bmw 3 series 2.0 hybrid

buzzing147

Hi

Just enquiring

I'm driving a 17 skoda superb at moment, and thinking of changing to a 2021 3 series bmw 2.0 petrol hybrid

Have had no issues whatsoever with the superb. Never had a bmw before, so wary of potential issues, ie battery etc

Anyone currently own one of these cars or knowlegable about them, if they were troublesome I'd opt for another superb, so just looking for opinions or advice

Thanks

cr-07

Hi Buzzing,

Currently driving a 2020 330e - have owned it for 1.5 years now. Fantastic car to drive - nice and quick, whilst also providing a good bit of comfort. Very solidly made. If looking, try and get a good spec. One bad point is that the boot is quite small, so depending on your use-case, you might find that an issue. If budget allows, it might be no harm to look at the 530e's as well, just to get a size comparison.

Roughly speaking, the 3 series would equate to an Octavia, whereas the 5 series would be a Superb.

I have an m-sport pro model. X-drive is not really needed for Irish weather. Easiest way to check what spec it is:

Black grill on the front (not silver)

M-sport logo on steering wheel / side panel of the car

'Adaptive' button on center console (underneath 'Sport' / 'Hybrid' / 'Electric')

Red & blue thread on the seat belts

Harmon / Kardon sound system

Blue or Red brake calipers

Nice optionals include:

Sunroof (obvious to spot)

Heated steering wheel (Can be seen by a button on bottom of steering wheel)

Wireless charging (Can be seen by 'cubby' hole above center console)

Get about 50km from a full battery in good weather / summer months, and about 25km in bad weather / winter.

Had no major issues with it other than a front suspension arm / ball joint becoming worn.

My advice is to use quality / OEM parts when changing things like air filters etc.

Had an issue where I put in some 'cheap' window washer fluid. This caused the reservoir to clog up (due to the fluid containing silicon). Pain in the a** job to remove the reservoir and flush it out. Apparently BMW uses a very fine filter in the reservoir that clogs due to the silicon coagulating over time.

As expected, standard servicing can be relatively costly if not doing yourself, but that comes with any 'premium' branded car.

If looking, make sure that there is 2 cables included in the sale (3-pin granny charger & 'fast' charger for public charging)

Regarding the battery - this should be covered up to 6 years, or 100,000km, whichever comes first:

See "BMW PHEV Warranty"

https://www.bmw.ie/en/topics/owners/service-workshop/warranties.html

buzzing147

H

Thanks for reply, great info

I wonder do the 2.0 petrol hybrid models need charging or do they charge themselves whilst driving?

Seen some horror stories online about 5-6000e battery replacements etc, wudnt be keen on that kinda bill though!

👍

bazz26

They technically don't need to plug in but it defeats the purpose of a plug in hybrid system. The battery will get a little amount of charging from the engine if the battery is nearly empty but the whole concept of a plug in hybrid is to charge the battery from the mains and work in conjunction with the engine to maximize efficiency and range from both.

Otherwise your just driving around with a redundant heavy motor and battery using the 2.0 litre turbo petrol engine. Remember also that the hybrid has a smaller fuel tank (40 litres I think) so range from a full tank of petrol will be a good bit less if not charging it.

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123604522#Comment_123604522

You'll get approx 30 to 50 kms on electric / battery driving if you plug it in, which will be a cheap 50kms each day if you do it at home, even cheaper if you do it overnight.

Somewhere between 10 to 15%% of petrol cost for same distance driven on overnight tariffs charging, maybe 20 to 30% during the day.

That's its USP.

You dont have to plug in, but you'd be as well off just buying the petrol only car in that case.

buzzing147

I thought they charge themselves driving, and didn't have a plug in option

Thinking now of just going for a newer superb, maybe less will go wrong

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123605371#Comment_123605371

Thats a standard hybrid, sometimes called HEV. The criticism of those is that you are using petrol engine to charge a very small battery, thats why they call them self charging. Theyre slightly more efficient petrols really.

Plug in hybrid or PHEV you use electricity from a property to charge a much bigger battery by plugging in and as a result can be much cheaper to run and when battery is empty they use the engine to power the car.

Read up on the different types. I had a 530e like what you're looking for, loads of others here did too. It's available in superb also.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123605371#Comment_123605371

You need to do some more research

buzzing147

Yea I need to research more, never owner a bmw and just half afraid of a huge bill out of the blue! It's a 3series 2.0 hybrid, 2021 or 2022, both are for sale nearby. Decent trade in price for superb too, so still tempted.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123606963#Comment_123606963

They are good reliable cars but they are not the right car for you if you have no plans of plugging it in at least a few times a week

buzzing147

Yea I guess so. I didn't think you'd have to plug it in. How long do you do that for, lot of them plug in machines about now at petrol stations etc

I thought driving charged it, and wasn't a full electric

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123607789#Comment_123607789

You don’t have to but its been explained above why you should

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123607789#Comment_123607789

It's not a full electric. It's a hybrid that you plug in. It also has an engine.

You'd never plug a hybrid in at any petrol station or any other public charger, you'd only do it at home. You'd only do that with full electric cars as they charge much faster than hybrids. Some do with hybrids but it's a complete waste of time and doesnt even save money over using petrol engine.

If you can't get a charger at home dont bother with it and just get a petrol car.

cr-07

If you have an outdoor 3 pin socket, you can charge it - roughly takes 5 hours to charge from empty.