BMW 320d - 'B'ehold the 'M'otoring 'W'onder

Ogre to Angel - "You are here, not to merely survive. You are here, to live. Live it to the max. " There are two persons inside everyone. One - a blue blooded monster and the other, a level-headed, halo-endowed cherub. The 'monster me' kicked butt of 'angel me'. And boy am I pleased with that!

There are adjectives. There are superlatives. And then there are words which do not exist but can only be described by emotions and voices of various kinds. I have ran out of words to describe the ten-year-old-filled-with-excitement kind of feeling that I had when driving this machine. And what a machine this is - the BMW 320d. The adrenaline rush inside can still be felt when I think of this car. I was shouting inside the cabin with joy, with exhileration.

I really did feel like a ten year old. Its that time in your life when you do not bother about a Yana Gupta passing by but ogle at some of the cars zooming past. And the ogle gets complimented by a salivating mouth if that car reads BMW on its bonnet. Days spent with the 320d were reminiscent of my childhood years. I was instantly smitten by the looks of this car. Oozing individuality, the BMW helps you make an impact where-ever you go in it. It makes you stand apart. Even in a fast-moving city like Mumbai, where nobody has time for anything, the BMW 320d turned more heads than I had anticipated. It felt good. Damn good.

First look and a person's eye gets hooked, such is the aesthetic quotient of the BMW 320d. That characteristic kidney grille dominates the front end of the car which is helped by the double round headlamps to make it appear very in-yer-face. One Mr Chris Bangle adopted the bold and controversial design philosophy for which a lot of criticisms were raised. Mr Bangle's contribution to the design world? Terms like 'flame surfacing' and 'opposing curves'. Then came along a bloke by the name of Adrian van Hooydonk. He took the stylus and did some critical changes to the original design. What resulted were lines and curves of a gorgeous looking machine which shouts "I AM MEAN" from all sides.

I wanted to absorb everything about her, so I parked the car, climbed out and walked around it. Noticed every curve, every line. Walked around it again. Then moved away from the car. Then I observed. The shape of the car is very coupe-like, which is a darn good thing! It is characterized by the long bonnet and the C pillar which merges with the small-looking boot. As is typical of BMWs, the short overhangs do their bit to add to the coupe-like styling. The shoulder-line and waist-line are pronounced and make the car look elegant and lustrous