Photo: BMW
Here’s a question for you. BMW makes the 330i and 330e, and one of them is EPA-rated 30 miles to the gallon combined while the other averages 28 mpg on the combined driving cycle. Why would you pay extra for the plug-in hybrid instead of choosing the non-hybrid sedan considering that the 330i is the more efficient of the two siblings?
Well, heaven only knows. For the 2021 model year, the Environmental Protection Agency has also rated the 330e xDrive at 25 miles to the gallon, which is woeful for a plug-in hybrid from the compact executive segment. It’s like BMW didn’t even try to make this car efficient, though U.S. dealers are stocking up on them.
Both the rear- and all-wheel-drive options feature a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine and an e-motor as well as a torque-converter automatic transmission with eight forward ratios. The battery is good for 12 kilowatt-hours but the usable capacity is 10.4 kWh, translating to 22 or 20 miles of all-electric range if driven carefully.
Like the previous plug-in hybrid 3 Series, the 2021 model year 330e develops 248 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The party piece of the newcomer is what the Bavarians call XtraBoost, a driving mode that unlocks additional resources from the e-motor when you press the loud pedal down to the metal, fully down.
5.6 seconds to 60 miles per hour in XtraBoost Mode makes the 330e three-tenths of a second quicker than its predecessor, and that’s quite a difference indeed. On the other hand, care to guess how quickly the 330i accelerates to 60 miles per hour? 5.6 seconds as well, thank you very much! Once again, why did BMW even bother?
Lack of differentiation is one of the worst things an automaker can do in this dog-eat-dog business of selling cars. What’s worse for BMW is that $3,800 over the plug-in hybrid is $3,800 too much for a plug-in hybrid that 2 miles per gallon down on the previous 330e. That’s right; believe it or not, the 2018 model was EPA-rated 30 mpg!
Both the rear- and all-wheel-drive options feature a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine and an e-motor as well as a torque-converter automatic transmission with eight forward ratios. The battery is good for 12 kilowatt-hours but the usable capacity is 10.4 kWh, translating to 22 or 20 miles of all-electric range if driven carefully.
Like the previous plug-in hybrid 3 Series, the 2021 model year 330e develops 248 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The party piece of the newcomer is what the Bavarians call XtraBoost, a driving mode that unlocks additional resources from the e-motor when you press the loud pedal down to the metal, fully down.
5.6 seconds to 60 miles per hour in XtraBoost Mode makes the 330e three-tenths of a second quicker than its predecessor, and that’s quite a difference indeed. On the other hand, care to guess how quickly the 330i accelerates to 60 miles per hour? 5.6 seconds as well, thank you very much! Once again, why did BMW even bother?
Lack of differentiation is one of the worst things an automaker can do in this dog-eat-dog business of selling cars. What’s worse for BMW is that $3,800 over the plug-in hybrid is $3,800 too much for a plug-in hybrid that 2 miles per gallon down on the previous 330e. That’s right; believe it or not, the 2018 model was EPA-rated 30 mpg!
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