BMW 330e iperformance
After five years, the current 3 Series gains a plug-in powertrain. Was it worth the wait?
MODEL TESTED 330e IPERFORMANCE M SPORT
Price £35,320 (inc £2500 government plug-in car grant) Power 249bhp Torque 310lb ft 0-60mph 6.3sec 30-70mph in fourth 8.8sec Fuel economy 40.6mpg CO2 emissions 49g/km 70-0mph 48.8m
The choice for anyone looking to move their next executive saloon car purchase away from straight petrol or diesel power and into the plug-in petrol-electric hybrid fold has been somewhat slow to grow. Now, though, we can expect it to hit another gear, with so many European governments having announced plans to legislate for a mandatory hybridised motoring future. That may be good news for us; but it means life for this week’s road test subject, the BMW 330e iperformance, may be about to get quite a bit tougher.
This electrified 3 Series claimed the spoils in a group test of the earlyto-market plug-in hybrid (PHEV) executive options a few months ago. Now comes our chance to examine its credentials more closely. Nestling plumb in the middle of the current 3 Series range, the 330e combines the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine of the 320i with an 87bhp electric drive motor and a lithium ion battery.
It makes as much peak power as the more expensive 330i M Sport and considerably more torque – and it also offers fleet drivers savings on their Co2-related benefit-in-kind tax bill and environmentally aware owners the potential for limited zeroemission electric running. On paper, that combination makes this one of the most appealing options in the 3 Series range, revered big-hitting diesels and Efficient Dynamics economy options included. But will it prove to be that way in practice?
And, frankly, what if it is? This F30 generation of the 3 Series is now five years old, after all, and it has been estranged for half of that time from the class-topping ranking that its predecessors enjoyed on these pages. If you want the best-handling compact executive option – an honour that was the BMW’S selling point for so long – it has arguably been eclipsed by the Jaguar XE and Alfa Romeo Giulia. For those seeking luxury, quality or with other priorities, meanwhile, the Mercedesbenz C-class and Audi A4 offer pretty stiff competition of their own.
So what exactly can a petrol-electric late-coming addition to an ageing range do to restore BMW’S standing among the aspiring business set?
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
We’re still at that juvenile stage in the development of the plug-in hybrid car when the good ones often distance themselves from the less good simply because they were designed from a clean sheet to accept items such as drive batteries and electric motors. The 330e certainly feels that way for the most part, although there are a few compromises its buyer is obliged to make, and one or two sacrifices too.
The car adopts a technical layout that is becoming increasingly common among cars of its ilk, where a combustion engine is hooked up in series with an electric motor and both drive through the same transmission. Relative to the ‘electric rear axle’ route that other PHEVS take, BMW’S philosophy saves weight, although it may also penalise the car slightly on electric-only energy efficiency and operating range, with more inertia
and friction for the electric motor to overcome than it might otherwise have had.
The 330e’s combustion engine is the same twin-scroll turbocharged 181bhp 2.0-litre petrol unit that powers the 320i. But hooked up in train with an 87bhp electric motor, it makes for an identical 249bhp peak as the 330i, as well as 52lb ft more torque than its petrol-only sibling. That’s the kind of pulling power that ought to present itself in our in-gear acceleration figures – particularly since it’s on tap from just 1500rpm. For competitive context, that’s a good 25% less pulling power than Mercedes claims for the C350e, but it’s marginally more than you get from a Volkswagen Passat GTE.
Drive battery capacity may be of greater interest to most clued-up PHEV buyers, of course, since that’s the biggest telltale of electric-only range and real-world fuel economy. The 330e’s 7.6kwh of battery capacity exceeds what you get in a Mercedes C350e, but it’s beaten by the 9.9kwh of a Passat GTE and drubbed by the Volvo V60 D5’s 11.2kwh. But then batteries are heavy and can be very punitive on a car’s ride and handling, as the V60 shows. The BMW’S are carried outside of its wheelbase, effectively in the spare wheel well; and its high-voltage power electronics take up space where the controllers for BMW’S adaptively damped suspension would otherwise be.
Upshot? Unless you go for SE spec, the 330e, unlike other examples of the 3 Series, can’t be ordered without run-flat tyres, and it can’t be ordered with adaptively damped suspension, either (SE or not). Whereas the car that won our earlier group test was a Sport-spec example on smaller alloy wheels, our test car here is a 330e M Sport on optional 19in rims and equipped with variable-assistance Servotronic power steering, therefore sidestepping BMW’S optional active-variable-ratio Variable Sport Steering, of which we’ve been critical.
INTERIOR
This being an F30-generation 3 Series, the driving position is beyond reproach and has seemingly endless scope for adjustment. The instruments – largely still analogue – sit just below eye level for most drivers, although our car also had BMW’S crystal-clear optional headup display (as part of the £2295 Innovation package). Either way, this is a top-notch driving environment.
Back-seat passengers don’t have it quite so good. Most adults will find adequate levels of comfort
although frequent occupants would probably thank you for choosing a Passat GTE instead of the BMW. Boot space, meanwhile, takes a hit because of the battery pack tucked under the floor. At 370 litres, it’s more than 100 litres smaller than a conventionally powered 3 Series’.
