The ban on the new registrations and sale of above 2000cc diesel car by Supreme Court in Delhi-NCR region has affected many carmakers and put a big question mark on the future of diesel cars in the country. Quite a few manufacturers are trying an alternate of it in the form of low spec diesel or petrol mill like Mahindra launched 1.99cc diesel engines for XUV500 and Scorpio. Now, BMW has imported large fleet of petrol powered 3-series and 5-series in India.
Last year, BMW has removed all the petrol variants from 3-series and 5-series from the lineup which got the criticism of enthusiasts and also negatively affected the sales volume of the company. Now reacting against the prolonged ban by Apex court and to bring back some life to comparatively drowsy numbers BMW has launched 3-series with petrol engine in India and will soon launch the 5-series in petrol as well.
BMW is offering new petrol variants of the 3-series 320i in two versions- prestige and luxury. The former comes loaded with 6.5 inch screen with iDrive system and BMW apps, electrically adjustable front seats, dual zone climate control, 16 inch alloy wheels, ambient lighting, four drive modes, heated ORVMs with memory function, LED headlamps etc.
The Luxury Line variant is packed with a sliding sunroof, advanced audio system with USB, Aux-in and SD card, Sport+ drive mode, bigger 17 inch alloy wheels and 8.8 inch touchscreen display with navigation and handwriting recognition.
Under the hood of prestige and luxury trim is the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Twin Power Turbo petrol engine which is good for 181.5bhp of power and 270Nm of torque, paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Luxury Line gets paddle shifters along with an automatic transmission. On the other 5-series will be available only in luxury line variant which is powered by 1998cc petrol engine that develops 181bhp@5000rpm of max power and 270Nm of peak torque between 1350-4600rpm, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.
The sedan will be brought to the country via CBU route and here is list of the prices (ex-showroom Delhi):
BMW 3-series:-
BMW 320i Prestige: Rs. 36.90 lakh
BMW 320i Luxury: Rs. 42.90 lakh
