BMW petrols

Water2626262

Looking to change from a diesel to a petrol. Want something with a 0-60 in less than 6 seconds but I’m restricted to 2.5 litres with my insurance policy.

Have been looking at 330i’s and 430i’s (prefer the 4 series as the 3 series is getting dated). I’ve noticed however that they seem like bad value vs the 3 series hybrid. Max budget is c 30k but would prefer to spend less if possible. This also brings me into 530e territory which is a much newer car vs the 3 and 4 series however I don’t have driveway and don’t envisage myself charging it often.

Are the petrols worth the premium? Is it stupid to spend 30k on a 430i when 330es are in the low to mid 20s (171 ish although the 330es seem to be mostly low spec). Not sure about the 530e either because I want something sportier and not another cruiser. I also don’t want to be dealing with battery / software issues.

Would also go for a 2.0 tfsi Quattro but very rare and the few in the country are in the high 30s.

Heres Johnny

Water2626262 wrote: »

Looking to change from a diesel to a petrol. Want something with a 0-60 in less than 6 seconds but I’m restricted to 2.5 litres with my insurance policy.

Have been looking at 330i’s and 430i’s (prefer the 4 series as the 3 series is getting dated). I’ve noticed however that they seem like bad value vs the 3 series hybrid. Max budget is c 30k but would prefer to spend less if possible. This also brings me into 530e territory which is a much newer car vs the 3 and 4 series however I don’t have driveway and don’t envisage myself charging it often.

Are the petrols worth the premium? Is it stupid to spend 30k on a 430i when 330es are in the low to mid 20s (171 ish although the 330es seem to be mostly low spec). Not sure about the 530e either because I want something sportier and not another cruiser. I also don’t want to be dealing with battery / software issues.

Would also go for a 2.0 tfsi Quattro but very rare and the few in the country are in the high 30s.

You remind me of a person I work with who wants everything printed on only 1 page but doesnt want the writing to be small!

Look, something has to give. A 4 series is always a more expensive car than a 3 series and a 30i engine will always cost more than a 30e engine because there were grants applied to the 30e

You will get a really nice 330e under budget, and also a really nice 430i and also a 530e now too.

First thing is to figure out which of the cars you really want then focus from there, at the moment you have 2 budgets and 3 cars in mind. The fact you say sporty means I'd be leaning towards a 430i

Idbatterim

with the budget you are mentioning, assume this wouldnt be of interest?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-523i-for-sale-/26481106?campaign=3

Water2626262

Idbatterim wrote: »

with the budget you are mentioning, assume this wouldnt be of interest?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-523i-for-sale-/26481106?campaign=3

Thanks but I have younger trade in

Water2626262

Heres Johnny wrote: »

You remind me of a person I work with who wants everything printed on only 1 page but doesnt want the writing to be small!

Look, something has to give. A 4 series is always a more expensive car than a 3 series and a 30i engine will always cost more than a 30e engine because there were grants applied to the 30e

You will get a really nice 330e under budget, and also a really nice 430i and also a 530e now too.

First thing is to figure out which of the cars you really want then focus from there, at the moment you have 2 budgets and 3 cars in mind. The fact you say sporty means I'd be leaning towards a 430i

I reckon I need to test drive a few once this lockdown ends. I’d save a fair bit getting a 330e but I’d have to go out of my way to charge it so seems like a waste.

Heres Johnny

Water2626262 wrote: »

I reckon I need to test drive a few once this lockdown ends. I’d save a fair bit getting a 330e but I’d have to go out of my way to charge it so seems like a waste.

I would go for a 330e and save the money on purchase price. Even if not plugging in. You'll sell it on again in the future easier. But that's just me, each to their own.

billy121

Have a 428i (430i took over from 428i in 2016), very similar performance to 430i (241 vs 248 bhp, 5.6 vs 5.5 0-60, both 4 cylinder). Lovely looking car and relatively fast to accelerate, decent motorway cruiser but driving performance in my old mk5 GTI was streets ahead. If I were changing I'd be looking at the 440i or an M4 if cash wasnt an issue, 140i is savage as is the Golf type R. 330e brilliant acceleration when charged up but loose charge very quick if you like pushing the pedal

billy121

billy121 wrote: »

............. 330e brilliant acceleration when charged up but loose charge very quick if you like pushing the pedal

I thought there's always bttery left? As in the engine keeps it to a minimum level.
There's two 0 to 60 times? One with charge and one without?

billy121

Augeo wrote: »

I thought there's always bttery left? As in the engine keeps it to a minimum level.
There's two 0 to 60 times? One with charge and one without?