With the exception of some blue detailing and a battery charge depletion/recuperation graphic in the main instrument binnacle, the 330e’s interior barely deviates from that of the rest of the 3 Series line-up. The most significant addition is a small button marked ‘edrive’ that sits just behind the gear selector. Auto edrive, Max edrive and Save Battery are the modes to choose from – respectively balancing the car’s two power sources, operating the powertrain on electric power alone or saving battery charge for later.
Overall, the 330e’s interior remains as intuitive and fundamentally ‘right’ as you’d expect of a volumeselling saloon from BMW. That said, this is also an interior that, barring an occasional refresh, has been in production since November 2011. Back then, you might have called it ‘driver-centric’, but now it feels more utilitarian, particularly next to the heavily digital, clean-cut class of the A4 and curvaceous elegance of the C-class. Only the Giulia and the XE can compete with the BMW from the perspective of keen drivers, though.
PERFORMANCE
Super-saloons such as the Tesla Model S have served as a vivid demonstration of the torque-rich potential of electric motors. A word of warning, though: because the 330e’s electric motor is of only modest muscle and operates through the same transmission as the engine (rather than as a stand-alone power unit attached to an axle), you’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting firecracker pace.
Nevertheless, the car’s power sources are so expertly integrated that it never feels less than surprisingly rapid, largely because of the effortless way speed is accumulated. The top portion of pedal travel is dedicated to the electric motor and thus offers unusually sharp response. Squeeze the throttle harder and you get the meat of the turbocharged fourcylinder engine and an additional 110lb ft from the electric motor for brief bursts. It’s a discreet, flexible and refined powertrain that gives the driver plenty to be getting on with and makes very light work of overtaking, as illustrated by its impressive in-gear acceleration times: 50-70mph in fourth is roughly a second quicker than for the Passat GTE, for instance. Although the engine doesn’t spin with quite the same enthusiasm as the traditional straight-six that, BMW claims, this dual-source set-up emulates, there’s still satisfaction to be had in holding on for a 6500rpm upshift.
Get to those heady heights and BMW’S paddle-shift-operated Steptronic eight-speed gearbox punctuates the power delivery only momentarily and without drama – for the most part. Occasionally, you’ll experience an unexpectedly rough or delayed shift, which is presumably a consequence of the complexities involved in shuffling two sources of torque through the same ratios.
Our car’s recorded 0-60mph time of 6.3sec didn’t quite match the 6.1sec 0-62mph time claimed by BMW, but it’s comfortably ahead of the 7.6sec laid down by the Passat GTE we’ve tested and just about a match for today’s crop of front-wheel-drive super-hatches. The six-cylinder 330i, meanwhile, will get the job done in a fraction under 6.0sec. By comparison, the 330e’s numbers are impressive for an eco-minded saloon with at least half an eye on luxury.
RIDE AND HANDLING
The 330e’s battery pack adds 89kg to its kerb weight. Fortunately, that mass sits well within the car’s track and straddles the rear axle, so the commendable chassis balance of the F30 3 Series remains largely unaltered (in this case, 48/52 front to rear). The drawback is that there’s no space for the power electronics that operate BMW’S adaptive damper system, so the 330e is available with a passive suspension set-up only.
A passive set-up is often the preference of those who value the way a car handles, but in the 330e, with no Comfort mode to soften things up, it can be detrimental to the driving experience if you’re not judicious with your choice of optional extras.
From previous experience of the 330e, we know that 17in wheels shod in run-flat tyres – a combination that’s standard in Sport trim – hit a sweet spot between body control and pliancy. Indeed, in an attempt to contain the exaggerated body movements brought about by the weight of the battery, BMW has already stiffened the basic suspension set-up and it’s well judged, yielding a refined car that still corners with satisfying precision and poise.
However, opting for the 10mm-lower M Sport suspension – as fitted to our test car – makes for an overly taut chassis that fidgets a touch too much at a cruise and never truly settles when you’re in the mood to enjoy the powertrain’s clout. The rigid sidewalls of the 19in run-flat tyres worn by our test car seemed to exacerbate these traits, with the rear axle shimmying across the road surface through quicker corners when we would have expected it to remain planted.
If all that sounds a touch severe, know that the 330e remains the high-water mark for hybrid saloons in terms of handling, with or without M Sport suspension. Its ability to carry out grand-touring duties with aplomb shouldn’t be forgotten, either.
BUYING AND OWNING
The 330e’s ownership case is at its most persuasive for company-car drivers subject to benefit-in-kind taxation, as is the case for all plug-in hybrids. At present, between a typical contract hire rate and their ‘company car tax’, a typical 40%-income-taxbracketed fleet driver will probably pay around £700 a month for a BMW 330i, £750 for a 330d and £620 for a 320d. Running a 330e instead can bring that down to about £550. Compared with a PHEV rival, the BMW still looks financially attractive, its low list price making it about £40 a month cheaper than a Passat GTE on the same basis.
During our testing, the 330e wouldn’t quite match BMW’S electric-only range claim of 25 miles but did cover a little over 18 on zeroemissions power in a mix of urban and restrained extra-urban driving. That’s some distance poorer than the battery range of a V60 hybrid but competitive with most rivals.
Real-world fuel economy will depend entirely on usage and the 40.6mpg average we recorded reflected mostly high-intensity testing and long-distance touring, neither of which flatters the car. However, running on combustive power alone, the 330e returned 47.2mpg touring economy – and even if you chose never to charge the car at all, that’d be pretty creditable for the performance on offer here.