BMW 330e

carsfan2

Am I alone in not understanding last post?!

bmwguy

Because he says he wants to buy a 430e and his missus won't be happy with spending the money

carsfan2

Have to agree 4 series gc is a classy looking car.
I imagine the drivetrain will be in a lot of BMW cars in the future including 4 and 5 series.

catharsis

carsfan2 wrote: »

When you say no comparison to your previous 5 series, please tell me you mean in a good way?
I've had a couple of 5 series and loved them I hope this is not going to be worse!

Very much yes ! :-) - only car I've specifically gone 'for a drive' in since my 06 Cayman S - and I can imagine no higher praise than that!

bazz26 wrote: »

I presume he is referring to the 3 Series being smaller and lighter making it more nibble than the larger and heavier 5 Series.

this is of course true, but not really what I meant - everything is very *precise* in the 330e - and the electric torque via a semi-auto as opposed to a torque converter is really *crisp* it's just a pleasure to drive.

Idbatterim wrote: »

this new 3 will likely be several generations newer than the 5 it is being compared with...

Well, given that the F30 has been around a while now strictly speaking I think it's only 1 generation newer than the e60, but a fair point I guess.

The 5 series was 'pleasant' to drive, but the 330e is a 'pleasure' to drive - i.e I do it for fun, I was never tempted to take the 5 series out for a good thrash!

vintagevrs

330e has a zf8 gearbox that has a torque convertor by the way. It's better than a dual clutch imo though.

catharsis

vintagevrs wrote: »

330e has a zf8 gearbox that has a torque convertor by the way. It's better than a dual clutch imo though.

I thought that was true of other f30s but NOT of the 330e. I thought I read that there was no torque converter, and no starter motor, neither being necessary as the electric motor can replace both in effect.

TBi

catharsis wrote: »

I thought that was true of other f30s but NOT of the 330e. I thought I read that there was no torque converter.

Yep. The motor replaces the flywheel and torque converter. Probably the starter motor too.

MaceFace

Picked my 330e up yesterday. All I can say is wow. Drives beautifully. A hell of a lot of power in the thing and corners excellently.
Struggling to find any negatives and the thing. I'll add more feedback when I get more comfortable with it but anyone still thinking about getting one and maybe hesitating, don't. It's a hell of a car.

mickdw

MaceFace wrote: »

Picked my 330e up yesterday. All I can say is wow. Drives beautifully. A hell of a lot of power in the thing and corners excellently.
Struggling to find any negatives and the thing. I'll add more feedback when I get more comfortable with it but anyone still thinking about getting one and maybe hesitating, don't. It's a hell of a car.

When you get a chance, I'd be interested to hear more in terms of how it behaves on electric only. Will it do for example 15 miles at the top end of electric only speed?

carsfan2

Well wear
Mine landed in the dealers last week and picking up after back from hols.
I haven't spotted any on the roads yet.

GavMan

MaceFace wrote: »

Picked my 330e up yesterday. All I can say is wow. Drives beautifully. A hell of a lot of power in the thing and corners excellently.
Struggling to find any negatives and the thing. I'll add more feedback when I get more comfortable with it but anyone still thinking about getting one and maybe hesitating, don't. It's a hell of a car.

Well wear.

Pics please also!!!

Jentle Grenade

Well wear MaceFace. My OH is collecting hers after we get back from holidays. Landing in the dealer tomorrow apparently.

I've seen one in an apartment complex, no charging facility. Any -ives to running these on petrol only?

Voodoomelon

I'd imagine if your daily driving habits and distances don't fit in the electric capabilities of the car, using a mix of petrol only or combined petrol/electric, there'd be no reason to get one over a diesel.

If your driving entails decent use of electric only, you're going to see the best economy without a doubt.

bmwguy

Augeo wrote: »

I've seen one in an apartment complex, no charging facility. Any -ives to running these on petrol only?

