[stubbsy74]

Hi all,
I have been looking on this site for around 6months now ever since i ordered my new BMW 330e PHEV in the hope that i can get some tips/advice (and basically get giddy) about my newly ordered car. I have been on our American counterparts forums but as America is full of freeways I do not think that they are as excited about this car as i am. I only have a 10mile round commute to work and therefore i think this car has more potential (until BMW raise the bar in the range capacity) in the UK than in America. If there is anyone out there who is willing to share their experiences/photos and maybe do some road tests that'd be great.

[teaston]

There is no 330e iperformance in this country, it's just called the 330e!

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by teaston

There is no 330e iperformance in this country, it's just called the 330e!

I was told that they were re-branding them all to iperformance. Oops.

[teaston]

Oh maybe they are! I can't find any info on UK iperformances though.

[Andydf]

It's a fun car to drive. Performance is pretty good and if you want economy it can give you that too.

Doesn't look to bad either
20160428_191148 by Andy Fletcher, on Flickr

[stubbsy74]

What wheels are they Andy? Ive ended up upgrading from the standard 400M alloys to the 441M Ferric Grey. Some people are saying that they just look mucky but i was sick of trying to bleed the brake dust off of silver alloys.
What interior did you spec?

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by teaston

There is no 330e iperformance in this country, it's just called the 330e!

Found this on the Geneva motor show website from the 2016 roadshow. As i thought i think BMW is trying to put aside the 'e' branding and change it across the board for all ranges up to and including the 7er and are now calling it the 'iperformance range' although having read on its a little confusing and appears somewhat contradictory!!!


iPerformance Model Designation
The BMW iPerformance also celebrated its premiere at Geneva. From July 2016 all BMW plug-in hybrid vehicles will be given the iPerformance Model Designation, which will allow customers to identify the transfer of technology from the BMW i sub-brand to the BMW core brand in both the name and design elements of various models. This will first be seen on the plug-in hybrid variants of the new BMW 7 Series, e.g. the BMW 740e iPerformance. The iPerformance models will also benefit from the transfer of technical expertise regarding electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems.

[Tengocity]

I've got one... What do you want to know?

I like it, absolutely superb around town and for urban driving. We also have an extensively modified 335d and compared to that car I miss the mid range grunt on the motorway, and character of the 6pot engine.

Handling wise it's got good balance and better steering than the 335d, with a much less nose heavy feel than a diesel.

The ride is ok, perhaps a touch on the firm side in MSport guise for some, but just what I'd expect from a BMW, and gives it a good natural fluency.

I charge it at home only really and doing quite long daily journeys for work I'm getting about 45mpg over the first 4000 miles I've done in it, which is fine for me.

Biggest gripe is the 40litre tank as it means I fill up too often at almost twice a week, but that's a reflection of my mileage as much as the car.

If you want to go fast then it will oblige, but you need to work it hard, except over first 0-30mph when the electric motor gives it immediate throttle response and torque.

[Andydf]

Originally Posted by stubbsy74

What wheels are they Andy? Ive ended up upgrading from the standard 400M alloys to the 441M Ferric Grey. Some people are saying that they just look mucky but i was sick of trying to bleed the brake dust off of silver alloys.
What interior did you spec?

The wheels are 18" V-spoke Orbit Grey Style 398 alloy wheels.

Only options I had were the wheels, pro-nav and sun protection glass. Went for the black leather and brushed ali finish.

[stubbsy74]

Thanks Tengocity. Yeah i can imagine you will miss the performance of your 335. What an immense car collection you have.For me its going to be a case of more power than i know what to shake a stick at. I'm currently running a 90bhp Golf haha.
One thing I'm sure i read and was a little concerned about. I'm wanting my car on a morning to be 100% battery as that will suffice for my relatively short commute to work and back (where I'm going to save money ready for my weekend power run outs.) Someone posted though that if you didn't charge on the 3 pin plug at the right voltage then if you set the automatic conditioning for the morning it would drain more battery than you can feed into it. I did notice that the author was in the USA and i was wondering if that was because they have a weaker power outage (around 110v) as opposed to UK's 240v. Ill be most upset if i plug my car in at night and then in the morning it has drained a lot of the battery trying to condition the car in those cold winter mornings!

