330e - Reflections after three months of ownership

SteveinArizona · 12-07-2016, 07:57 AM

First, I have an office about 20 miles away (mostly highway driving) but I work mostly from home. Most of my driving is local...a few miles to stores, libraries, golf courses, etc. I plug into my regular 120 outlet every night and the car shows 16 miles of electric driving in the AM. 95+% of the time I drive in sport mode. I use the electric only mode for local driving. My car has msport, light package, active cruise control, headup display, navigation, driving assistant, driving assistant plus, connected services, HK sound, 18" wheels/tires. When I drive on the highway I drive in the car pool lane because by driving the 330e I am grandfathered into the use of the car pool lane (based on my prior Priuses).

The car handling is terrific; I feel like it is completely grounded through turns, etc. I do not have the BMW driving experience but in sport mode the steering seems fine to me. Active cruise control works great and stops me short of the car in front of me even in local stop and go traffic. A warning on ACC -- if you are pulllng up to a light, stop sign, etc. the car stops when the car in front of me stops but, of course, if the stop is very brief it will start up again when the car moves and that can be dangerous if one is the second car in line at a stop sign (if one doesn't pay attention one will shoot through the intersection). I had the car coded to change the ACC to default to the shortest distance which change I highly recommend as it reduces the tendency of other drivers to jump in front of me.

I would have preferred the adaptive suspension option to make the ride a little softer on bumpy streets but it was not an option on the 330e -- probably because of weight. I am okay with the stiff ride because it improves handling but my spouse doesn't like it.

Acceleration is terrific...all that I need or want. If I am in all electric mode and need to speed up quickly to pass someone, the car effortlessly moves into auto mode and I don't even notice a delay as the gasoline engine starts up and adds power to the car. I would prefer that the car would otherwise default back to the electric mode but I suspect that would be a very complex issue for the ECU as it would need to figure out if the electric mode could handle the post move speed and conditions.

I love the sport seats and have them at maximum support. I am also fairly short so that makes getting in and out of the car somewhat difficult as I sit fairly close to the steering wheel. I had the car coded to activate easy access and now the car seat rolls back when I pull the door handle to make it easy for me to exit and allows me to enter with the seat in the back position and it rolls forward to my regular setting when I start the engine. I love this feature. I wish that BMW had set this feature up as a standard feature and wonder why it didn't do that.

I love the color of my leather seats (coral red) and they are comfortable and supportive but I do wish that BMW used a softer leather in the seats. I would also have preferred an option for a different color stitching. More importantly, I wish ventilated seats were an option. On the other hand, the ability to remotely turn on the AC from the BMW phone app is wonderful. In August, with the weather in the 100s every day, the car would get very hot, especially after a round of golf (4-5 hours sitting in the sun). I crack the sun roof open to allow hot air to escape and use the app to turn the ac on about 10-15 minutes before I return. The car engine doesn't start (ir runs off the hybrid battery) and the car stays locked and the car is comfortable when I get there.

I was thinking about an SUV because I like to see through the windows of the car ahead of me to see what will be coming up on the road and sitting in a sedan behind an SUV or truck makes that very difficult. I have had an X5 loaner and yesterday I used my old Hyundai Santa Fe for a short trip (I keep it as a truck for carrying larger items) and the difference in handling is incredible. Also, in Arizona, having a smaller space to AC is good. So on balance I am happy that I went with the Sedan because of its wonderful handling and would not have been nearly as happy with an SUV.

I am not a hypermiler (I drive with a lead foot) so I have only tracked mileage on occasion out of curiosity. I can't really track it because I don't know how to account for the electricity added each night. But ignoring that my worst mileage was 34.6 when I had to do a trip to Tucson (about 120 miles away) so the only electricity I used was before I started the trip; doing mostly local trips I have been in the low 50s.

