IAB exclusive! 2009 BMW 3 Series for India
The present BMW 3 series is a good looking car. Somehow BMW thought it needed a mid life facelift. WOW they have created a stunning facelift. BMW India is expected to bring in the facelifted 3 series sometime soon(read early 2009). The 3 series is the present segment leader but has fallen below the all new Audi A4. The facelift will surely increase its appeal and is expected to turn more heads too. All in all the new 3 series is definitely up there among the best luxury cars available. Engines will be the usual mix of petrol and diesel but a range topping 330i with 271bhp is expected to compete with the A4 3.2 FSI Quattro and 325d is expected. What is most expected though, is the entry level 318d which is sure to give others a run for their money.
IndianAutosBlog is the first to preview the new 3 series for India, and the comparison shots are coming up. In my opinion, BMW has improved the styling several fold and the new one is more aggressive, more sharp and makes the non-facelifted (but rather good looking) version look drab next to it !!
For the past few weeks, BMW North America has been conducting an internal training with all the BMW dealerships in the country. The BMW Client Advisors were invited to the training that focused on the upcoming 2009 BMW 3 Series Facelift, the BMW 335d. Indian dealerships will also be trained in similar fashion to keep them up to date with the latest happenings.
Courtesy of Jim Wozniac a Client Advisor at New Motors Automall and BMW BLOG, we are able to show you the full presentation given by the BMW North America folks. It’s about 71 pages long, but it’s an interesting read with tons of photos.
Here are some key points:
- Interior 3 Series improved refinement
- Standard Active Headrests
- Windows controls moved 20 mm towards the driver
- New iDrive
- Three new exterior colors: Space Gray, Blue Water, Tasman Green
- New Fine Line Aluminum replaces current trim
- Light Burl Walnut Wood replaces Light Poplar Wood
- Two new leather choices: Oyster Dakota and Saddle Brown
- Chestnut Brown Dakota leather replaces Terracotta Leather
- Finally, the 3 Series will be getting front and read PDC sensors
- Sport Package getting new wheel options and High Gloss Shadowline
- Cold Weather package will include heated steering wheel
- BMW 335d and coming early 2009
- Diesel Exhaust Fluid(DEF) service intervals: 11, 000 miles for the X5 and 13,000 miles for the 335d
- When DEF indicator shows zero miles, the car will not start anymore
- Better fuel economy for the 335d: 10kpl City and 12kpl Hwy
- iDrive: 80GB Hard Drive with 12GB reserved for music
- New iDrive started off with 4 versions and based on the customer testing, the iDrive 2.0 was chosen
There are many other interesting information and the presentation is very well laid out, so you should be able to scan through it quickly.
Source - BMW Blog