\/p>\n BMW X3 30i:<\/p>\n I am big fan of the way the LCI looks, especially from the back. So I was sold on the looks already. I loved the 12 inch screen which had one of the best resolutions I had seen in a car. It had the same engine as the 330i but had lesser power and torque at 248 bhp and 350 Nm torque. After test driving the car, I felt the difference in power and torque compared to the 330i due to extra weight and height, but still it felt powerful enough. The biggest surprise was the handling of the X3, it felt like it can about 75% of 330i handling with 50% more body roll, but also being 50% more comfortable. I was sold on this car as well. I sat down with the dealer and he gave me the final number.<\/p>\n BMW X3M40i:<\/p>\n The dealer offered me a test drive in the X3 M40i 2021 model. This is my first time driving a 6-cylinder. The car came with 358 bhp and 500 Nm of torque. I was blown away by the amount of power it had and the kind of handling it offered for a car of that height. But I decided not to go ahead with it since it was about $14K more. (BIGGEST REGRET).<\/p>\n Alfa Romeo Stelio:<\/p>\n I was really temped to get this car but spending all my hard earned money on a car for which I\u2019ve heard horror stories did not encourage me to even visit the showroom.<\/p>\n This was a very big dilemma. I was confused between two amazing machines and you cannot go wrong with either. There was one other issue with availability due to semi conductor shortage, there were not many cars available. There was on 330i MSport in white color which had most of the basic equipment I needed in the inventory. If I placed a new order, I had to wait for 4 months and there was no new incoming 330i for the next 3 months. There was a Phytonic Blue X3 30i Sport with similar level equipment in transit.<\/p>\n So the options were a 2022 BMW 330i xDrive with MSport kit in Alpine White or a 2022 X3 30i Msport xDrive with MSport kit in Phytonic Blue. They both differed by $3600.<\/p>\n What I liked in 330i during the time of purchase:<\/p>\n What I liked in X3 30i during the time of purchase:<\/p>\n After thinking a lot and discussing at home back in India, I fixed my mind on the X3 30i but I wanted to do one last test drive of the car before booking it. I wanted to be sure that the car handled well since I am someone who takes corners hard. I drove the car around a corner and I got more reassurance that I doing the right thing since the car just handled so well. I decided to go ahead with the X3 30i xDrive with the MSport Kit in Phytonic Blue color as the first car that I am going to purchase with my own money !!!<\/p>\n The car was supposed to arrive on March 25th, but mom had informed me that the auspicious day was March 30th which was decided as the delivery day. On March 25th morning, I get a call from the dealer that my car had arrived. Unable to control my excitement, I went to check the car out on the same day evening. The dealership was 1 hour away from my house. I reached the dealership and spotted the car as soon as I entered. I was fortunate enough to unwrap the car completely. The car looked amazing with MSport package. The ODO had 5 miles in it.<\/p>\n The most special day had come. It was a working day, mom had informed me to take delivery between 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM. I arrived to the dealership at 3:30 PM, finished all of my paper work and the car was placed in the delivery bay completely detailed. I did PDI looking at Team-BHP checklist. \u2028\u2028I took delivery of the car at on March 30th 5:22PM. Car had 7 miles on the ODO. It was one of the most exciting days ever. I was driving the car carefully from the showroom to the temple which was 90 miles away and took me two hours because it was peak hour and traffic was insane until I reached the inside roads near the temple road. Few things I instantly enjoyed during my drive were the good low end torque, amazing insulation, slightly stiff ride quality, great to hold MSport steering and the amazing resolution on the 12 inch screen. I put 140 miles (225 kms) just in one day.<\/p>\n Continue reading on BHPian athray9’s BMW X3 for BHPian comments, insights and more information.<\/p>\nIntroduction:<\/h2>\n
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Requirements:<\/h2>\n
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The hunt began:<\/h2>\n
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Dilemma:<\/h2>\n
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First time seeing my car:<\/h2>\n
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Delivery Day::<\/h2>\n
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