You can reach speeds of 87 mph with just electric power.
It’s been nearly a year since we first started to get familiar with the current-generation BMW 3 Series. The new 330e plug in hybrid is now available, promising to deliver a good combination of efficiency as well as performance in the sports sedan segment. Is it able to deliver on all fronts? This will all depend on how the Bimmer is driven by the electrically-infused Bimmer. However, on paper the numbers look impressive.
Electric Avenue
The powertrain is the heart of the 330e. The 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder BMW produces 184 horsepower (135kW), while the eight-speed automatic transmission adds an additional 113 hp (83kW) to that powertrain. Combined, BMW The total output is listed at 252 hp (185 kW), however, the new hybrid features an interesting feature called XtraBoost. This works in the same way as a shot of nitrous dioxide. The 330e can be set to Sport mode and the accelerator will add 40 horsepower (30kW) over a 10-second period. This gives the sedan a total output 292 HP (215 kW). . . for a while.
BMW claims the 330e can travel from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph), in 5.9 seconds, and up to 143 mph at its top speed. However, it is not clear if these benchmarks were achieved with XtraBoost. The 330e is also capable of being equipped with the standard range of trim levels. This includes the M Sport variant with an upgraded adaptive suspension and M Sport brakes.
3’s A Crowd
The 330e is able to reach electric-only speeds of up to 68 mph (110 km/h in Hybrid mode) when performance is not as important as fuel savings. The sedan can reach speeds of 87 mph (140 km/h) when it switches to full-on Electric mode. The 330e’s electric-only range is 37 to 41 miles (59 km to 66 km) thanks to the 12 kWh lithium-ion batteries located beneath the rear seats. Although the battery reduces the Bimmer’s trunk space, the 40/20/40 splitfolding back seat provides more storage space. BMW will also offer the first 330e Touring estate, but it won’t arrive until 2020.
The 330e sedan will soon be available worldwide. A trailer-towing version will also be available in November. Pricing details will be announced at a later time.