4 months ago
19
Good greeting from Mumbai.
Hope you guys are each well!
I've got rather an absorbing work that sums up the past decennary of driving from my eyes + a 6 period update of surviving with the 330i M Sport.
FUN FACTS + DISCLAIMER -
*Rear Wheel Drive aka 'Push me! Stop pulling!'
*real facts astir the cars I've driven.
*finally giving backmost to the assemblage wherever I've learned truthful much.
I was calved and raised successful a location with a RWD enthusiast Dad, who himself had a RWD car successful his father's store (my granddad's dodge) + his implicit and unconditional emotion for the Contessa (yes the Indian musculus car), and happened to wed a pistillate who grew up successful and astir a Chrysler Imperial (6 cylinder, RWD) and together, the some of them couldn't digest Front Wheel Driving arsenic 'fun'.
Epic Fate
It was destiny that drove maine to get into German introduction level cars (true entry, not FWD badge slaps) with flimsy tweaks to their suspension attraction for epic levels of grip.
I'm talking affordable cars that aren't existent 'M's oregon 'AMG's oregon 'RS's. If Porsches were much affordable, I'd beryllium successful 1 close now.
I'm saying -
*the regular that you instrumentality to work
*the 1 you bent retired and chill in, accelerated nutrient included.
*the 1 you spell connected a day successful oregon sometimes person a day in
*the 1 you sweat successful aft the gym
*the 1 you parkland anyplace and everywhere
*the 1 the valets farts successful aft you extremity him excessively little
*the 1 idiosyncratic whitethorn puke in
*the 1 your canine poops successful due to the fact that he's a dog
*the 1 to transportation each antithetic kinds of belongings. (guitars & amps for me)
I've ever had it backwards, my emotion for RWD cars don't travel from 'drift' and 'power slides' oregon 'traction off', but from a spot of emotion for being connected the bounds of traction, precocious velocity turns, cambering and cornering with easiness (the RWD does that), nary coasting done turns and astir ever having your ft connected the brake arsenic overmuch arsenic it's connected the throttle. I've had my just stock of drift days and sliding astir municipality but thing similar an unthinkable country oregon an Amby Valley tally aboriginal successful the morning.
Cars I've owned oregon driven arsenic a household car
Honda City 1.5 Vtec (a 90's enthusiast's bedewed dream)
This was the fastest car I'd ever driven astatine the time, with an unthinkable consciousness of velocity done Honda's unthinkable Vtec motor astatine precocious revs gave you knowing of shifting done clip arsenic everyone astir you was slower, and your lone contention was the Baleno.
Honda Accord 2.4 iVtec
Slow arsenic hellhole but incredibly poised, chemoreceptor was ace affable for a FWD car and had the champion manual cogwheel container I've ever driven successful a non-premium brand. A genuine luxury car for the terms of today's Kia Sonnet. 6 CD changer, USB & Bluetooth connectivity successful 2006 which is wild.
Honda CRV 2005 iVtec
A elephantine hatchback pretending to beryllium an SUV. 4 instrumentality thrust astatine times, FWD biased 2.4 litre motor with capable powerfulness to interaction 200 successful astir 25 seconds. Incredible suspension, phenomenal thrust tallness & beforehand instrumentality thrust done highly tastefully.
Mercedes ML 250
This is simply a tank. Nuff said. 236 BHP and much torque than you'd ever really need, 4matic works champion successful the rain, and a ton of diesel powerfulness to backmost you up.
E Class 250 Avantgarde (2017)
Outgoing class. Sheer loyalty to serving you powerfulness + comfort. Rear Wheel Drive for each the close reasons - Rigidity, balance, linear powerfulness each the portion keeping comfortableness successful mind. I learned a batch from driving this car.
My archetypal RWD car - Mercedes C people w204 Avantgarde. (c200 CGI)
Used 6 twelvemonth aged for 1/3rd the price, signifier 2 tuned, downpipe, E-tuner.
Blacked retired wheels, chrome delete and badges shaved off.
I was SUPER fortunate to person gotten this, and not the kompressor.
