BMW F30 330e M Sport Shadow Edition

[JonChalk]

After a very painless buying experience this morning, including a very casual "take it for a spin, take as long as you need" test drive, incoming on Weds morning will be this (dealer's pics);





June 18 and only just over 15000miles; my first ever BMW, aged 52.

[England87]

Nice car OP

[drdino]

Nice one, enjoy!

[Daninoxon]

Snap but err not...same miles, led lights (a must as the halogens are dangerously bad - like my last one), HK, pro nav, m sport brakes (which are excellent by the way). Be really interested to compare running costs & experiences. I usually do 30-40k miles pa but only done 900 miles since I got this In June. Got 2 rear alloys replaced under warranty within a day of taking delivery (loads of hassle with the BM garage that sold me the car - watch out for the white worm -, then the egr replaced even though I specifically asked if it had been done on the recall before I bought it as every bmw I have owned since the e46 gen has needed a replacement). Got 48 mpg on a run from Oxford to Southend 2 weeks ago using eco pro & 75mph cruise control. I avoid my local bm garage as they have let me down 3 times badly in the last 18 years, been using a great local Indy since 2007 and never looked back, not sure they touch e models though so I guess you might be at the mercy of the main dealers at...what £240 per hour for labour compared to £140 for ice (vs £55 ph at the Indy). Ditched the run flats on my last e90 & f10 which made a nice difference in running costs & ride (you will remember this every time you go over a cats eye in the road - this, thud, thud).

[JonChalk]

Thank you, drdino & England87.

Not the best day for pics, but picked it up this morning and checked charging all works (which it does);

[LukeyP_]

Very nice, be interested to hear what you think as you get some miles under your belt.

[JonChalk]

LukeyP_ said:

Very nice, be interested to hear what you think as you get some miles under your belt.

Cheers, first test is tomorrow morning; round trip of 26 miles to work, which the 2017 S5 which preceded this struggled to do in much more than an indicated 30mpg, even if driven carefully.

[PaulW100]

Hi OP,

Would be interested to see your thoughts on the 330e after a years ownership.

Looking at 2nd hand options of the F30 as i cannot justify the cost of a G series car.
Would be £25k over 4 years just in PCP cost for G series but there are many good options at £20k list price of the F30

How is the electric range?
Reliability, assume no problem?

Real world range on a tank, do you regularly charge at home and work to make the most of the electric capability?

Looks great in white with the shadow pack.

[drdino]

The thing that threw me off a 330e was the reduced boot capacity. Otherwise I wouldn't have any concerns about getting one.

[JonChalk]

PaulW100 said:

Hi OP,

Would be interested to see your thoughts on the 330e after a years ownership.

Looking at 2nd hand options of the F30 as i cannot justify the cost of a G series car.
Would be £25k over 4 years just in PCP cost for G series but there are many good options at £20k list price of the F30

How is the electric range?
Reliability, assume no problem?

Real world range on a tank, do you regularly charge at home and work to make the most of the electric capability?

Looks great in white with the shadow pack.

Thanks for the thread resurrection

It lasted 3 months before getting traded for an ID.3.

Why?

1. I hated the fact that I had zero control over when it used battery vs ICE. It thought it knew better than me. On my 13 mile commute to work (short stretches of dual carriageway separated by roundabouts and junctions), it was always powering up the ICE for short periods then reverting to battery, then back to ICE 10 seconds later. So bad for the ICE. There are ways to force it to ICE, but not the other way. The self-charging while driving is horrendous and murders the mpg.

2. Motorway mpg worse than my previous S5.

3. Electric range too short - 10 miles if lucky. My brother has the newer G32 version as a company car - longer electric range, but worse mpg. Could charge at home, but not at work.

4. I realised that hybrids are the worst compromise - all the traditional ICE problems, with the added complexity of a combined electrical system. Good for company car drivers, not for private owners, where bills can get large in later life (cars, not yours).

It just hardened my views that hybrids are a stopgap tax con for business users only. I appreciate that some people love theirs, and there's nothing wrong with the car itself, but it just convinced me to go EV & for that I should be thankful

If you have a shorter commute, or maybe a simpler one, then it may well work for you.

Don't let the fact that it didn't suit me put you off; my issues with it are mine - my brother loves his, but it is the G32.