digginz 3 Report post Posted August 14, 2022 Hi all, Returning member here. I had a e90 330i a few years ago, and loved the "connected" feeling you got when driving. I'm looking at possibly coming back after years with a Golf GTI. I really like the looks of the F30s and now there are a heap of them on the market so it looks like a good time to buy. With the fuel prices the way they are I've been tempted to switch over to the PHEV route, I've test driven a 330e and switching from EV to Petrol engine was pretty seamless. The torque off the line was great and I immediately got that same "BMW" feel I had with my old e90. I'll get a mechanical warranty so battery issues shouldn't be too much of an issue. Just wondering if there are any other 330e owners out there and how their experience has been so far? Are there any issues to look out for? From the research I've done they have the b48 engine which looks to be a massive improvement over the n20 in the 320i (pre-LCI). Most of my driving will be city (Wellington) so having a PHEV make would make sense for my use-case, however I don't think I'm ready to go full EV right now. Cheers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted August 15, 2022 I believe the B48 engine is only for the 2015+ models. some 2015 MY will still have the N55 too so best to cross check on the vin decoder to make sure unless you are able to recognise it from the engine bay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balancerider 778 Report post Posted August 15, 2022 @qube I think you're getting confused with the 'non plug in hybrid' pre-facelift ActiveHybrid3. All of the post facelift 330e run B48+electric motor. @digginz fuel economy without plugging in sounds poor on these, real-world range apparently ~30km and make sure your warranty covers battery and motor otherwise 🤑 if they go wrong. F3x chassis is pretty good though and the mid-2016 models onward will be able to have native Apple Carplay. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digginz 3 Report post Posted August 15, 2022 Cool thanks both for the info. Yep @balancerider thats the one, I believe all 330e's were manufactured from 2016 which has the updated LCI components and b48 engine. Ah ok good to know about the range, after years with gas guzzlers I'm pretty keen to go a little more eco. I've also been looking at a f30 320i, there are some decent ones going for reasonably cheap. However most of these have the n20 engine. From the info I've read owners have had various experiences with them, again I would just get a mech warranty so it wouldn't be too much of an issue. The only concern is resellability, as NZ is set to go Carbon-Neutral by 2025 I would assume there will be a flood of petrol cars on the market with everyone switching to some sort of EV/PHEV? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balancerider 778 Report post Posted August 16, 2022 My approach is to assume this'll be my last (non-hobby) ICE car, so depreciation is largely irrelevant if you're planning to keep it ~10 years. Gas isn't going to get any cheaper but BEV's are liable to be a lot more available (new and used) in 3 years time. N20 is ok compared to previous BMW 4 cyl engines (although that's a low bar!) but probably B48 is better. If you have a sub 15k commute then the PHEV is probably worthwhile otherwise would hang on for an LCI 320i/d, I think the PHEV's are going to be worthless too when they're >5-6 years old as the unreliability / cost to fix will kill the value proposition Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