Overall I am very happy with the car. When I bought it I thought I would not be able to use the electric driving mode very often but have been surprised by how often I can use it. It has great instant acceleration in electric mode; not so much when trying to accelerate when cruising (for example to pass when driving 40 mph and need to speed up to pass). But, as noted above, a press on the accelerator pedal most of the way down will seamlessly bring the gasoline engine and all the power I need.

I really wanted the Euro spec adaptive headlights and I am disappointed that we don't get antidazzle. I understand that BMW can't activate that feature until the USDOT changes the rules but they could have included the Euro spec lights but turned off the feature. That way, when the feds finally bring us up to date, we would have the feature.

I would be interested in the thoughts of other early adopters.

TheRealEssad · 12-07-2016, 09:10 AM

Interesting write-up, thanks for the review. The electric acceleration has been something Tesla has touted for a long time with their ridiculous 0-60 times.

Wunsch · 12-07-2016, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

I really wanted the Euro spec adaptive headlights and I am disappointed that we don't get antidazzle. I understand that BMW can't activate that feature until the USDOT changes the rules but they could have included the Euro spec lights but turned off the feature. That way, when the feds finally bring us up to date, we would have the feature.

If you option your car the right way, you can actually have that hardware. And with some coding, you can activate it too!

MattTheCarNut · 12-07-2016, 10:56 AM

You can code anti-dazzle on!

SteveinArizona · 12-07-2016, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattTheCarNut

You can code anti-dazzle on!

Talking with my coder and reading a bunch of posts here and at Bimmerfest it appears that the anti-dazzle does not work for the most recent LCI cars. Persons who have tried it have reported some problems.

I am very interested in coding my car for anti-dazzle and my coder has promised to do it when the problems get resolved.

What options are you talking about? I have just about every option except for the self parking option.

offshore171 · 12-08-2016, 02:18 AM

Nice writeup. I'm now 5 months into a 330e and have been to the gas station exactly once!

If I were to change something on the car, I would have added a bit more battery capacity, to give a real world EV range of around 50km / 30 miles.

That said, it's our family car and we're doing about 80+% of our driving in fully EV mode. It is remarkably relaxing to drive in traffic - the silence is calming.