Yes, you get a big grant making it cheaper than equivalent petrol only. That person might be able to charge at work anyway meaning work is paying for their fuel too

grogi

bmwguy wrote: »

Yes, you get a big grant making it cheaper than equivalent petrol only. That person might be able to charge at work anyway meaning work is paying for their fuel too

It's still a hybrid with all the hybrid-stuff - like regenerative breaking... Should increase the efficiency a bit as well...

Zurbaran

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I'd imagine if your daily driving habits and distances don't fit in the electric capabilities of the car, using a mix of petrol only or combined petrol/electric, there'd be no reason to get one over a diesel.

If your driving entails decent use of electric only, you're going to see the best economy without a doubt.

As long you don't do big mileage I still think this would be the best bang for your buck.

How much would you have to pay for the same performance else where in their range? I don't know but I reckon it would be over ten grand more?

bmwguy

Zurbaran wrote: »

As long you don't do big mileage I still think this would be the best bang for your buck.

How much would you have to pay for the same performance else where in their range? I don't know but I reckon it would be over ten grand more?

Yeah at least 10 grand. This thing costs about the same as a 318i as far as I remember.

That's why they called it 330e even though it's only a 2 litre, they think the performance is equivalent to a 330i.

MaceFace

Short update on a few random things....

Last night while on a 4m run, I got an engine warning - low coolant. After getting home, checked both tanks, and sure enough, one was just below minimum. Seems it has happened to others. Feedback seems to be air escaping the system, so will head to dealer today for top up.

The app for that run had it as 4.35 miles and a fuel consumption of 201.8 mpg :eek:
81% of that run was on electric. I deliberately floored it at one stage which kicked in the ICE. So, anyone looking to use this on mainly short runs, you're in for a treat. I don't think you will run it purely on electric all the time though, because you won't do the car justice. My thoughts are that this is a high performant vehicle with the bonus that it gives high mpg and costs less than pure ICE equivalents. I have not done any testing to see what kind of charge I can get out of the car from driving, but I believe when max eDrive is engaged, you still won't get the battery above 50%, so if I did not have charging facilities, I would do a lot more research as although it is cheaper than ICE equivalents, you're still lugging around a lot of extra weight and you may not get the real benefit of the electric engine.

The car comes with a granny cable (i.e. 3 pin on one end). I got the free ESB fast charger, so bought the fast charging cable from the dealer. €220. It is cheaper online (€170) but I wanted it with the car. It comes in a nice bag and a cloth for cleaning. Although it is not a coiled cable, it does coil back in to a flat shape to fit in the bag nicely.
There is a spot for the granny cable in the boot, but the fast charger just sits in the bag loose in the boot.

My phone connects flawlessly through bluetooth as well as with the USB cable connected in the armrest. However, the Connected Apps such as Spotify won't work - the Connected App on my phone says my phone is not connected even though it is (it is charging). The problem seems to be that there are problems with the USB cables. Original iPhone cables apparently work, but as I have Android, I need to test a bunch of random USB cables to see which one works.

I fitted a DashCam yesterday - front and back. Ran both from 12v power in the boot but there is a 12v connection under the glove box as well. Still need to hard wire it to the fuse box though. The boot power cuts out a short while after the engine stops.

Edit: another item that continues to give me concern about is security. Maybe it is the "new car" thing, but this car will be attractive to undesirables so hoping that BMW have done a good job with the protection. I don't want to have disklok on the car or have to fork out another 500 quid for new alarm system.

vintagevrs

Sounds great. On your USB woes, sounds like you're clued in so may know this already and this isn't the issue but might be worth checking. In the settings somewhere on the phone should be options of what to do when connected to that a device. Think pulling down from the top of screen when its plugged in should give you usb options like mtp, ptp or ums. Make sure the bmw isn't in there and set to charge only. If those options aren't there then as you say probably an unsupported usb cable.


