BMW 330e ordered...

[Robv1]

Somebody said:

Does anyone use left foot braking on auto boxes?

Really bad habit. Don't go there.

[RicksAlfas]

LJK Setright (anyone remember him?) worked on the basis that if you had two feet and two pedals it was logical.

Mind you he also raved about the Suzuki SC100 and Honda Prelude so take it with a pinch of salt.

[Jonobigblind]

Somebody said:

This is going to be my first everyday auto box car. Does anyone use left foot braking on auto boxes?

Yes when I want to get a face print of my passenger on the dashboard

[Parners]

Picked up my 330e Msport today (ordered end of March). Great first impressions. I think it has the new Idrive as it has the 3 tiles. It also has a leather dash (or leather look), is that normal or part of the minor facelift? Looks great though...

Very happy!

[MaxOverdrive]

Tonycv51 said:

My commute is 20 miles each way motorway and a roads with about a mile of urban roads. Even if I push it for parts of the journey I'm still in the 40s for mpg. If you're doing lots of A roads at 40-50 that can drain the battery quickly so you may find you get better overall by puttng it into manual or sport at times to force ICE on at these speeds.

My stats from return commute today - as it's summer still had over 50% battery (can only charge at home).

74.3 mpg Consumption
19.9 mi Total distance
26.0 min Duration
38 % Electric distance driven

Guessing you didn't use any electric on the trip to work then and didn't use preconditioning on the way home? Otherwise those return journey stats don't make sense....unless you actually have an i3 and not a 330e? Lol

[Funkydunc]

Somebody said:

This is going to be my first everyday auto box car. Does anyone use left foot braking on auto boxes?

I would kind of question why you would want to with it being rwd, you can just use the throttle to control the back end. Left foot braking is normally used in fwd cars, and no it won't work with the auto.

I have to say though the more I drive my 330e M Sport I think the turn in is not as good as a normal 3 series, it's all a bit vague and not as sharp as my older 3 series. I wonder if the suspension settings have been tweeked to make it not too tail happy with the battery's slung out the back, or just having the batteries around the back axle has lightened the front end very slightly

The auto is the biggest disappointment for me with the car. It's amazing for normal driving but frustrating when trying to drive quickly. i.e. slow changes, no real control over what it does, ratios slow close to each other that it's difficult (with the delay in change) to get the right gear for corner entry.

[Funkydunc]

TallTony said:

So I am looking to replace my i3 with a 330e, after 3 years I fancy something more normal-looking. Currently I am thinking black with the brown interior.

My daily commute is 28 miles each way, primarily 55mph A roads, and I won't be able to charge at work. Can I expect eariy 50's mpg or late 40's?

Also, how reduced is the bootspace over the regular model? I do wish they did a touring model, I am drawn to the Merc C350s for that reason...

My commute is 24 miles each way A & country B roads, with no charging at work + 2000ft of hills.

In my opinion the battery is very inefficient on roads where you are averaging 45-60. The car will stay in battery mode but just eats battery. Forcing the car in to ICE is the only way. Now it's warm I can average about 50 mpg out and about 65/70 mpg home. In the winter this drops to 40's mpg

The sat Nav isn't intelligent in the slightest i.e. All the hype says it realise when you are on A roads etc and starts ICE. Mine certainly doesn't, I either have to put it in Sport mode or put the auto box in to manual

[MaxOverdrive]

Shepster said:

Moved to 9650 - awaiting dispatch to dealer. Impressed that within in 3 days it's been through the port, on the boat and arrived within the UK. Hopefully will be with the dealer tomorrow so I can pick it up next week. So excited now!

The wait seems forever! Mine took about 5 months in all. Been driving her for just over 3 weeks now and still getting a right buzz from driving it each day

Not long now then mate! Be good to see those pics next week

[MaxOverdrive]

Parners said:

Picked up my 330e Msport today (ordered end of March). Great first impressions. I think it has the new Idrive as it has the 3 tiles. It also has a leather dash (or leather look), is that normal or part of the minor facelift? Looks great though...

Very happy!

Nice one! Enjoy!

Did you go for the regular 6 inch display infotainment system or the 8inch professional?

I had mine delivered 3 weeks ago with the 6" and sadly looks like no idrive update for me

The dash is standard for M Sport at least. I didn't do anything but choose complimentary trim to match the seats (oyster) and Estoril blue finisher to match the car colour.

[Giz1972]

I know when you hold down the locking button on the key fob, it closes all the windows, folds the wing mirrors and the sunroof too. Sorry now for sounding a bit nieve here, Only yesterday, I found out if I hold down the open button on the key fob, it opens all the windows and sunroof too. Learn something new everyday, anyone else got any " I didn't know that facts on the car"

[Keggers]

Giz1972 said:

I know when you hold down the locking button on the key fob, it closes all the windows, folds the wing mirrors and the sunroof too. Sorry now for sounding a bit nieve here, Only yesterday, I found out if I hold down the open button on the key fob, it opens all the windows and sunroof too. Learn something new everyday, anyone else got any " I didn't know that facts on the car"

On mine I found an extra 12 volt power socket hidden under the glove box facing down to the passengers seat. Handy for a phone charger. Had the car 9 months before I knew it was there!