12-07-2016, 07:57 AM	#1
SteveinArizona Brigadier General 3086 Rep 4,210 Posts Drives: BMW 530e Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Greater Phoenix iTrader: (0)	330e - Reflections after three months of ownership First, I have an office about 20 miles away (mostly highway driving) but I work mostly from home. Most of my driving is local...a few miles to stores, libraries, golf courses, etc. I plug into my regular 120 outlet every night and the car shows 16 miles of electric driving in the AM. 95+% of the time I drive in sport mode. I use the electric only mode for local driving. My car has msport, light package, active cruise control, headup display, navigation, driving assistant, driving assistant plus, connected services, HK sound, 18" wheels/tires. When I drive on the highway I drive in the car pool lane because by driving the 330e I am grandfathered into the use of the car pool lane (based on my prior Priuses). The car handling is terrific; I feel like it is completely grounded through turns, etc. I do not have the BMW driving experience but in sport mode the steering seems fine to me. Active cruise control works great and stops me short of the car in front of me even in local stop and go traffic. A warning on ACC -- if you are pulllng up to a light, stop sign, etc. the car stops when the car in front of me stops but, of course, if the stop is very brief it will start up again when the car moves and that can be dangerous if one is the second car in line at a stop sign (if one doesn't pay attention one will shoot through the intersection). I had the car coded to change the ACC to default to the shortest distance which change I highly recommend as it reduces the tendency of other drivers to jump in front of me. I would have preferred the adaptive suspension option to make the ride a little softer on bumpy streets but it was not an option on the 330e -- probably because of weight. I am okay with the stiff ride because it improves handling but my spouse doesn't like it. Acceleration is terrific...all that I need or want. If I am in all electric mode and need to speed up quickly to pass someone, the car effortlessly moves into auto mode and I don't even notice a delay as the gasoline engine starts up and adds power to the car. I would prefer that the car would otherwise default back to the electric mode but I suspect that would be a very complex issue for the ECU as it would need to figure out if the electric mode could handle the post move speed and conditions. I love the sport seats and have them at maximum support. I am also fairly short so that makes getting in and out of the car somewhat difficult as I sit fairly close to the steering wheel. I had the car coded to activate easy access and now the car seat rolls back when I pull the door handle to make it easy for me to exit and allows me to enter with the seat in the back position and it rolls forward to my regular setting when I start the engine. I love this feature. I wish that BMW had set this feature up as a standard feature and wonder why it didn't do that. I love the color of my leather seats (coral red) and they are comfortable and supportive but I do wish that BMW used a softer leather in the seats. I would also have preferred an option for a different color stitching. More importantly, I wish ventilated seats were an option. On the other hand, the ability to remotely turn on the AC from the BMW phone app is wonderful. In August, with the weather in the 100s every day, the car would get very hot, especially after a round of golf (4-5 hours sitting in the sun). I crack the sun roof open to allow hot air to escape and use the app to turn the ac on about 10-15 minutes before I return. The car engine doesn't start (ir runs off the hybrid battery) and the car stays locked and the car is comfortable when I get there. I was thinking about an SUV because I like to see through the windows of the car ahead of me to see what will be coming up on the road and sitting in a sedan behind an SUV or truck makes that very difficult. I have had an X5 loaner and yesterday I used my old Hyundai Santa Fe for a short trip (I keep it as a truck for carrying larger items) and the difference in handling is incredible. Also, in Arizona, having a smaller space to AC is good. So on balance I am happy that I went with the Sedan because of its wonderful handling and would not have been nearly as happy with an SUV. I am not a hypermiler (I drive with a lead foot) so I have only tracked mileage on occasion out of curiosity. I can't really track it because I don't know how to account for the electricity added each night. But ignoring that my worst mileage was 34.6 when I had to do a trip to Tucson (about 120 miles away) so the only electricity I used was before I started the trip; doing mostly local trips I have been in the low 50s. Overall I am very happy with the car. When I bought it I thought I would not be able to use the electric driving mode very often but have been surprised by how often I can use it. It has great instant acceleration in electric mode; not so much when trying to accelerate when cruising (for example to pass when driving 40 mph and need to speed up to pass). But, as noted above, a press on the accelerator pedal most of the way down will seamlessly bring the gasoline engine and all the power I need. I really wanted the Euro spec adaptive headlights and I am disappointed that we don't get antidazzle. I understand that BMW can't activate that feature until the USDOT changes the rules but they could have included the Euro spec lights but turned off the feature. That way, when the feds finally bring us up to date, we would have the feature. I would be interested in the thoughts of other early adopters.
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12-07-2016, 09:10 AM	#2
TheRealEssad Private First Class 56 Rep 144 Posts Drives: 2015 328i xDrive Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Interesting write-up, thanks for the review. The electric acceleration has been something Tesla has touted for a long time with their ridiculous 0-60 times.
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12-07-2016, 10:56 AM	#4
MattTheCarNut Lieutenant 303 Rep 481 Posts Drives: 2023 G05 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (1)	You can code anti-dazzle on! __________________ 2023 G05 Phytonic Blue/Cognac, M Sport, Prem Pkg, Parking Assistance Pkg, 22", M-sport red brakes, heated armrests, 4zone climate, HK, extended shadowline
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12-08-2016, 02:18 AM	#6
offshore171 New Member 2 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW 330, Tesla M3P+ Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: syd iTrader: (0)	Nice writeup. I'm now 5 months into a 330e and have been to the gas station exactly once! If I were to change something on the car, I would have added a bit more battery capacity, to give a real world EV range of around 50km / 30 miles. That said, it's our family car and we're doing about 80+% of our driving in fully EV mode. It is remarkably relaxing to drive in traffic - the silence is calming.
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