For people that drive electric mode primarily but need the odd kick for an overtake is that not going to be very sore wear wise on the ice as it's always cold. (See what I did there.....ice...always cold:pac:) genuine question though.

carsfan2

I've read about the low coolant thing on other forums, seems quite common but no issue.
I've also read of the e drive not coming online until about 200km for some reason so petrol only with e boost available.
Re the engine being cold, apparently the engine has some pre heating system so it's not going to suffer when revved.
Any more observations mace face?

MaceFace

Few more tidbits...

Went to the dealer to get a top up of coolant. Warning was gone before I left, so the previous warning I had was borderline.

I drove in max eDrive the 5 miles. Dealer said afterwards that the coolant cap was cold, which surprised them until I told them I drove in electric. Not sure what this means for warming the ICE engine or otherwise....

On way back, I drove in max eDrive again for a laugh. Floored it on the motorway, and it behaved quite normally. The ICE did not kick in and it remained electric only. That was surprising as I would have expected it to use the petrol engine for the extra acceleration as I could have been overtaking.

Managed to get a USB cable that would connect to the car, but I still can't get the car to understand Spotify. Am using Android, but worse case is I use it through bluetooth. Very interestingly, anytime I get in the car, the phone connects to the car through bluetooth and starts playing Spotify. I do like that but others may not, and someone is bound to know how to turn it off.

I've also tried a few times to notice the gear changing, but I can't - it is that seamless. Very smooth and refined.

Something that may sound trivial but may be an issue is the sound of the horn. It is what I would call "a good loud sound" as you would expect. Here's the problem - as I was driving into the dealership, a person was walking in front of my car with her back to me. The car is so quiet that they had no idea I was there. If I sounded the horn, I would have come across as a so-and-so. I had to wait for her to ramble a bit more before she cleared my side of the road. The only alternative was to roll down the window and ask her to move (which incidentally I had to do last year when I drove a hybrid abroad). It's a little bizarre and will take a bit of getting used to. A "pedestrian horn" is something these cars can benefit from.

stesaurus

MaceFace wrote: »

Something that may sound trivial but may be an issue is the sound of the horn. It is what I would call "a good loud sound" as you would expect. Here's the problem - as I was driving into the dealership, a person was walking in front of my car with her back to me. The car is so quiet that they had no idea I was there. If I sounded the horn, I would have come across as a so-and-so. I had to wait for her to ramble a bit more before she cleared my side of the road. The only alternative was to roll down the window and ask her to move (which incidentally I had to do last year when I drove a hybrid abroad). It's a little bizarre and will take a bit of getting used to. A "pedestrian horn" is something these cars can benefit from.

Don't worry the EU has plans to make sure silent cars aren't possible. They will be making it mandatory for fake engine noises. As long as it's hackable and I can have a V12 sound I'm ok with that, or maybe even Kit from Knightrider

There was a big discussion I've came across somewhere else online about people using all sorts of stuff like bicycle bells to politely tell people you're there.

Voodoomelon

The new 740e is now available to order.

322bhp, 0-100 in 5.2 seconds, 2L 4 cylinder ICE and electric motor combined. €97k for the M-Sport including the grant, which is remarkably good value.

Caranddriver.com not overly impressed with it though, performance is lacking in E only mode and economy realistically the same, if not worse than the I6 petrol.

Marcusm

Voodoomelon wrote: »

The new 740e is now available to order.

322bhp, 0-100 in 5.2 seconds, 2L 4 cylinder ICE and electric motor combined. €97k for the M-Sport including the grant, which is remarkably good value.

Caranddriver.com not overly impressed with it though, performance is lacking in E only mode and economy realistically the same, if not worse than the I6 petrol.

Not sure what the situation is vis a vis VRT rebate and SEAI grant on this model but the underlying VRT rate will be 14% as opposed to 23% for the 740i so that's likely a large saving which might be enhanced by up to €7,500 of rebate/grant. If there are many small engine petrol 7 series in Ireland I suspect they'll be 740e.