Just something I heard, I could be wrong, have never driven and dont anything about the 330e really

Water2626262

billy121 wrote: »

Just something I heard, I could be wrong, have never driven and dont anything about the 330e really

I do have that concern with the 330e, surely if there is no power left for the electric motor you are down in horses?. Still looking at 330i and 430i’s anyway. I’d gladly buy a 428i too if they came up for sale.

I’d also look at a 3 litre but I have a good insurance deal that’s restricted to 2.5 max.

billy121

Water2626262 wrote: »

I do have that concern with the 330e, surely if there is no power left for the electric motor you are down in horses?. Still looking at 330i and 430i’s anyway. I’d gladly buy a 428i too if they came up for sale.

I’d also look at a 3 litre but I have a good insurance deal that’s restricted to 2.5 max.

Had my 428i up on donedeal until recently, looking to go back to vw, probably an R, still under bmw warranty( Joe Duffy) 46k km, just serviced, pm if you are interested black sapphire, Manual,sport, immaculate

Leonard Hofstadter

The plug ins deliver the same amount of power all the time, there is no more power just because the battery is charged.

Well OP, I think you've answered your own question. If you're not going to charge it that much, why bother? Why would you have a car that weighs 200 kilos more, loses 1/3 of the boot space and has only 2/3rds the size of a fuel tank of the standard car?

The reason the plug ins depreciate so much is simple - the technology is moving on all the time, and at a far quicker pace than with the conventional cars.

If you look at the current 330e compared to the previous one, they moved the battery from the boot to underneath the rear seats, so that means a more even weight distribution and thus better handling, it does 60 km not 30 km when fully charged (and probably more in reality as the new car has been tested under the more realistic WLTP cycle, the old one was tested on the NEDC, which is more leniant), and it's gone from 248 bhp to 288 bhp with the XtraBoost mode.

By comparison the 330i has gained just 5 bhp (gone from 249 to 255) and a bit more torque, similarly for the 330d, which has gone from 255 bhp to 261 for the currnet model. So in terms of a model specific improvement, the plug in has by far made the biggest advance.

But even the latest 330e is far from the best showcase of where the technology is going, the plug-in X5 does 97 km on the battery and has a 69 litre fuel tank so now you're down to just a weight penalty. The latest Mercedes S-class plug-in can do 100 km when fully charged.

If it keeps going at that pace it won't be long before plug-ins don't just make sense for the eco-conscious motorist, they'll make sense for petrolheads, too. If they could get the weight penalty down to say just 60 kilos, and it had a proper fuel tank, it would make every other engine in the range utterly redundant, for petrolheads and non-petrolheads alike.

Heres Johnny

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

The plug ins deliver the same amount of power all the time, there is no more power just because the battery is charged.

Well OP, I think you've answered your own question. If you're not going to charge it that much, why bother? Why would you have a car that weighs 200 kilos more, loses 1/3 of the boot space and has only 2/3rds the size of a fuel tank of the standard car?

The reason the plug ins depreciate so much is simple - the technology is moving on all the time, and at a far quicker pace than with the conventional cars.

If you look at the current 330e compared to the previous one, they moved the battery from the boot to underneath the rear seats, so that means a more even weight distribution and thus better handling, it does 60 km not 30 km when fully charged (and probably more in reality as the new car has been tested under the more realistic WLTP cycle, the old one was tested on the NEDC, which is more leniant), and it's gone from 248 bhp to 288 bhp with the XtraBoost mode.

By comparison the 330i has gained just 5 bhp (gone from 249 to 255) and a bit more torque, similarly for the 330d, which has gone from 255 bhp to 261 for the currnet model. So in terms of a model specific improvement, the plug in has by far made the biggest advance.

But even the latest 330e is far from the best showcase of where the technology is going, the plug-in X5 does 97 km on the battery and has a 69 litre fuel tank so now you're down to just a weight penalty. The latest Mercedes S-class plug-in can do 100 km when fully charged.

If it keeps going at that pace it won't be long before plug-ins don't just make sense for the eco-conscious motorist, they'll make sense for petrolheads, too. If they could get the weight penalty down to say just 60 kilos, and it had a proper fuel tank, it would make every other engine in the range utterly redundant, for petrolheads and non-petrolheads alike.

Good post.

I think the future of motoring will have PHEV playing a big part alongside BEV. Mercedes have brought out a diesel e class PHEV, the E300de, first one I've heard of. Diesel for long spins and battery for short spins.