Car review: Entry-level sedan costs less, but stays true to BMW DNA

 

How do you get people to buy your car when excise duties and high pricing render the retail cost much higher than what it would otherwise sell for? One way is to launch entry-level cars that start at the bottom of the price scale, and hope customers will keep trading up. That's something that BMW has tinkered with in the past as well.

In 2010, it launched its Corporate Edition 3 Series for some Rs 24 lakh, which was around Rs 10 lakh cheaper than the regular 3 Series. But the catch was that it came without bells and whistles and led some to question whether the car-maker had gone too far with the decontenting blade. After all, at the time a customer could have easily opted for cars such as the Skoda Superb, which were larger, roomier, had more features and were priced similarly.

But the Bavarian car-maker was betting on the allure of its badge. The gambit worked and the cars sold out. They were later discontinued. Read More