BMW has launched a 330i variant of the 3 Series in India at Rs 42.40 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The 330i M Sport Edition variant is available with a price tag of Rs 44.9 lakh. It goes up against the Jaguar XE Prestige as a powerful petrol saloon in the premium sedan segment in India.
Under the hood is a twin turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 248bhp of power at 5,200rpm and 350Nm torque between 1,450-4,800rpm. The power is channelled to rear wheels via an eight-speed Steptronic Sport automatic transmission. BMW claims a 0-100kmph time of 5.8 seconds. Just like in the case of the 328i, the 330i also gets four driving modes – comfort, eco pro, sport and sport plus.
The 330i comes in a Sport Line trim and gets an M Sport Edition as well. The features list of the 330i is corresponding to the 320d guise. The M Sport Package gets a black kidney grille with a high-gloss finish, an M-logo on fenders with M Sport leather steering wheel and the entry sill gets BMW badging while the car keys get an M insignia as well. The 8.8-inch iDrive touch screen comes with handwriting recognition, an integrated memory of 20GB for navigation and gets 3D maps as standard. The M Sport Edition gets full-colour Heads-Up display as well. The 205W, nine speakers system with Bluetooth audio streaming, hands-free and USB connectivity Hi-Fi loudspeaker system also comes as a standard.
The Sport Line can be had in three body colour options - Alpine white, Sapphire black and Mediterranean blue, while the M Sport misses on the Mediterranean blue. The safety features include a plethora of airbags, ABS with brake assist, cornering brake control (CBC), dynamic stability control (DSC) including dynamic traction control (DTC), immobiliser, ISOFIX, and tyre pressure indicator.
The 330i variant was previously available only with the 3 Series GT body style. With lesser weight to lug around compared to the GT body style, the 330i 3 Series ought to be a fun car to drive, in keeping with BMW’s ‘ultimate driving machine’ characteristics. The 330i joins the 320i in the 3 Series portfolio in India, which is now available with two petrol and four diesel variants.
