BMW 330e advice

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 16:54

Hi all

I have the option via a salary sacrifice scheme to lease a BMW 330e Sport. I currently drive a 2010 Hybrid Toyota Auris. My commute to work is 2.3 miles, so 4.6 miles a day. There is a free car charger at work (with lots of competition to use it!).

I try to drive my Auris as economically as possible and I as my commute to work is quite a lot of downhill, I can regenerate a decent amount of power for the battery and subsequently make it to work mostly under battery power, although there are stretches of faster roads where the petrol engine kicks in and times when the petrol engine kicks in to charge the battery due to the battery being low.

I understand that the BMW 330e can drive for 'up to' 25 miles on the battery and it can use the battery for much faster speeds than my Auris can (the Auris will automatically start and use the petrol engine when over 30mph).

My question really is around whether the 'hydridness' of the BMW would work in much the same way as the Auris with the added benefit of increased range and speed on electric only? I envisage that a lot of my driving could potentially be electric only and my commute would almost certainly be. I understand that the BMW uses a more traditional gearbox that has distinct gears (even though automatic) whereas my Auris has a CVT gearbox. I don't really know what difference this would make though.

Many thanks

M

[TW]Fox · 5 Aug 2017 at 16:57

You will be able to complete your commute entirely on electric power with the 330e.

Careful with Salary Sacrifice - they often sound sensible but end up being expensive because a salary sacrifice on a ripoff lease is more expensive than no salary sacrifice on a car purchased yourself....

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 16:59

[TW]Fox said:
You will be able to complete your commute entirely on electric power with the 330e.

Careful with Salary Sacrifice - they often sound sensible but end up being expensive because a salary sacrifice on a ripoff lease is more expensive than no salary sacrifice on a car purchased yourself....

Thanks for your reply. The salary sacrifice works out as approx £330pm for 3 years.

[TW]Fox · 5 Aug 2017 at 17:11

So £12,000. Assuming thats the net cost, its not exactly deal of the decade.

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 17:13

[TW]Fox said:
So £12,000. Assuming thats the net cost, its not exactly deal of the decade.

Not sure if it's par for the course but that does include road tax, insurance, breakdown cover and repairs.

Any idea where you could lease the same car for less including all of the above?

Rilot · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:18

Best I could find was around the £380 mark per month so £330 sounds pretty good to me. Is that with no initial deposit? What's the mileage limit?

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:21

Rilot said:
Best I could find was around the £380 mark per month so £330 sounds pretty good to me. Is that with no initial deposit? What's the mileage limit?

No deposit and I don't believe there is a mileage limit but I best check exactly.

Diddums · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:33

mrochester said:
There is a free car charger at work (with lots of competition to use it!).

This comment and the millions of others like it are the reason I'll probably never go electric. You can bet your bottom dollar the people hogging chargers is going to create a passive-aggressive war between colleagues. I suspect there will be blood on the streets when selfish pricks start leaving their cars all day, winding everyone else up.

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:34

Diddums said:
This comment and the millions of others like it are the reason I'll probably never go electric. You can bet your bottom dollar the people hogging chargers is going to create a passive-aggressive war between colleagues. I suspect there will be blood on the streets when selfish pricks start leaving their cars all day, winding everyone else up.

Sadly it might be a case of leaving it all day as there's typically no spaces left in the car park by 8:30am!

Diddums · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:43

mrochester said:
Sadly it might be a case of leaving it all day as there's typically no spaces left in the car park by 8:30am!

Sounds like your employer needs to get their act together then tbh.

What are the performance specs on these anyway? Enough to warrant 330 or more 316?

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:47

Diddums said:
Sounds like your employer needs to get their act together then tbh.

What are the performance specs on these anyway? Enough to warrant 330 or more 316?

I'll leave that to someone else lol.

MORE SPEED · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:47

Same power as today's 330i's, more torque but also more weight. Not much in it in the real world I expect.

b0rn2sk8 · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:49

mrochester said:
My commute to work is 2.3 miles, so 4.6 miles a day.

Get a bike.

But seriously, as others have said the BMW will drive on all electric at normal speeds, if you did't so any work miles you could commute all week and still have plenty in the thing to spare. Just charge it at home, its not like you need the work charger to get home again. It will charge from a standard socket just fine.

It would be a big upgrade over the Toyota for sure.

Fully Charged did a video on it's hybrid features. Bobby Lew isn't your normal motoring journalist, throws in a bit of Kryten every now and then. He is more focused on the eco stuff but it is usually fairly balanced.

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:51

b0rn2sk8 said:
Get a bike.

But seriously, as others have said the BMW will drive on all electric at normal speeds, if you did't so any work miles you could commute all week and still have plenty in the thing to spare. Just charge it at home, its not like you need the work charger to get home again. It will charge from a standard socket just fine.

It would be a big upgrade over the Toyota for sure.

Fully Charged did a video on it's hybrid features. Bobby Lew isn't your normal motoring journalist, throws in a bit of Kryten every now and then. He is more focused on the eco stuff but it is usually fairly balanced.

Yeah I watched that video he seemed to enjoy it! No work miles in the car.

[TW]Fox · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:52

MORE SPEED said:
Same power as today's 330i's, more torque but also more weight. Not much in it in the real world I expect.

Actually it has the same power from it's petrol engine as a 320i which is a shame.

Diddums · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:53

[TW]Fox said:
Actually it has the same power from it's petrol engine as a 320i which is a shame.

Oh wow, I thought it was all electric :eek:

That's a different ball game then. Ignore my earlier comment.

b0rn2sk8 · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:55

Diddums said:
Oh wow, I thought it was all electric

That's a different ball game then. Ignore my earlier comment.

It's a plug in hybrid, when you combine the smaller engine and motor its about what a 330i would be.

mrochester said:
No work miles in the car.

Ok, seriously get a bike/electric skateboard to commute. Save the car for weekends

.

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 20:56

b0rn2sk8 said:
It's a plug in hybrid, when you combine the smaller engine and motor its about what a 330i would be.

For those of us who don't know, is that good, bad or ugly?

b0rn2sk8 · 5 Aug 2017 at 21:02

mrochester said:
For those of us who don't know, is that good, bad or ugly?

It's the future like it or not.

It will have 3 modes, engine only, electric only or combined.

Combined with give the max power and range from the drive train, mainly use it for driving past the range of the electric only or when you want the most power from the car.

Electric only is the Eco more that uses no fuel. You just have to bare in mind that the AC and heater uses the engine. I think if you floor it in electric only the engine will cut in to assist.

Engine only is for when you run out of electric or you want to save it for when your in a big city, say your driving 100 miles into central London where the electric only will be far more efficient.

mrochester · 5 Aug 2017 at 21:06

b0rn2sk8 said:
It's the future like it or not.

It will have 3 modes, engine only, electric only or combined.

Combined with give the max power and range from the drive train, mainly use it for driving past the range of the electric only or when you want the most power from the car.

Electric only is the Eco more that uses no fuel. You just have to bare in mind that the AC and heater uses the engine. I think if you floor it in electric only the engine will cut in to assist.

Engine only is for when you run out of electric or you want to save it for when your in a big city, say your driving 100 miles into central London where the electric only will be far more efficient.

Sorry I mean about the comparison to the 330i! I don't know what that is other than a different model.