[ted99]

About a thousand miles on my 2017 330e and the amount of brake dust on my front wheels says that there is a lot of mechanical brake use. I traded an i3 for the 330i and became used to one pedal driving where I hardly ever touched the brake pedal. Unfortunately, the 330i does not have this feature. I always coast as much as possible before a stop and always have to use the brake pedal to come to a complete halt. One-pedal-driving is a software feature that BMW could easily add and I said so when BMWNA called me shortly after delivery to ask what I thought of the car. This feature could add several miles to it's very limited range for in-town driving if it were added.

[DrifterX]

I'm pretty sure the 330e has regenerative braking but there are a factors you need to consider why there is a difference. It's not as simple as you're suggesting.

1. A 3 Series is much heavier than an i3 (4030lbs vs. 2899lbs) so you need additional braking power
2. The battery is smaller (7.6kWh vs. 33KWh) so you cannot dump all the load of coasting on it for charging as the charge rate needs to be lower on the smaller capacity battery, especially with all that weight
3. Since a 330e is a hybrid, you don't want to lose all your momentum/energy while coasting as you'd lose efficiency to get back up to speed if needed. I'm pretty sure there would be too much of an energy loss in that process, be it using the electric motor or gas

I have no doubt that BMW has done their due diligence to optimize coasting/regenerative braking for such a car - it's a pure balancing act.

[SteveinArizona]

I have a 2016 330e and while I do get a lot of brake dust, I think that is just what you get when one owns a BMW. I think you will find that you don't use up a lot of your brake pads on a 330e.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by ted99

About a thousand miles on my 2017 330e and the amount of brake dust on my front wheels says that there is a lot of mechanical brake use. I traded an i3 for the 330i and became used to one pedal driving where I hardly ever touched the brake pedal. Unfortunately, the 330i does not have this feature. I always coast as much as possible before a stop and always have to use the brake pedal to come to a complete halt. One-pedal-driving is a software feature that BMW could easily add and I said so when BMWNA called me shortly after delivery to ask what I thought of the car. This feature could add several miles to it's very limited range for in-town driving if it were added.

You obviously know the car, but it got me wondering. I'm not familiar with either the i3 or the 330e, but does the 330e have the brake actuation like the Active-Hybrids with the initial "response travel" function? The bit where no hydraulic braking occurs. Or is that the bit that is missing?

[jmg]

How does the 330e compare to your i3? I'm a new owner, so far I'm loving it. I've had a 330e loaner before, but unfortunately it was not charged and they didn't provide me with a cable.

[ted99]

I'm pretty sure that more agressive regeneration could be added without any problem. I can assure you that the small battery almost immediately has capacity for a braking recharge. The Vehicle software has a provision to invoke Sport mode for drivetrain, chassis, or both. It would be a simple matter for a similar feature for brake regenation to be "light" or "strong". I suspect that in an abundance of caution when the 330e was introduced, BMW elected to not implement strong brake regeneration. Remember all the concern with first time Tesla drivers being disconcerted by the strong regeneration. I think we are all past that, now; particularly if it could be an optional feature. One car, and I believe it's either the Volt or the Nissan, has a lever one can pull to initiate strong regeneration. My fifth BMW, so I'm well aware of the propensity to make brake dust from the OEM pads. The fact that the 330e is making as much dust (as compared to Zero on my i3) as a regular 3 indicates that there is a lot more mechanical braking translating electricity to heat present.

Except for the much more limited range for the 330e and lack of one-pedal driving, I far prefer the 330e to the i3. My wife complained about the unsprung coal-cart ride of the i3 on Houstons near-city potholed roads every time she was in the car. Ride in the 330e is limosine-like in comparison. 330e is longer, but still has a very small turning radius and great acceleration so it's a great city car. I used the i3, and now the 330e for inside the beltway trips to grocery, dinner, errands. I could charge the i3 once a week, but I have to charge the 330e after each trip, if I'm going to do it all on electric. The 330e is a much more flexible car as I can take it on ANY trip, with no pre-planning. If the next gen 330e battery gets the next generation of battery, along with the i3, X5, and X3; with an all-electric range of 40 miles, or so, I'll only need to charge twice a week. I really prefer a plug-in hybrid, compared to all-electric for at least one of my cars. We will be trading my wife's 528 for an X5e next year, and then, I'll go back to an i3 if the ride is fixed, or the all-electric 3.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by DrifterX

I'm pretty sure the 330e has regenerative braking

It does, but it's not the same as the i3 system. Since the i3 only has electric power the large electric motor can be used to do almost all of the braking, with the conventional brakes acting as a secondary system. The smaller electric motor of the 300e by itself can't provide enough braking, so traditional brakes do most of the work, creating that high level of brake dust that BMW owners are very familiar with.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

It does, but it's not the same as the i3 system. Since the i3 only has electric power the large electric motor can be used to do almost all of the braking, with the conventional brakes acting as a secondary system. The smaller electric motor of the 300e by itself can't provide enough braking, so traditional brakes do most of the work, creating that high level of brake dust that BMW owners are very familiar with.

Exactly. When I brake gently one bar lights up; when I brake with more effort it goes to all three bars for charging. So on harder braking, the 330e uses a combination of regenerative braking and regular braking.

I know this may be heresy in this forum but if you are going to buy a X5e and want a smaller all electric car for commuting, based on current vehicles, I would suggest looking at the Bolt as your second car. Of course, in a year or two, the choices will be greater both in the BMW family and from other car makers.

[BMWtight2me]

I downshift manually with the steptronice shifter or paddles. Greatly reduced the amount I need to break.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by BMWtight2me

I downshift manually with the steptronice shifter or paddles. Greatly reduced the amount I need to break.

Do you get a greater overrun (regeneration) charging rate doing that, having extra revs for the alternator? More bars on the display?

[Alan_Tan]

here is the brake on my 330e

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Alan_Tan

here is the brake on my 330e

And the polarizing factory (?) M badge?