BMW 330e vs BMW 420i

What's the difference?

The 330e M Sport is an excellent car, but it could be a much better hybrid.

In Australia, where driving distances can be vast, a car that's as comfortable and easy to live with as this one is welcome. But for the electric range to dissipate so quickly, and not recoup again at a fast enough rate without plugging into a charger, is disappointing.

There are other plug-in hybrids, even among the more affordable mainstream brands, which can return charge to the battery incredibly quickly and effectively on the go.

If you are looking to make the step into a hybrid, then perhaps consider a fully electric car. There isn't a battery electric 3 Series on the market in Australia (yet), but BMW does sell the iX1 small SUV for less money than a 330e or the iX3 for a tad more.

Both are pure electric SUVs and have a range of between 400-500km. You'll never need petrol again, which makes a hybrid seem outdated.

The BMW 420i is a terrific car if you're after a bit of style and sophistication. Not everyone will warm to your car's nose, but if you get it de-chromed, like this white one, it really does look pretty good. It's a car that uses very little fuel, moves along smartly and is brimming with a decent amount of tech, even if it could do with a bit more safety gear at this price. 

I reckon this car is settling well into the automotive landscape and ignoring it because of a few loudmouths think the grille is too big would be a terrible waste.

Once upon a time sedans were all we drove, well mainly. Then SUVs became the style of car most people wanted. In fact, three out of four new cars sold in Australia today are SUVs.

So, I commend you on your choice of not just doing what everybody else does, and you'll be rewarded with better driving dynamics, and ownership of an iconic BMW - the four door, 3 Series.

And even though this is a plug-in hybrid version of the 3 Series it's identical in styling to the petrol variants. Only the light blue border around the BMW roundel is the indication that it's an electric vehicle. That and the charging flap near the left front wheel.

The M Sport pack adds some very sexy features such as the M Sport aerodynamic body kit, the door sills and M Sport seats, but the M Sport Pro Pack our car came with adds a black gloss grille, boot lid spoiler and the snazzy seat belts.

The cabin's double screens are impressive but I miss analogue gauges and found the digital instrument cluster overly busy and led more by cool design than functionality.

The internet exploded when it became clear the big kidney grille was for real. To be fair, BMW did itself absolutely no favours by ensuring the photos of the 4 Series made the twin grille look Easter Island statue sized. 

And it persisted in doing them naked, without number plates to break up the look. In the flesh, it all works, the nose is striking but not completely overblown. 

BMW coupe elegance reigns supreme in profile, however, with excellent proportions, and even in base form the wheels are the right size. The slim tail-lights and sculpted tail complete the look. It's a car I think most people love looking at. Hardly anyone mentioned the grille.

The cabin is excellent, as are all of the newer BMW interiors. It's not really a base model, given the price, but the mix of Alcantara and synthetic leather is very pleasing. 

The big screens for the media and instruments headline the cabin with high-tech style and while it's not avant-garde, it's sharp and feels premium, which is just as well.

People will tell you SUVs are more practical than sedans... and they're right, but not in as many ways as they probably think.

The cabins of sedans and SUVs of the same size are close in terms of space, but the 330e comes with excellent storage - better than many SUVs I've tested, featuring enormous door pockets, and a deep centre console storage bin.

There are four cupholders, too. Two in the fold down armrest in the back and another two up front.

There's also wireless charging up front, plus USB ports for the back passengers. The second row also has its own climate control and directional air vents.

Legroom is excellent in the back and I can sit behind my driving position with plenty of room to spare. Headroom is also excellent thanks to the tall roofline of the 3 Series.

Where a sedan isn't as practical as an SUV is its ride height, which makes getting in and out of the latter easier (although the 330e's doors open very wide) and its boot opening.

SUVs have hatch-like openings and that offers a wider and taller aperture for carrying cargo.

The 330's boot was still big enough to fit our two largest CarsGuide suitcases (see the video), but the location of the battery means cargo capacity has been reduced from 480 litres in a petrol 330i to 375 litres in this 330e.

As a sports coupe, it's hardly a practical all-rounder but it's not a squishy 2+2 either. The rear seats are sculpted for maximum headroom and have the added bonus of holding onto rear passengers. 

Six footers won't be super-comfortable but it's bearable for short trips. There are two ISOFIX points back there, too. 

The front seats electrically fold out of the way for ingress and egress, but it's not an elegant process.

Front-seat passengers score two cupholders and bottle holders in the doors and a black hole for your phone and its wireless charging pad.

The boot takes an impressive 440 litres and the rear seats split and fold like good little soldiers.

The 420i starts at $71,900. That's a fair bit of money, I think you'll agree.

You get 19-inch wheels, a 10-speaker stereo, LED headlights with auto high beam, head-up display, power front seats, lighting package, auto-parking with reverse assistant, synthetic leather and Alcantara interior, 'Live Cockpit Professional' (fully digital dash), wireless phone charging and digital radio.

The massive 10.25-inch touchscreen may be smaller than the 12.3-inch digital dashboard, but it still looks huge. BMW's Operating System 7.0. is a cracking set-up, and you can control it via either touch or the 'iDrive' rotary dial on the console. It also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both of them, wireless. You don't read that every day.

You also get 'BMW ConnectedDrive', with some remote services that last for three years. The subscription includes things like the endearingly weird 'Caring Car' and the far less weird real-time traffic information.

The 4 Series is available in eight colours. 'Alpine White' is the only freebie while 'Black Sapphire', 'Arctic Race Blue', 'Portimao Blue', 'San Remo Green' and 'Mineral White' are $1538 each (or part of the 'Visibility Package'). 'Tanzanite Blue' and 'Dravit Grey' are a hefty $2962.