Voodoomelon

Well the VRT is already taken into account in the price on their website.
For the non m-sport, with the grant included, a "paddy spec" 740e would be €89k, amazing.

I have to say i'm still smitten by the 330e, I find myself on the configurator all the time.
I think the best value is going for the Sport instead of the M-Sport, as it gives access to the cheaper exterior colours, is €2k cheaper to start with, nicer wheel options and you can still spec M-Sport suspension separately. Obviously everyone's tastes are different, its a balancing act!

Idbatterim

Motorvtax of e170 for the 740e. I'm delighted! Decades of piss taking on motor tax and vrt on these cars and it's coming to an end!!!

Voodoomelon

The spec I keep coming up with for the 330e is €60k, or €52,500 after the grants.

Anyone care to do the figures for me for PCP @ 3.9% V HP (% unknown)?

Spent the last half hour looking for examples with BMW Ireland online and nothing.

EDIT found some useful info at last: http://www.bmw.ie/content/dam/bmw/marketIE/bmw_ie/pdf/162-Draft-Offers.pdf.asset.1467890475836.pdf

Marcusm

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Well the VRT is already taken into account in the price on their website.
For the non m-sport, with the grant included, a "paddy spec" 740e would be €89k, amazing.

I have to say i'm still smitten by the 330e, I find myself on the configurator all the time.
I think the best value is going for the Sport instead of the M-Sport, as it gives access to the cheaper exterior colours, is €2k cheaper to start with, nicer wheel options and you can still spec M-Sport suspension separately. Obviously everyone's tastes are different, its a balancing act!

€120k for the 740Li is quite a gap.

carsfan2

Did you drive the 330e yet voodoo melon?
Still going to be a very different experience to your 7 series.
Residuals on m sport are superior to sport according to the dealers so they may steer you this way if you price one up.
Re 740e, a 7 with a 2.0 on it just seems wrong!

TBi

carsfan2 wrote: »

Re 740e, a 7 with a 2.0 on it just seems wrong!

Soon they'll have a 1.5 Diesel! 715D

Idbatterim

It may be a 4 pot, but it is blisteringly quick! Far quicker than the entry level 6 pot petrol or diesel from previous generation ... It's also significantly cheaper , that significant saving If you aren't paying cash will save thousands more on interest and the mptor tax at e170 is a joke...

Voodoomelon

carsfan2 wrote: »

Did you drive the 330e yet voodoo melon?
Still going to be a very different experience to your 7 series.
Residuals on m sport are superior to sport according to the dealers so they may steer you this way if you price one up.
Re 740e, a 7 with a 2.0 on it just seems wrong!

No I never went down for that test drive, I might pop down on Monday and have another look.

Different to the 740Li it certainly would be but i spend 95% of the time in a massive car with no one else in it. I'm also moving very soon and will be less than 2 miles from work, the 7 won't make much sense for much longer. The 20"s on it also give it more of a harsh ride than is should have with heavy enough steering which i'm a little tired of, will be interesting to compare it to the 330e.

I remember mentioning at the start of this thread that you can't spec adjustable dampers for the 330e, is this still true? What's the suspension feel like?

mickdw

I was working out that worst case, I would save 100 on fuel per month including electricity costs and standing charges in a 330e versus current car where I spend 300 per month doing not alot of miles.
I would be steering more towards a 430e gc if it appears with a plan of buying out at end of pcp and keeping maybe 6 to 7 years total.

digiman

mickdw wrote: »

I was working out that worst case, I would save 100 on fuel per month including electricity costs and standing charges in a 330e versus current car where I spend 300 per month doing not alot of miles.
I would be steering more towards a 430e gc if it appears with a plan of buying out at end of pcp and keeping maybe 6 to 7 years total.

Would also love to see a 430e GC

Voodoomelon

Fair bit more money for the 430 GC though.

digiman

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Fair bit more money for the 430 GC though.