This drove similar a dream, my existent regular and utilized it for adjacent to 1Lakh KM with aggregate trips retired of the metropolis each week. Did Mumbai to Punjab successful nether 3 days, clocked 225 connected Rajasthani (BRO) roads, smoking a Polo successful the particulate erstwhile the car was 13 years aged astatine the time.
Tried aggregate brake sets, EBC yellowish worldly connected banal rotors (Best combo for stopping powerfulness hands down), Purple Brembo drilled and slated rotors with matching pads (weakest stopping power, felt uneasy and unsafe astatine precocious speeds). Constant overgarment correction + detailing has kept the car live for 15 years. 9 of those years with me. Oh and I'd suggest a BMC aerial filter implicit a K&N.
The car for my 30's - BMW 330i M-Sport 2022 (used)
THE JOURNEY FOR THE PERFECT CAR -
After what seemed similar ages of driving an unthinkable Mercedes C class, tuned to my liking and wherever the connected committee machine had spent years learning astir my dense close food, my disconnected kilter braking, & turbo spool pumping, I had an mishap successful this unthinkable car that gave maine the chills. Nothing excessively serious, my instrumentality popped disconnected astatine precocious speed, leaving the car connected the ground, dragging this gorgeous chassis into the ground. I controlled the car to a halt and done a precise adjuvant random Sikh antheral who was convinced God saved me, recovered my instrumentality and tire, called for a flatbed and knew astatine that precise infinitesimal that my assurance successful this car was up. Time for different decennary and the opening of thing new.
I remembered an aged ex's Skoda Octavia RS which looked perfectly unthinkable from the mid 2000's. Black and blacked out, with everything looking menacing. I wanted thing meaner, thing darker erstwhile it came to the headlight design. Something that backed each that up with Rear Wheel Drive powerfulness alternatively of the RS's FWD rally+rollcage acceptable up.
Booked a trial thrust of a C43 AMG done everyone's favourite American Indian (he's a friend, truthful not naming directly) who's astir apt the sweetest feline successful the car scene. He truly helped maine retired with knowing what I wanted and adjacent came to the work store himself to assistance maine retired with checking the car.
I was rather impressed but the car lacked 'pizazz'. Was intelligibly acceptable up conscionable to marque sound by Mercedes and had a full lotta 'oomph' but astir nary plan constituent that made it basal out. Plus a 205 to regenerate the 204? No WAY 
My 204 handled amended + has hydraulic steering, and if engined swapped, would fume the beatified crap retired of the c43 205 since its instrumentality basal and psuedo caller tech was conscionable not up to the mark.
MORE GERMANS? BMW? AUDI?
After a twelvemonth of searching precocious and low, turning each stone successful my way, I came crossed the M340i. This beast. This axenic energy. Took the upwind from my lungs and swept maine disconnected my feet successful a heartbeat.
There's a monolithic 'BUT' with this car. Can I permission it retired with that quad process pipe? Can I not attraction if I'm engaged doing thing and the car is each unsocial successful the rain? Can I slumber astatine nighttime without reasoning astir idiosyncratic keying my car oregon stealing a hubcap? Absolutely not. At adjacent to 90 Lakhs connected roadworthy (regardless of wherever you are + upgrades), there's nary mode successful hellhole I'm spending years of savings connected a car with Xdrive which severely beats your mileage, changeless request of 100 octane substance that eats your pouch from within, and tin ne'er genuinely ever beryllium a sleeper arsenic it's arsenic accelerated arsenic M3's of old. Props to you people who bought it and bask it. It's a gorgeous beast, one that I can't tame conscionable yet.
So I went the Audi route. Tested the S5. Fell successful emotion again, caller lukewarm butterflies successful my tummy until I realised it's a CBU and there's nary utilized ones for merchantability conscionable yet.
A utilized 330i pops up. M-Sport. M Performance Exhaust already installed. Multiple M kits already connected the car including the carpets. Portimao Blue with Mocha acheronian seats. The colour called to maine and I went running.
I called for a agelong trial drive. Requested a precocious nighttime 1 arsenic I wanted to beryllium unsocial successful the car to respire it in, spot if it's the close fit.
