More buzz for your buck
What happens when you add electricity to an excellent RWD sedan? In the case of the BMW 330e you get more power, minuscule fuel usage, and the potential for emission-free urban commuting.
Yes, really.
So what does that new ‘‘e’’ bring to the 330i?
The change in vowel denotes the addition of a plug-in electric system to the BMW’s excellent 2.0-litre turbo petrol, four-cylinder engine.
And that’s it, because the 330i and 330e are identically equipped in every other way. There is, however, more power to play with.
While the 2.0-litre produces a healthy 190kW and 400Nm on its own in the 330i, it is tuned down to 135kW in the 330e. But don’t fear because the hybrid system bumps the total output back up to an even healthier 218kW and 420Nm – while adding around 100kg – making for a car that is every bit as swift and satisfying as the petrol-only version.
While the PHEV drivetrain doesn’t hurt the 330’s performance, it does bring some massively impressive reductions in consumption and emissions. Where the 330i slurps fuel at a still-impressive 6.4L/100km and pumps out 147g of CO2 per kilometre, the 330e slashes this to just 2.2L/100km and 51g.
Providing you use it correctly it will also see you taking advantage of that potential for emission-free commuting.
Use it correctly? Potential for emission-free commuting? Does that mean you have to put in an effort?
Yes, but it’s not a big one. Yet people not wanting to change their habits is, however, probably one of the biggest barriers plug-in hybrids face.
Like all PHEVs the 330e works best when you plug it in overnight at home. That way you wake each day with a fresh 60km or so of electric-only range to use during your day.
During my week with the 330e, on a normal pre-lockdown work day I would drive to the office, maybe pop out somewhere in it for lunch or a meeting, make a detour to the supermarket on the way home (remember when we could do all of those things?), and still have enough electric range to pop out later to grab takeaways when I decided that nothing I bought at the supermarket was really what I felt like for dinner.
Unlike some PHEVs, the 330e provides you with a proper electriconly mode as well, meaning that no matter how hard you slam the throttle to the floor, it will only use battery power when in EV mode, unlike others where the petrol motor kicks in to help things along.
Electric-only mode doesn’t have the shove of a pure EV, or even of a standard 330i, but it is more than enough for urban-speed commuting.
And if you want power, drop it into Sport mode and let the fun begin.
So the extra green-ness and added weight doesn’t ruin the fun then?
Not at all. The extra power easily makes up for the weight of the batteries and, even though it is 0.2 of a second slower to 100kmh than the 330i (6 seconds versus 5.8), the 330e essentially feels every bit as quick, confident and fluid on the road as the 330i.
Likewise the excellent balance of the 3 Series is unaffected by the weight, meaning the 330e is every bit as delightfully agile and responsive along a winding stretch of road as the rest of the range.
The biggest difference is that, as well as being agile and responsive, it is still also a relative fuel miser when pushed.
While the entire week of commuting in the 330e saw an average of a paltry 1.5L/100km fuel used, even pushing it a couple of times on spirited back road drives only saw it climb into the low 4s.
What if I can’t be bothered with all the effort of plugging it in every night?
Then you drive it like an ordinary hybrid, still see decently low fuel consumption figures (easily around 3L to 4.0L/100km without really trying), and spectacularly miss the point of the car entirely.
The whole point of a car like the 330e is that you have the small battery pack for the small mileages most people do in their daily lives, with the convenience and longer range of the petrol engine when needed.
Then when you flip it around, you get the EV boost to add performance when you are feeling that way inclined.
Any other cars I should consider?
BMW’s traditional rival, MercedesBenz, offers the more powerful (245kW), but also more expensive ($100,500) C 300e, and Volvo produces the equally powerful (246kW) S60 T8 AWD for $114,900 and that’s about it in terms of plug-in hybrid mid-size luxury sedans.
Both BMW and Mercedes offer PHEV SUVs in similar price brackets, and then there are the straight ICE alternatives if you really don’t want to plug in your car.
Or if you want to go all-in on the whole plugging-it-in thing and are not all that fussed about the luxury, there is the Tesla Model 3 that can be yours for between $79,990 and $106,900.
This road test was completed before the current coronavirus lockdown restrictions came into effect.