Saar: Available with petrol and diesel engines, the limited run variant hosts a bunch of cosmetic and feature enhancements

Ever thought the 3 Series was a bit too glittery for your liking and wished its variant lineup had something with a good balance between the Prestige and the Luxury trims? Good news! BMW India has launched a new, limited-run, Shadow Edition of its entry-level sedan and it somewhat covers both the issues highlighted in the first sentence. It is priced at Rs 41.40 lakh for the 320d Sport and Rs 47.30 lakh for 330i M Sport.

To make the sedan complement its name christening, it has some dark elements in its recipe. No, don’t be afraid. BMW hasn’t installed a state-of-the-art voodoo system in there somewhere. Instead, the German automaker has given its head- and tail-lamp enclosures smoked effect. Crikey! Then there is the kidney grille which, normally shines enough to turn anyone blind in broad daylight, has been given a high-gloss black finish. To top it off, the exhaust tips have been finished in black chrome. The wheels have grown an inch in size and are 18-inchers with this limited edition 3 Series.

Inside the cabin, there is the two-tone, red and black, seat upholstery, a 10.5-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8.7-inch infotainment display which supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other goodies include a reverse camera, parking sensors and a 205-watt, 9-speaker, sound system.

Mechanically, the Shadow Edition is untouched. So if you choose the diesel, you will get 190PS/400Nm at the disposal of your right foot. But, if you opt for the peppy petrol variant, you can complete 0-100kmph in just 5.8 seconds because the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol pumps out 252PS/350Nm. Both engines come mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and power is sent to the rear wheels only.

This, we believe, is a good move from BMW. Why not lure the customers to buy a slightly modified 3 Series, which is essentially the same underneath, and ask more money for it! The German automaker is expected to reveal the next-generation of the 3 Series later this year and, hopefully, won’t waste much time in launching it in India.