Call it the Ultimate Driving Machine in the world, or as AutoCar calls it as the World’s popular compact car, and whatever adjectives you may like to attach to it, its finally here.

Yes, the BMW 3 Series, is now finally on sale in India. The car comes with three engine options, and a whole lot of features, even on the base variant. Sheer driving experience just awaits you at a price of 28.31 lakhs (Ex-Showroom Mumbai) for the 320i (petrol), the other options are the 325i petrol and the 320d diesel.

The car on sale in India shall be manufactured from BMW’s Chennai plant, and that’s one of the main reasons why it has been priced competitively.

Of the many features that the car comes along with are the RUN – FLAT TYRES, or RFTs. They are special tyres, who have the ability to be driven after loss of air pressure in the tyre. The tyres have either a reinforced sidewall with a steel braided ring, which acts as a support when the tyre is short of air or a polyurethane ring inside which acts as a support. Cost and reparability are the only disadvantages.

This month’s (April) AutoCar issue carries a full Road Test report of the 320i, and its from where I have learnt about the RFTs. You can grab an issue, to read in detail.

The car comes as a traditional competitor to Merc’s C class. From the report I have learnt that the Merc is more powerful, but losses on all other counts. The New Mercedes C Class hasn’t yet been on sale in India, and I hope it would be a better competitor to this BMW.

Coming to the car’s looks, I do agree with AutoCar that it isn’t as radical as the 5 or 7 series BMWs, but believe me I’m very much impressed by the design of the car. Sturdy, rigid, and compact is how I would like to describe it. I simply like the flow lines, and especially the rear has been designed. Note that the front headlights extend to the wheel arches, an interesting observation made in the AutoCar report.

The car comes with six speed automatic transmission, and there is no manual option. The suspension has been raised so as to suit Indian roads, but AutoCar report suggest to be careful on speed breakers, as the ground clearance of 161mm (Info Courtesy AutoCar India, April 07 issue), which is quite low. The RFTs are said to cause a stiffer ride, and since they can support you without air, BMW, does not even have the option of a spare tyre.

My Verdict on this ‘Made in India’ German Car, Well, one thing for sure it’s going to redefine the way, the handling of cars, is designed. This car does definitely leverage the standards in Indian car industry, and also more importantly the manufacturing industry, with BMW’s state of the art manufacturing unit at Chennai.

Tired of seeing the Japanese fights (Honda & Toyota), we now have traditional German rivals out here. Bring in your new C class, Merc! Let’s have a competition!!