Here Come More Plug-In Hybrid BMWs

A couple of years ago BMW executives were talking about taking big strides toward electrifying the brand’s lineup. Talk is one thing, action is something else, and we finally are seeing a lot of action. BMW has unveiled two more plug-in hybrid cars, both joining the 3 Series lineup.

The BMW 330e and 330e xDrive Sedans are being positioned by the German automaker as performance plug-in hybrids and not merely fuel sippers. If you believe the marketing hype around them, you’ll get a pure BMW experience behind the wheel of these cars. Of course, there are some who believe the pure BMW experience all but died years ago.

2021 BMW 330e (Credit: BMW)

Of course, the main attraction with these cars is the plug-in hybrid powertrain. They use a 2.0-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo engine, which produces 181 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. Then there’s an electric motor that makes 107 horsepower and 77 lb.-ft. of torque. When both are working together, system output peaks at 288 horsepower and 310 lb.-ft. of torque, which isn’t too shabby.

Power for the electric motor comes via a high-voltage 12 kWh lithium-ion battery stashed under the rear seats. The EPA electric-only driving range estimate is 22 miles for the BMW 330e and 20 miles for the BMW 330e xDrive Sedan. As for the MPGe rating, that’s 75 for the regular model and 67 for the xDrive version.