EFULA ABBAH
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he 2016 BMW 330E may not be an EV. But going by style and evolutional technique, it is definitely more than a hybrid. Everyone, including its maker, is tempted to compare the 2016 BMW 330E iperformance to Tesla Model 3, a prototype vehicle with an ambitious starting price tag of $35,000 and with an equally ambitious launch date.
But, be careful not to run debit with hasty analysis, because a more critical car evaluator, putting the two models side by side, can make out the difference. There’s a uniqueness factor you can’t ignore.
First and foremost, the 2016 BMW 330E isn’t an electric car. Rather, it is a plug-in hybrid; yet, you can run it against any other electric cars and plug-in hybrid if you want to and still feel a much advantage. This is because the work around this exceptional BMW model was a top production secret right from the factory.
In building the 330E, BMW engineers took the perfection of what they learned from developing the futuristic styled i8 plug-in hybrid sports car and the quirkier i3 electric vehicle and packaged it in such extra-ordinary fashion, just for one predictable reason, sothat customerscan relishtheir daily drive with unequalled comfort and satisfaction.
The end result of this masterly BMW invention is a rear-wheel drive sports car equipped with a 2-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine and an electric motor powered by 7.6kwh battery; Paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, the BMW 33e produces a combined 248-hp
In contrasting this BMW Power train with either the EVs or the electric cars may mean submitting the two for a total recall. That is the candid truth. While the electric motor has a maximum output of 87-hp, the most EVs are all about the torque.
Although the BMW 330e offers the same horse power as its combustion engine, only counterpart, the plug-in hybrid produces 310 lb-ft of torque compared to 258 Ib-ft found in the 330i. Amazing, aint it?
Another X- factor (obvious differentiator) of this BMW model is its energy efficiency. Its EPA fuel economy rating is 720mpg-e (miles per gallon equivalent). However, the most efficient compact is rated 124 mpg-e. And even if you never charged the battery at all and drive the BMW 330e like a hybrid, you’ll average 32 mpg, which is still better than the 28 mpg of combined total effort in driving a 330i.
Legitimately, the BMW 330E, five-seater sedan provides a 14-mile range from its 7.6 kWh battery. Anytime you start the car with a fully charged battery, the electric range would clock between 22 and 24 miles.
John Shipley, a product planning manager for the 3-BMW series, explained that if any discrepancy noticeable at all, it would be due to the driver’s behaviour or that the computer took into account the driving habits to determine how much electric driving range is achieved, using the energy stored in the battery alone.
Drive like a bat out of hell, or merely the cycle the EPA used, and the BMW 300E will average 14-miles of all electric driving or even more.
