CLEAN MACHINE (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_bmw330e_2023

By Jonathan Crouch

The 330e Plug-in hybrid is the technological flagship of BMW's enhanced 3 Series line-up. Jonathan Crouch looks at the improved version.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 64

With the updated version of BMW's Plug-in Hybrid petrol/electric 330e model, the conventional 320i variant's 184hp 2.0-litre petrol engine has been matched with an electric motor and a much larger battery to create quite a package. There's the choice of either a saloon or a Touring estate and both now gets a significantly upgraded cabin. And this updated model range gains smarter looks too.

Backgroundword count: 116

Not everyone wanting futuristic engine technology wants their car to also look futuristic. To look like BMW's iX for instance. If you're buying from this Bavarian brand and want a petrol/electric powerplant, the 330e Plug-in hybrid offers a more subtle way to go. Especially in this updated form. You now get up to 63 miles of all-electric driving range when the car's charged up, which enables the creation of some impressive overall stats - up to 353.1mpg on the WLTP combined cycle and as little as 19g/km of WLTP-rated CO2. Those figures fall only fractionally with the Touring estate body style. Take some time to understand BMW's thinking here and it's hard not to be impressed.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 250

With this second mid-term update, much about the engineering of this 330e has changed. At its original launch, this 'G20'-era 330e Plug-in hybrid model took a big step forward over its previous generation predecessor, the main difference being the measurement of all-electric driving range. This was rated at only 21 miles in the previous generation 3 Series plug-in but in the original G20-era version of this model, the addition of a larger 12.0kWh battery increased the range up to around 39 miles of zero emissions motoring when fully-charged. Well now, things have been even further improved, with an even larger 19.5kWh battery installed, which has boosted EV range right up to 63 miles. What this now means is that if you've a pretty typical daily commute, you might never have to fuel up this car to complete it. As you might expect, this kind of cleverness comes courtesy of a very advanced powerplant indeed, in this case a combination of the 184bhp 2.0-litre petrol unit from the 320i mated to an electric motor incorporating an 'XtraBoost' function. This can increase power to as much as 292hp, reducing the 62mph sprint time to just 5.9s. The hybrid system's extra weight drops maximum speed slightly over that of the ordinary 320i, but it's still rated at 143mph. As before, the main available drive modes are 'Sport', 'Hybrid' and 'Electric' - the latter able to be automatically activated in urban zones. The brand's xDrive 4WD system is no longer available on this variant.

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