Booked the car successful nether an hour, asked for a discount, asked for a implicit detail, overgarment correction, modes of concern & a escaped ceramic coating arsenic I'm truly not into the PPF scene.
It's been 6 months of driving this each azygous day. I bought the car astatine 6k KM and person already passed 13k KM, averaging astir 1k KM a month, not counting the archetypal period of breaking it in.
It revs similar a dream, reaching unholy speeds MORE than susceptible to beryllium astatine the bounds of traction constantly, an unthinkable tourer for 5-6 hr drives done the gorgeous Maharashtrian countryside, with epic mileage adjacent with a dense foot. Brakes are blinding quick, exhaust notes are of epic measurement and thing till day has beaten maine connected a consecutive unfastened roadworthy too the M340i and the M8 (both owned by friends who intelligibly wanted maine to spot that I'm slower).
This is simply a imagination car to me. A regular with applicable usage wrong the city, unthinkable suspension that takes potholes withe ease, fits my full household and sometimes full groups of friends, handles the vigor & cement roads with finesse. And erstwhile you get an unfastened tar twisty oregon straight, it throws maine backmost to games similar Driv3r, Gran Turismo, Burnout Paradise. Places wherever tar was sticky and made up.
This Rear Wheel Drive obsession led maine present implicit a utilized M340i, A6, a utilized CLA 45 AMG, an S5, and a utilized c43 AMG.
PROS -
*iDRIVE 7.0
*INCREDIBLE GRIP (MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4 - NOT RFT)
*50/50 WEIGHT RATIO = BEST HANDLING IN SEGMENT
*REAL BUTTONS, NOT ONLY SCREEN & TOUCH TECH
*ON-BOARD COMPUTER IS INCREDIBLY INTUITIVE
*BEST IN SEGMENT AERO, COASTING IS TOO EASY
VIP PROS -
*258 BHP STOCK, VERY TUNE FRIENDLY
*LIGHT SPEED SHIFTS WITH THE ZF GEARBOX
*INCREDIBLE EXHAUST NOTE WITH M-PERFORMANCE EXHAUST
*TRUE REAR WHEEL DRIVE, monster connected the roadworthy and successful the twisty roads of the Western Ghats. Will way this car adjacent year.
*STEERING FEEL CLOSEST TO HYDRAULIC I'VE EVER DRIVEN IN THIS ELECTRIC STEERING WORLD.
CONS -
*NO VENTILATED SEATS (Mumbai vigor tin zap vigor successful minutes)
*SMALL BOOT BECAUSE OF SPACE SAVER
*TERRIBLE IN THE RAIN
*ONLY REAR CAM - NO 360 CAM
*NO CONNECTED DRIVE IN INDIA, CANNOT UPGRADE OR AFTERMARKET WITHOUT VOIDING WARRANTY
*VOICE COMMAND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND MY ACCENT, ONLY FOR WHITE PEOPLE.
*REVERSE ASSIST IS DANGEROUS AS IT JAMS THE BRAKES IF IT THINKS YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE A COLLISON
*NO KEYLESS ENTRY, KEY FOB DIES OFTEN
*SUNROOF IS TINY AND ALMOST NEVER USED
*NO SHADES INBUILD LIKE MY W204, NO ASHTRAY INBUILT LIKE PREVIOUS BIMMERS
VIP CONS -
*TERRIBLE IN THE RAIN, WILL SLIP EASILY IF YOU ARE NOT USED TO RWD CARS.
That's beauteous overmuch it.
For the daily, it's incredible.
For the way and taking connected bigger engines similar the V6 oregon an Inline 6, not happening.
Watch retired successful the rainfall if you're ever driving a 330i successful highest Mumbai Monsoon. This car is finesse, BMW astatine its finest. They've rewritten their wrongs and built a car that bangs, pops & cracks connected each level of enjoyment. It's axenic joyousness and I'm arrogant to ain it. With each its bells and whistles conscionable a fewer meters mode from maine arsenic I constitute this, I can't convey you capable for your clip successful speechmaking this.
Cheers and person a bully one! 
-K
