BMW 330e 2023 Review

The 2023 BMW 330e sports sedan is priced from $98,700 plus on-road costs. The only plug-in hybrid in the G20/21 BMW 3 Series sedan/wagon line-up, the 330e is the second most expensive sedan in the range behind the M340i xDrive (from $106,200 plus ORCs) – if you exclude the various M3 high-performance variants.

Of all the German luxury brands, BMW is the most committed to plug-ins with five on offer, of which the 330e is the cheapest.

Obviously, ‘cheap’ is a relative term. In fact, since the last time carsales tested the G20 330e in 2020 shortly after it launched here, it was priced at $78,900 plus ORCs.

That’s a 25 per cent rise in three years, folks. BMW’s certainly not been alone among car-makers in hiking prices through the COVID era and beyond, but few have done it with more enthusiasm.

Plug-in hybrid rivals for the 330e are few and far between. The lower-output Peugeot 508 PHEV comes closest at $81,610 plus ORCs, while the zero-emissions battery-electric Tesla Model 3 Performance stands as a logical rival too, sans combustion engine.

The Volvo XC60 and Lexus NX plug-in hybrid SUVs are close on price, albeit with a different body style, or if you want to eschew the plug altogether, you could just opt for the petrol-turbo 330i – which has the same equipment as the 330e (bar all the electrical stuff) but costs $4000 less.

Like the rest of the G20/G21 range, the 2023 BMW 330e benefited from an update launched in Australia in late 2022.

Externally, the latest iteration is given away by slimmer LED headlights and a kidney grille with double bars. There are larger central and side air intakes that deliver a more aggressive look.

The M Sport package is fitted standard to all BMW 3 Series models in Australia (hence it gets added to the name), accentuating the front and rear aprons and bringing new 19-inch alloy wheels with run-flat tyres.

The test car was also equipped with the $2800 M Sport Pro package that applies cosmetic touches such as a thin boot spoiler in black and an M Sport braking system with red callipers.

A $4800 Visibility package added adaptive LED headlights, a glass sunroof and metallic paint to the test car. The standard-issue 330e LED headlights come only with high beam assistant.

Any colour except Alpine White adds at least $2000 to the price and as much as $3850.

Inside, new standard equipment includes upgraded displays (see below), as well as a stubby new gear selector that means manual shifting is now limited to flappy paddles, single-piece M Sport seats with power and lumbar adjust, and some artificial leather trimmings on the dashboard.

This stuff is in addition to equipment already fitted to the 330e including keyless access and start, tri-zone climate control, ‘Vernasca’ leather seat trim, ambient lighting and a powered boot lid.

As per all BMWs, the 330e now comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals are conditions-based and a five-year/80,000km basic maintenance package will cost you $2150.

Along with every other 3 Series 2.0-litre sedan and wagon sold in Australia, the 2023 BMW 330e carries a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating that dates back to 2019.

Protocols have been upgraded since then, but the result is still indicative of a car with strong safety credentials.

Key 330e safety equipment includes eight airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with both pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, and a head-up display to help keep your eyes somewhere near on the road.

The 330e not only warns the driver when it is drifting from its lane and applies correction, it also takes extra steps by actively steering to stay centred in the lane in the first place. This is a switchable function.

The 330e’s various sensors and cameras will also warn of front and rear cross-traffic issues and side collisions. It will brake independently of the driver to prevent rear cross-traffic collisions.

The 330e can park itself and has parking sensors and a multi-view panoramic camera to help if you want to do the job yourself.

There are three child seat top tether strap anchorage points and two ISOFIX mounts in the rear seats.

Because of its silent e-motor, the 330e gets a low-speed siren when it’s driving in EV Mode.

A telematics system called BMW ConnectedDrive includes emergency call and real-time traffic information.

Upgraded cabin technology is the biggest deal for the 2023 BMW 330e.

It’s given away by the single curved display sitting on the dashboard that encompasses both a 12.3-inch instrument panel behind the steering wheel and a centrally located 14.9-inch touch-screen.

