Economical, yet sumptuous
330e hybrid gets excellent mileage while retaining that classic BMW driving feel
The electrification of BMW continues with the 330e plug-in hybrid. It delivers reduced-emission driving without giving up on the quest to remain a true sports sedan. If you have driven a 3 Series of any stripe, you have driven this car, with one key exception: the powertrain.
This means the key attributes remain very much in place. The chassis is balanced, and this in spite of the added mass (107 kilograms when compared to the 340i). The suspension does a stellar job at balancing ride comfort with handling — pushed hard, the 330e likes to hang its tail out because it has rear drive, but the transition is benign and easily controlled, even in a snow-covered parking lot. Part of the reason is the weight distribution. As the rear-mounted main lithium-ion battery ups the rear bias to 51.4 per cent, the 330e has neutral driving characteristics.
The 330e’s steering is light and precise, and it holds the driver’s desired line very nicely. Throw in the P225/50R17 rubber and it tracks through a corner with an enjoyable tenacity. That is something one cannot say about most hybrids. Even the regenerative braking is right on the money. It harvests maximum energy without making the brake pedal feel mushy underfoot.
The big difference between the 330e and its siblings is found in the powertrain. The combination uses a 2.0-litre turbocharged fourcylinder gasoline engine with 180 horsepower and 215 pound-feet of torque teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission, with an 87-hp electric motor sandwiched between the two. The combination delivers a net system output of 248 hp and 310 lb.-ft. of torque.
The unspoken plus is the early arrival of peak torque because the electric motor kicks in from Rev 1, with the engine hitting full stride at 1,350 r.p.m. The result is a speedy run to 100 kilometres an hour of 6.2 seconds, which is 1.4 seconds faster than the base 320i and just a second slower than the 320-hp 340i. That may seem like a lot of time, but the economy more than compensates: the 330e has an official city fuel economy rating of 8.5 L per 100 km, compared to the 340i’s 12.5 rating. However, the hybrid has an even larger upside, as the test proved.
One morning, I left with my driveway with 21 km showing as the electric-only driving range. I managed to amass 26.7 km of electric-only city driving thanks to the addition of regenerative braking. As a result, the actual gasoline consumption for the city distance driven was not 8.5 L per 100 km, but a big fat 0.0.
On the highway portion of the test, the 330e was quite happy purring along at 110 km/h using just electrons when the loads were low. The result, after a 128.8-km highway run, was a test average of 6.4 L/100 km, 0.4 better than the posted highway rating.
A big part of the extended
electric-only range was the ability to rely on regenerative braking rather than using the regular brakes. It is not a true one-pedal driving experience like the BMW i3, but it’s effective nonetheless. The energy captured through regenerative braking accounted for the 5.7 kilometres of free driving. In the end, the combined driving distance of 155.5 km had consumed 6.4 L per 100 km. By way of reference, the official combined rating
of 7.8 L/100 km suggests the 330e should have consumed 12.1 L/100 km over that distance!
The test also proved the 330e switches between electric, gas and gas-electric in a seamless manner. It takes a sensitive butt to pick up on the transition, and that cannot be said of many of its peers.
As for the rest of it, the cabin is pretty much the same as other 3 Series models: nice materials, very comfortable front seats and enough rear seat room to accommodate a pair of six-footers. The only real differences are found in the instrumentation and cargo capacity. The instrumentation shows what the hybrid system is doing, whether using battery power or harvesting energy. The trunk differs in that the cargo capacity drops from 480 litres to 370 because the trunk floor sits higher with the battery beneath it. The 330e still benefits from split folding rear seats and a flat floor with them down.
The BMW 330e plug-in hybrid works very nicely, and quite possibly ranks as one of the best of its breed. The larger battery translated into much better overall economy, and for less money when charged using off-peak electricity rates. The beauty is it manages stellar fuel efficiency without giving up on being a driver’s car.