The M340i offers a mind-blowingly superlative driving experience on curves. It holds on to the tarmac like a leech
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It’s been 14 days since I got my hands on this incredible machine, and I’m absolutely happy I made this plunge.
We did a Republic Day trip to Lonavala and back. It seemed everyone was going to Pune that weekend and the Expressway was packed. The Ghat section took us almost 1 hour to cross – not really how one would want to experience a car like this.
Thankfully, there were stretches where I could push it into Sports mode and open up the throttle.
The amount of power this car has is insane. It easily propels you to high 3 digits and still keeps asking you for more.
One thing I found extremely special though, was the stability around curves.
The M340i offers a mind-blowingly superlative driving experience on curves. It holds on to the tarmac like a leech – grip levels my Octavia could only dream of.
And because it’s XDrive, you can almost never do something stupid; the car will bail you out.
The trip did help me realize it was not that the M340i had a bad ride, it was that Mumbai had such pathetic roads.
Over the smooth tarmac of Lonavala, the M340i felt like it was just floating.
We went to Fazlani Nature’s Nest in Takwe, around 25 km away from Pune. The resort is a beautiful 65-acre lakefront property with lots of greenery and plenty of space to just chill and take a break.
It offers plenty of activities for kids such as horse riding, a bird park (with geese, ducks, turkeys, peacocks etc.), a rabbit park, pottery classes, glass painting etc.
We left the resort on the 28th and were back in bustling Mumbai in no time.
By the time we were back in Mumbai, I had covered 563 beautiful kilometres in the car.
Happy to report that there hasn’t been a single instance of the body scraping bumpers, despite driving on that infamous Andheri – Ghatkopar link road with its 30-speed breakers in 6km.
While most people take their cars straight from the showroom to a temple or to get a Puja done, my priorities were a bit different.
I wanted to get my car protected before anything else.
While initially inclined to do just Ceramic coating, like all my previous cars, tons of research prompted me to shell out a bit more and go for a full-body PPF.
The options were Kavaca Self-healing PPF done at Ceramic Pro, Vasai or between STEK Dynoshield and Avery Dennison Supreme PPF Extreme done at Optimum Detailerz, Chembur.
I had driven up to Vasai in December and met with Pratik from Ceramic Pro Vasai, who was very knowledgeable about the trade and his product. Having done Ceramic coating for my Octavia from Ceramic Pro, Kochi, their brand was a known one and a safe option.
However, Optimum Detailerz and Amol ji were highly recommended by TeamBHP and after meeting him, seeing his facility, and speaking to him, I came away impressed with his passion for the job and deep understanding of the craft.
Decided to go with Avery Dennison Supreme PPF Extreme and Optimum Detailerz, primarily owing to the confidence Amolji and his facility inspired.
Right after we came back from Lonavala, the M340i was in at Amolji’s Optimum Detailerz for a 10-year PPF installation. However, the job would take quite a bit of time and I’d get the M340i back only on Feb 8, a full 11 days later.
Amolji was kind enough to keep sending me photos and updating me on the progress of the job.
Some pics of the car washing and PPF application.
On my part, I am now like a kid who got his favourite toy, only to be taken back and promised on a later date – I’m counting down the days to Feb 8!
Keyword: My BMW 340i LCI gets a full PPF installation after a road trip