It’s a presentation first seen in the BMW iX electric car.

The screens and their many features are run by BMW’s latest Operating System 8, enabling the number of buttons and controls to be significantly reduced in favour of touch and voice operation via BMW’s ‘intelligent personal assistant’.

Those familiar favourites buttons are gone from the dashboard and most climate control functions happen through the touch-screen (or via voice).

Widgets – think of them like apps on a smartphone screen – are the cornerstone of the touch-screen display. You can add them, delete them and move them around. They include functions like time and date, weather, navigation, vehicle settings, media and so on.

If you are more comfortable with traditional buttons and dials, this will take some getting used to. The iDrive dial and its family of buttons remain on the centre console as a point of familiarity.

Screen clarity is excellent, both for reversing cameras and satellite navigation maps.

The 330e includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection and smartphone charging. There is one USB-A port and one USB-C port up front and two USB-C ports in the rear.

A 10-speaker audio system supports AM, FM and digital radio sources.

The fundamental elements of the 2023 BMW 330e powertrain are a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, an eight-speed automatic transmission, an electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission and a lithium-ion battery pack sitting under the rear seat.

The combined output of the system is a meaty 215kW and 420Nm. That makes the 330e the most powerful and torquey four-cylinder and rear-wheel drive 3 Series on sale in Australia.

Only the six-cylinder all-wheel drive M340i xDrive outdoes it. Of course, we’re not delving into the M3 range, which is in another performance league altogether.

BMW claims the 330e can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 140km/h on electric power and 240km/h when the internal combustion engine (ICE) is operating.

There is a trick to all this, though. The full 215kW is only available when you flatten the throttle in Sport mode and an extra 30kW of power kicks in for 10 seconds. BMW calls this XtraBoost.

The 330e is capable of running on electricity alone, as a hybrid utilising both petrol and electric energy, and only using the internal combustion engine.

The driver can select the powertrain mode, including Battery Hold to add juice to the pack without expending it at the same time. Or the car can make these decisions by itself. Of course, it all depends on battery charge, driving situation and so on.

The 135kW/300Nm ICE engine is the B48 single turbo (despite being dubbed TwinPower) twin-cam 16-valve unit that’s been in service with BMW since 2015. The transmission is a traditional torque-converter from ZF, while the 83kW/265Nm electric motor is a synchronous design.

The official combined-cycle fuel consumption claim for the 2023 BMW 330e is 2.1L/100km, which sounds pretty mind boggling.

But that’s a theoretical Australian Design Rule (ADR) calculation based on running the car for a significant amount of time on electricity alone, with little use of the petrol engine.

So the basic message there is it really is important to keep the lithium-ion battery pack charged if you are to make the most of the 330e as a zero-emissions electric vehicle.

Fuel economy is helped by the automatic engine idle-stop function that shuts down the ICE when at a standstill or when the system judges it’s the right time to swap to EV running.

All that is helpful in reducing consumption, remembering the 330e prefers more expensive 95 RON premium unleaded and the fuel tank measures a small 40 litres.

The battery can be recharged in just under six hours via a 240V trickle charger, or in less than three hours via an AC wallbox. Appropriate Mode 2 and Mode 3 charger cables are supplied. Like most PHEVs, the 330e cannot be DC fast-charged.

The claimed consumption average for the 12kWh (gross) battery is 16.9kWh/100km, which equates to an official range of 57km.

On our hilly test loop with the air-con running and little sign of the low gridlock speeds perfect for EVs, the 330e managed 41km before the battery ran dry. According to the trip computer the average was 23.9kWh/100km. Clearly, that figure would improve in more suitable conditions.

In our real-world testing we still chewed a little petrol in EV mode because the ICE kicked in when extreme situations such as flat-out acceleration occurred.

When the battery is depleted the 330e becomes a petrol-electric hybrid. During our drive loop, with electricity being harvested via brake recuperation and coasting and being used to support the ICE, the fuel consumption came out at 5.9L/100km and the electricity consumption at 7.1kWh/100km.

