BMW India has silently rejigged the variant line-up of the 3 Series and introduced an entry-level Sport variant with a petrol powertrain that is priced at Rs 41.70 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The base trim was earlier available with only the 2.0-litre diesel mill - this combination has now been discontinued. Moreover, in line with BMW’s earlier announcement, prices for the rest of the range have been bumped up by Rs 60,000 for the 2020 model year. The new 330i Sport trim is yet to reach dealerships.
| BMW 3 Series prices (ex-showroom, India) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Variants | 2020 prices | 2019 prices |
| 330i Sport | Rs 41.70 lakh | - |
| 330i M Sport | Rs 48.50 lakh | Rs 47.90 lakh |
| 320d Sport | - | Rs 41.40 lakh |
| 320d Luxury Line | Rs 47.50 lakh | Rs 46.90 lakh |
The German automaker launched the seventh-gen 3 Series (codenamed G20) in the Indian market last year. The luxury sedan can be had with a 258hp, 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (330i) or a 190hp, 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel mill (320d). Both come mated to an 8-speed torque converter automatic transmission sending power to the rear wheels.
The base Sport variant comes with safety kit including six airbags, ABS, ESC, traction control, Isofix child seat anchors and a tyre pressure monitoring system. On the front of convenience features, it covers the basics with launch control, cruise control, automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, 3-zone climate control, powered front seats, paddleshifters, sunroof and an 8.8-inch touchscreen.
However, with a price tag that is Rs 6.80 lakh lower than the 330i M Sport, it does miss out on goodies like ambient lighting, sport seats at the front, Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charging, digital instrument cluster, a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen and parking assistant. This variant also gets an altered design for the bumpers and alloy wheels which are a size smaller at 17 inches.
In the Indian market, the 3 Series dukes it out with the Mercedes-Benz C-class, Audi A4, Jaguar XE and the upcoming new Volvo S60.
Last month, BMW had also expanded the 5 Series range with the introduction of the base 530i Sport trim.
Also see:
2019 BMW 330i review, test drive
2019 BMW 3 Series India review, test drive