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Andydf

The wheels are 18" V-spoke Orbit Grey Style 398 alloy wheels.

Only options I had were the wheels, pro-nav and sun protection glass. Went for the black leather and brushed ali finish.

Ive gone for the Oyster Dakota leather with the only optional extra being the heated front seats, the M sport estoril blue metallic paint and the 18" alloys above(i was on a budget, grrrrr). I am really disappointed now to find out that the Dakota Leather I've ordered isn't in fact real leather. What a scam. Ah well its 150bhp more than i had before!!!!

[Blacktemplar]

Erm... Dakota is real leather...just not very high grade like the nappa or merino. A bit thicker and rougher, but possibly more stain resistant and durable.

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Blacktemplar

Erm... Dakota is real leather...just not very high grade like the nappa or merino. A bit thicker and rougher, but possibly more stain resistant and durable.

Ah fantastic thanks i had seriously lost faith. I must have misread it somewhere i heard that it was Merino Leather which was the real leather. It must have been just talking about the grade of leather. Happy bunny now!!!

[Blacktemplar]

Glad to help old sausage. It's pretty much the same deal with the Milano and Valcona leather in Aldis - my A6 has the cheaper Milano, which is very like the Dakota when new, but smoothes & softens somewhat over time without cracking. I've done nearly 70k miles and the leather still looks good, even though I'm a lazy git and never clean or condition it. Don't know how the Oyster will fare over time, might need a bit more tlc but should be ok.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by stubbsy74

Thanks Tengocity. Yeah i can imagine you will miss the performance of your 335. What an immense car collection you have.For me its going to be a case of more power than i know what to shake a stick at. I'm currently running a 90bhp Golf haha.
One thing I'm sure i read and was a little concerned about. I'm wanting my car on a morning to be 100% battery as that will suffice for my relatively short commute to work and back (where I'm going to save money ready for my weekend power run outs.) Someone posted though that if you didn't charge on the 3 pin plug at the right voltage then if you set the automatic conditioning for the morning it would drain more battery than you can feed into it. I did notice that the author was in the USA and i was wondering if that was because they have a weaker power outage (around 110v) as opposed to UK's 240v. Ill be most upset if i plug my car in at night and then in the morning it has drained a lot of the battery trying to condition the car in those cold winter mornings!

I've had a few days so far with the air con on whilst it's plugged in, and it was on full charge when I went to drive it.

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I've had a few days so far with the air con on whilst it's plugged in, and it was on full charge when I went to drive it.

Ah fantastic thanks Tengocity. It must have been the current they feed on. Can i just ask. Can it just run off of a normal outdoor waterproof extension socket if needed?? I can only fit a charge point in my permanent address, not my rental part time address so there will have to an extension lead.

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Blacktemplar

Glad to help old sausage. It's pretty much the same deal with the Milano and Valcona leather in Aldis - my A6 has the cheaper Milano, which is very like the Dakota when new, but smoothes & softens somewhat over time without cracking. I've done nearly 70k miles and the leather still looks good, even though I'm a lazy git and never clean or condition it. Don't know how the Oyster will fare over time, might need a bit more tlc but should be ok.

Cheers for that. Ive already invested in some leather applicant thanks to advice from Tengocity. don't want someones indigo jeans colouring all over my seats. haha

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by stubbsy74

Ah fantastic thanks Tengocity. It must have been the current they feed on. Can i just ask. Can it just run off of a normal outdoor waterproof extension socket if needed?? I can only fit a charge point in my permanent address, not my rental part time address so there will have to an extension lead.

Yes I that should be fine. I did this at my parents place when visiting recently. The one mistake I made though was not fully unwinding the extension cable whilst trying to charge at the highest rate, which caused it to trip!

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Yes I that should be fine. I did this at my parents place when visiting recently. The one mistake I made though was not fully unwinding the extension cable whilst trying to charge at the highest rate, which caused it to trip!

Not wanting to sound a little dim but how do you choose what rate to charge at????

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by stubbsy74

Not wanting to sound a little dim but how do you choose what rate to charge at????

I tried the fastest and it worked...!

[stubbsy74]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I tried the fastest and it worked...!

Huh i don't understand how do you change the rate of charging???

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by stubbsy74

Huh i don't understand how do you change the rate of charging???

You can choose it via the settings on idrive