The 2023 BMW 330e is from the same 3 Series generation as the 330i that won carsales’ Car of the Year in 2019.

We still think that car is a great drive, and as the 330e shares the same platform it’s no surprise to find it does a fine job too.

It comes standard with adaptive dampers that can be dialled from compliant Comfort mode to aggressive Sport, along with the powertrain, the excellent ZF transmission and electric-assist steering.

Despite the firmer starting point M Sport suspension and run-flat tyres provide, the 330e is mostly a civilised ride. It deals with potholes better than many of its siblings.

Comfort delivers a ride and handling balance that is excellent for urban or cross-country cruising, while Sport nails things down tighter for when those twists and curves come into view.

There is an Individual mode that allows you to mix and match settings. For instance, a lighter Comfort steering effort might be preferred with the Sport drivetrain. Just note, when you are in Sport the car runs as a hybrid and not as an EV.

I must admit with all the PHEV and dynamic modes on offer I got a bit lost at times figuring out how the car was set up. Presumably that’s something that familiarity fixes.

The transition between petrol and electricity is mainly detectable by the audio level in the quiet cabin. More obvious is the brake response, which is strong and presumably gets some regenerative assistance.

The e-motor’s tip-in torque helps launch the 330e off the line smartly and when the various powertrain parameters are performing it definitely has more than ample grunt. That’s usually the case because recuperation acts quickly and the battery starts to feed the e-motor once more.

Overall though, the 330e isn’t as crisp in its behaviour on the road as the 330i because it weighs an extra 270kg – 1815kg versus 1545kg.

That 330e number is not porcine considering this is now a 4709mm-long vehicle, but it just doesn’t handle quite as delicately as the 330i.

It’s still pretty darn good, especially because a lot of that added weight is the battery pack that sits low in the car.

There is no doubt the upgraded tech adds to the lustre of the 2023 BMW 330e interior. It just looks more modern.

Okay, that great wall of pixels might be not what you want to see if you’re a traditionalist, but would you be in the market for a PHEV anyway?

As we’ve already noted, there are upsides and downsides to the practical aspects of the new cockpit presentation. Less buttons to push and prod, but more drilling into the screen to achieve your objectives – including air-con adjustment.

And if you’re not into widgets and apps then setting up the touch-screen is going to be annoying. Lots of people are going to simply plug in their Apple or Android phone and go from there.

The configurability doesn’t stop with the touch-screen, either. The instrument panel can be tuned through five different views and the head-up display (HUD) through four. Can’t say you haven’t got choice.

Up front, the M Sport seats are comfortable, the steering column is manually reach and rake adjustable (should be powered at this money) and there is a decent level of storage on offer, including a centre lidded bin and door pockets.

In the rear it’s more cramped and closed-in due to the single-piece front seats with their plastic backing. There are no pockets on these seats for storage, but you do get sizeable door pockets and a drop-down centre arm rest with dual cup holders.

You also get temperature-controllable climate control and the aforementioned USB-C points.

Get to the boot and you’ll find capacity has been reduced from 480 litres to 375 litres because the fuel tank now sits under the floor. It has slidden back to make way for the battery.

You can split-fold the rear seat down to create more stowage room. You can hunt as hard as you like, but you’ll never find a spare tyre in the boot.

The 2023 BMW 330e is an impressive plug-in hybrid. It can be set-and-forget in its operation, or you can micro-manage its behaviour like a helicopter parent.

The one thing you must do when you park up at home or at work is – if you possibly can – plug it in! Without keeping that battery topped up you can’t run it as an EV and you lose a lot of its reason for being.

Do that and you’ll get those emissions-free urban runs and contribute a little to saving the planet while saving some money … and go some way to justifying the extra spend over a 330i.

2023 BMW 330e M Sport at a glance:
Price: $98,700 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 135kW/300Nm (electric motor: 83kW/265Nm)
Combined output: 215kW/420Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Battery: 12kWh (gross) lithium-ion
Range: 57km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 16.9kWh/100km (ADR)
Fuel: 2.1L/100km (ADR)
CO2: 48g/km (NEDC)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)