€20k-€30k Budget - 330E? Or stretch for 530E?

sleepysniper

Mainly doing short trips - approx. 30km round trip commute and can charge at work so I'm thinking one of these models in M-Sport trim would suit but am open to other suggestions, just not full electric.

Budget is €20,000 to €30,000, although closer to €20k is better, unless the 530E is worth the extra?  

Main reason I'm considering the 530E over the 330E is that I believe the 5 series is generally better spec'd than the 330E even with the M-Sport kit? One of my main wants from whatever I go for is excellent headlights for night time driving on country roads - is there much of a difference between the 2 on this front?

My main concerns would be around the battery and associated technology as I'd be going for one of the earlier 330E's ('16-'17) (unless I stretch to a 530E '19). How well would it hold up after multiple charging cycles and being 6-7 years old now?

Also, I was talking to a salesman about the 330E at the weekend and, as I am not familiar with PHEVs, I asked about how it works. I was under the impression that when the battery runs out of charge, it then acts as a mild(?) hybrid, where the engine puts charge back into the battery under engine braking, but he did not seem to think this was the case. So, is it really that once the battery charge runs flat after 20km or so that you are running purely on petrol carrying the additional weight of the battery and electrical motor or does the engine put some charge back into the battery?

kirving

I have an F30 330e. It will act as a mild hybrid once the battery runs out. I get about 20k from a charge if I'm careful. Most I've ever got was 28km.

I've got abuse on here for giving out about it, but my battery went, and it was an expensive fix. BMW wanted €4k with no guarantee that it wouldn't be €8k, but after months of looking, I finally got an independent to fix it for less than that, but still into the multiple thousands.

Apparently others can do it too now though, and I asked two places, but neither were very forthcoming with a definitive "yes we can do it", and I didn't want to waster their time to settle a boards argument.

Don't buy one without a good warranty is my advice, and any car you buy, have it scanned by your own mechanic. The battery management system is very advanced to be fair, and should log errors early.

SeanaciousD

Also a 2016 F30 owner. Owned since 2019 going from 40k-110k km's on the clock.

I've had zero issues with the car *touch wood*, but my friend has a 2017 330e and he did have an issue with a coolant leak caused by a cracked radiator housing (common issue for the 2.0 petrol supposedly). Neither of us have had battery issues. I also get ~20km on a charge and haven't had any noticeable loss in capacity in the 4 years according to my EV charger. Averaging 66 mpg and 8.3kwh/100km myself.

Other common issues are the internal charger (known as the KLE) failing which can be an expensive fix, and the early models were recalled due to a starter motor issue that could damage the gearbox. If it's an import check the VIN with BMW UK to make sure it was carried out. There's an app (iPhone only) called Mi3 which you can use with any generic OBD reader to check the state of health of the battery. Designed for the i3 but known to work with the 330e, not sure about the 530e.

Comments aside it's a nice car of course which is why I still have it! The 530e is a general step up in most aspects including range, it might get you the full 30km whereas the F30 definitely won't. Up to you if its worth the extra cost.

kanuseeme

Some one in the hybrid forum with a KLE issue on his 330e, I had mine for 1 year 160 mpg and (17 kwh I think I forget), mostly local trips and occasional long trip, cost me 250e in petrol for the year, no problems with it.

Some are Japanese imports, as mine was, extremely hard to tell if they fixed the radio and nav, only problem I had with the 330e was boot size, sometimes a bag or 2 of shopping had to go at someone's feet.

The car will do 20-30 km on battery after that 7l/100km, so a 100km trip is 5.6l and 6kwh , or 50 mpg plus 6kwh.

After the battery runs dry it will just switch over to engine, you can charge it by pressing save, but its using more petrol than normal driving, it will regen when breaking as with a hybrid, engine will switch off when coasting, but not when ACC is being used, better to let it do its own thing and not worry about it too much, the battery and motor only weigh 220 kg extra,

I don't know which is worse, hauling around a 77 kwh battery for 30 kms or hauling a 7 kwh battery for the times you go over 30 km.

GustavoFring

We have a 2018 530e. We live in the country so the battery is often used at high speed or up a large hill so we don’t get anywhere claimed on battery only. 15km or so, maybe 20km around town. But it does take the edge off fuel economy. Cars averaged 5.9l/100km over the last couple of years, better than the previous 520d and that’s allowing for the cost of electricity. That’s doing 50km each way on country roads/motorway each day normally. With other driving it tends to do 8-900km a week.

I had an F31 and F30 and the G30 is a real step up in build, refinement and comfort. If you can push the budget a little it’s a much nicer car.

We haven’t had any real issues with the car (currently about 160k km on it) but I did need to top up the coolant the other week so that’s being looked into more at the end of the month with a brake fluid change as it took almost a litre. The BMW warranty is worth it but note that the batteries are only covered to 100k km I think.