It is a bit more alright, but I've a 3 series already and really like the 4 series GC which is what I think I would buy next anyway.

bmw_mdg

How are insurance companies treating the 330e? I am coming off a 520d (180 hp) and wonder if the potential 249 hp is going to drive up (!) insurance for 330e. Must say that Irish companies do not seem as obsessed as much with performance as British companies. And the 249 horses under the bonnet (and in the electic motor) are not really going to be much used by most drivers?

Voodoomelon

My '05 740Li is costing me €1120 with Bank of Ireland, a 162 330e M-Sport came in at €940 which is more than I thought it would be.

mickdw

Voodoomelon wrote: »

My '05 740Li is costing me €1120 with Bank of Ireland, a 162 330e M-Sport came in at €940 which is more than I thought it would be.

Ah Jesus, so they are loading the 330e pretty heavy.

mik_da_man

mickdw wrote: »

Ah Jesus, so they are loading the 330e pretty heavy.

Yep, I have a 07 RS4, this year it was 600 to insure, 330e was 920 when I inquired (Axa) :eek:

grogi

mik_da_man wrote: »

Yep, I have a 07 RS4, this year it was 600 to insure, 330e was 920 when I inquired (Axa) :eek:

TPL part is cheaper (newer car - on average in beter condition, so less risk of collision), but the CASCO will be much more expensive - the thief risk does not really depend on the skill of the driver...

mik_da_man

grogi wrote: »

TPL part is cheaper (newer car - on average in beter condition, so less risk of collision), but the CASCO will be much more expensive - the thief risk does not really depend on the skill of the driver...

Ah I do realise that, just down to the increased value of the car really.
What does CASCO stand for btw?

grogi

mik_da_man wrote: »

Ah I do realise that, just down to the increased value of the car really.
What does CASCO stand for btw?

I have no idea. It might not be an acronym, I think I should not have spelled it uppercase tough...

That's quote from Google:

The Motor Casco is a voluntary insurance. It covers the motor vehicle against various risks such as fire, natural disasters, theft of the motor vehicle or the equipment installed therein, a breakdown as a result of collision with another vehicle or object on the road etc.

MaceFace

I switched my policy mid-year from Mondeo 1.6 petrol and was charged €40 extra. Very happy with that, but next renewal will be interesting...

EndaHonesty

mik_da_man wrote: »

Ah I do realise that, just down to the increased value of the car really.
What does CASCO stand for btw?

CASualty and COllision

catharsis

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I have to say i'm still smitten by the 330e, I find myself on the configurator all the time.
I think the best value is going for the Sport instead of the M-Sport, as it gives access to the cheaper exterior colours, is €2k cheaper to start with, nicer wheel options and you can still spec M-Sport suspension separately. Obviously everyone's tastes are different, its a balancing act!

Obviously a man of great taste (given that's exactly what I did).

Also means you avoid having a load of fake 'performance' 'carbon' tat spoilers etc plastered onto the car :-)

maybe a slightly controversial view - but I prefer the look of the sport and the sport steering wheel to the m-sport equivalents, which have become a little buy-racer-esque IMHO.

look out for the 'individual merino' steering wheel option, lovely on the sport wheel.

commited

I thought the same when I went in to look at them but the M-sport steering wheel is so so much nicer to hold than the sport steering wheel. Didn't know the individual merino option was available - salesman didn't mention it either.

I decided that I couldn't stomach that sort of depreciation, so wen't out and bought a 10 year old GS450h :pac:

catharsis

Just to add to my post above - Sport to M Sport difference in 2015 was about 3K - included the ~2K cost of leather

sport to M sport difference in 2016 (late 2015 when leather became standard) stayed same price, but now you are no longer paying for leather upholstery in that cost.

just thought it was worth sharing that little tidbit.

MaceFace

Does anyone know how long the 12v power socket in the boot remains on for after the car is locked?

I have a dashcam permanently plugged in, and from what I can tell, if it is plugged in, the power stays on for about 2 hours 8 minutes. If the car is not plugged in, the power will be cut 3 minutes.