Unplug & Play. The BMW 330e M Sport Plug-In hybrid review!

Ever since my younger days I’ve always admired the BMW 3 Series for what it was, especially the M3. However, times have changed whereby car manufacturers have downsized the cubic capacity of engines by replacing them with four-banger forced induction based engines for the “greater good”.

As cliché as it sounds, I still think that generally there’s no replacement for displacement, but after living with a force induced four-banger combined with electrification for a while, it has definitely changed my perspective on plug-in hybrids.

The car I’m referring to is the BMW 330e and I’ve been giving it some thought as I’m used to piloting BMW in-line six engines for quite some time, since I usually move around in a BMW 535i GT from time to time. No doubt the four cylinder engine note is not as sweet as an inline six, but the amount of torque, power output and not to mention fuel savings you get from get from a turbocharged four cylinder e-drive engine is simply undeniable.

In typical BMW fashion the 8-speed ZF gearbox is silky smooth & fast. Similar to the X5 plug-in hybrid, the transition between electric and engine power is rather seamless as I could hardly notice if the car was running on electric mode or when the engine is running.

The Achilles heel of the car is the claimed 29km of full-electric range which takes about six hours to fully charge from empty using the home adapter that is provided with the car. In the real world however, expect to get around 19-20 kilometers of electric range and up to 25 if you are very light-footed.

Hopefully in the near future BMW can come up with quick charging for the home adapter unit, or even bring in the wireless charging pad that’s available overseas later in the year. As for fast charging you have the option of installing a BMW iCharging Station at home which is somewhere around RM5k plus or you have the option of signing up with ChargeEV Malaysia whereby they have the higher capacity chargers that allows for a faster charge located at most of the malls in Klang Valley.

We can also expect the number of charging stations to slowly increase nationwide in the near future thanks to collaboration with manufacturers and companies like ChargeEV.

As for the exterior of the car, the 330e M Sport tested is fitted with 18 inch M light alloy wheels finished in Ferric Grey Metallic, M sport suspension, M aerodynamics package, BMW individual high-gloss Shadow Line, electric glass roof, led headlights, full LED rear tail lights and LED fog lights. In my opinion, having the 330e in Alpine White would best accentuates the gloss black trimmings and grey rims. Nevertheless, the Estoril Blue you see here is also a stunning paint in person. Other color choices besides the white and blue includes Mineral Grey & Black Sapphire.

Moving on from exterior aesthetics, the car is powered by a 2.0 litre BMW TwinPower turbo 4-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor mated together with an 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. The overall system outputs 252hp and 420Nm of torque which is more than adequate for normal driving. 0-100 km/h is done in under 6.1 seconds with a top speed of 225km/h under full charge.

When it comes to fuel economy, it only sips a claimed 2.1 liters per 100 km. During my test period of another similar 330e unit for two weeks, I managed to get 750km on a full tank of fuel. Pretty impressive I must say as I’m usually heavy on the throttle.

Okay I know the car is pretty quick, but what’s on the inside? The interior is equipped with the M leather steering wheel with variable sports steering, Black Dakota Leather interior, sports seats, rear sunshade to shield from the Malaysia weather, electric seats with 2 driver memory function, ambient lighting, park assist, comfort access and a heads up display.

As for drivers assistance, the 330e has cruise control with braking function, parking assistant for parallel and lateral parking manoeuvres which helps if you need a party trick or bad at parking, and of course a rear view camera.

As an overall package, the 330e M Sport’s official retail price of RM258,800,00 on-the-road without insurance definitely makes it a good drivers’ car to purchase as it still lives up to its sheer driving pleasure tagline despite the heftier hybrid powertrain. Despite its age, the 3 Series (330e in this case) remains to be the best driving car among its much newer rivals.

Not to mention that new BMW buyers also receives the class-leading 5 year unlimited mileage warranty together with a free scheduled service programme plus BMW tire warranty programme. Need we say more?

Big thanks to Jonathan for the writeup, and enjoy the huge gallery below!