[Tonycv51]

MaxOverdrive said:

Guessing you didn't use any electric on the trip to work then and didn't use preconditioning on the way home? Otherwise those return journey stats don't make sense....unless you actually have an i3 and not a 330e? Lol

Yes range is surprisingly good at the moment if dry. Don't have the stats for first leg but would guess it was about the same as battery was fully charged when I set off and was down to just over 50% when I got to work. There are quite a few 50mph roadworks sections on my commute and I do put it in manual for those sections which helps. And yes I don't use pre-condition for return leg. In winter there's not enough battery left as I'm usually on more like 10% battery by the time I get to work (but i have the amazing heated steering wheel and seats - did I mention those before...). In summer if hot I usually put it in manual and use max air con for about a minute which is all it takes to be like a fridge, and then switch back to auto aircon & transmission

[Somebody]

Apparently these are the factory build status codes:

1100 Scheduled
1200 Scheduled for Production
5000 Confirmed for Production
5050 Chassis Number Allocated
5055 Confirmed by Production Control

5100 Bodyshop Start
5190 Bodyshop Complete
5200 Paintshop Start
5270 Paintshop Complete
5300 Pre-Assembly Start
5400 Assembly Start
5500 Assembly Complete

6000 Transfer to Distribution
8200 Released to Carrier
9000 Departed Plant
9615/35/45 In Storage
9610/20/30/40/50/60 In Transit
9800 Arrived Dealer

Last Friday I was told that it was at 5055 Confirmed by Production Control, and that that build would start in week 32 (next week) but it's now at 5200 Paintshop Start, so would that be classified as early?

Does anyone know/have experience of how long it takes to get through the 5000 codes before reaching the 9600 codes?

Thanks

[DragonflyTrumpeter]

I was 3 weeks from 5100 bodyshop start to keys in hand iirc. 10 or 11 days to reach 9610 port of exit and the same again until driving it out of the dealership. And from a north dealership at that, not one handy for the boat. Very lucky with transport and the boat journey is short but an excellent service from dealer who had the car registered + ready for me within a couple of days of them having it

But that was 16 months ago so things may have changed.

[Giz1972]

Keggers said:

Giz1972 said:

I know when you hold down the locking button on the key fob, it closes all the windows, folds the wing mirrors and the sunroof too. Sorry now for sounding a bit nieve here, Only yesterday, I found out if I hold down the open button on the key fob, it opens all the windows and sunroof too. Learn something new everyday, anyone else got any " I didn't know that facts on the car"

On mine I found an extra 12 volt power socket hidden under the glove box facing down to the passengers seat. Handy for a phone charger. Had the car 9 months before I knew it was there!

going to have a look now.

[aberdeeneuan]

Giz1972 said:

Keggers said:

Giz1972 said:

I know when you hold down the locking button on the key fob, it closes all the windows, folds the wing mirrors and the sunroof too. Sorry now for sounding a bit nieve here, Only yesterday, I found out if I hold down the open button on the key fob, it opens all the windows and sunroof too. Learn something new everyday, anyone else got any " I didn't know that facts on the car"

On mine I found an extra 12 volt power socket hidden under the glove box facing down to the passengers seat. Handy for a phone charger. Had the car 9 months before I knew it was there!

going to have a look now.

Who knew!

[Happy_Harris1431]

Giz1972 said:

I know when you hold down the locking button on the key fob, it closes all the windows, folds the wing mirrors and the sunroof too. Sorry now for sounding a bit nieve here, Only yesterday, I found out if I hold down the open button on the key fob, it opens all the windows and sunroof too. Learn something new everyday, anyone else got any " I didn't know that facts on the car"

Ive mentioned this one before, but if you hold the left hand gear paddle for a couple of seconds it drops you in to the perfect gear for overtaking, so if you are cruising behind a lorry in 6th, it will drop you down in to 2nd for example in prep for you overtaking rather than dropping down the gears or waiting for the kick down, you are in the correct gear before you accelerate, works very well!

[Parners]

MaxOverdrive said:

Nice one! Enjoy!

Did you go for the regular 6 inch display infotainment system or the 8inch professional?

I had mine delivered 3 weeks ago with the 6" and sadly looks like no idrive update for me

The dash is standard for M Sport at least. I didn't do anything but choose complimentary trim to match the seats (oyster) and Estoril blue finisher to match the car colour.

It was professional nav. I think I just got inside the new build nav timeline, which was lucky! Not sure if anything else is different though???

[Parners]

Anyone know how much BMW Deezer costs after the initial 'free' 12 months? Many thanks!

[Shepster]

MaxOverdrive said:

The wait seems forever! Mine took about 5 months in all. Been driving her for just over 3 weeks now and still getting a right buzz from driving it each day

Not long now then mate! Be good to see those pics next week

Spoke to the dealer yesterday and it's still awaiting dispatch! The wait definitely seems to take forever. Fingers crossed it will arrive early next week and I'll post some pictures (after a very long drive of course!).