My car for the week had the $6300 Visibility Package (metallic paintwork, sunroof, BMW Laserlight, Ambient Light, which is worth it for the amazing Laserlights alone), the $2860 'Comfort Package' (lumbar support, electric boot, heated front seats, 'Comfort Access' with 'BMW Digital Key') and an $800 black pack. All this took the price to $81,860.

The 330e M Sport has a 2.0-litre petrol engine and an electric motor. The engine makes 135kW while the motor produces up to 80kW, for a combined dollop of 215kW. Total torque is more than sufficient at 420Nm.

Acceleration to 100km/h from zero feels as quick as the 5.8 seconds BMW claims and that's also about a tenth of a second brisker than the 330i.

The 'XtraBoost' function combines the total output of both the engine and motor briefly providing that great acceleration.

An eight-speed automatic shifts gears smoothly with the drive going to the rear wheels.

I like all this very much - the responsive engine, the fantastic transmission, the extra oomph from the motor and the way it all works together seamlessly. It's just a shame it's not as efficient as some other new plug-in hybrids.

The 420i’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, codenamed B48, spins up 135kW/300Nm. Driving the rear wheels through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, you'll go from zip to the 100km/h mark in 7.5 seconds, which is brisk, if not staggering.

The 330e M Sport is a plug-in hybrid which must be connected to an external power source regularly to charge its 12kWh battery.

The charging flap is located on the left side of the car near the front passenger door, which worked well for me as I could steer the 330e into my driveway and connect to a powerpoint on the wall using the charging cable provided.

It took me about six hours to charge the battery to 100 per cent from zero and that gives you a maximum 57km of electric driving range.

During my four days with the 330e Sydney's summer temperatures were hitting 34-degeres Celsius and with the climate control keeping the cabin at a hospitable 18C electric range was seriously cut short to about 40km.

I drove the 330e in hybrid mode nearly all the time - this is a hybrid after all. But there is a 'Sport' mode for more grunt and a 'Battery Hold' mode to save the charge for later.

I started with a full charge and a full tank of petrol, and for four days I lived with the 330e as I do with all my test cars.

I didn't aim to get the best fuel economy ever, nor was I wasteful with fuel. My wife and I, plus our two kids, just used it as our family car, doing trips to the beach, endless laps of the supermarket car park looking for a space, a birthday party, the lot.

I drove 154.7km over those four days and charged it on the second day after the battery was drained completely before driving another 70km or so over the next couple of days.

When I filled up after this it needed 7.74 litres to reach full again - it's a small 41 litre tank.

That converts to average fuel consumption of 5.0L/100km, which is bang on double the 2.5L/100km BMW says you should get.

I don't doubt you could get 2.5L/100km, but you'd have to be doing short trips and charging almost every time you weren't driving. And not use the climate control on an icy blast setting.

I've tested other plug-in hybrids that achieved much better mileage and that's because their on-board charging capabilities were excellent.

Some were even able to use the petrol engine to power the motor in reverse and therefore act as a generator to recharge the batteries fully.

The 330e M Sport doesn't do a good job of charging its battery while on the go. Sport mode does recoup charge to the battery, but again, if you're doing a long motorway trip that charge evaporates fast.

I don't think this type of plug-in hybrid is suited well to our country where we don't blink an eye at travelling 100km for Christmas lunch and then drive back again.

Also think about if you ever go on a trip away and don't have access to a power point or public charger. It's happened to me.

BMW's official combined-cycle figures seem to be slowly moving towards reality. The 420i's sticker figure of 6.4L/100km was met with an indicated 6.8L/100km, which was excellent going for almost exclusively suburban and urban running. 

It's a solid result, but being a BMW, it's premium unleaded only for its 59-litre tank.

With my generally unsympathetic (but not psychopathic) right foot, that means a real-world range of over 800km between fills.

The 330e M Sport is outstanding to drive. The driving position is superb, the steering is effortless and accurate, handling is excellent and the ride is beautifully comfortable.

Brake pedal feel is surprisingly good for a hybrid - some have a wooden sensation.

The transition from electric motor to petrol engine is also remarkably smooth.

Acceleration in Sport mode is sudden, with the engine and motor combining their mumbo to move you. There is a 'fake' or synthesised exhaust note in Sport mode, but it sounds convincing.

Speaking of sounds at lower speeds, in fully electric mode the 330e emits a warning tone to alert pedestrians of your presence. It's quite loud in car parks and does actually make people turn around looking for a UFO.

One of the main things that sets a BMW sedan or sedan-based coupe apart is that they're good everywhere, except perhaps in quicksand. 

As the platform has matured and BMW's persistence with run-flat tyres has yielded improvements in tyre construction, the 3/4 Series platform (and many others - the internal name for the platform is CLAR) has once again become the benchmark for ride and handling.

For some people reading this, that's a lot of blah blah blah but the main point is, it's a terrific thing to drive whether you're dawdling along in traffic, dealing with traffic calming or bombing down your favourite deserted road.

The Bridgestone tyres on the 420i aren't as ultimately grippy and sticky as the alternative rubber on the 430i but they work well in town and are quiet on the 80km/h roads so prevalent in Sydney. 

The steering is absolutely lovely, providing just the right weight at any given speed and throwing in the road feel to inspire confidence.

Ride around town is compliant but with the whiff of fun if you decide to push things outside of the city. 

Its capabilities are still more than worthwhile day-to-day, however, because the way it handles the need to duck in and out of spaces in traffic is extremely handy.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder is as smooth as rival Audi's. It doesn't sound like much (with a few vestigial pops in Sport mode) but it's certainly got the power to get you out of sticky situations and a transmission that's willing to play ball, whether in Sport or Normal.

Without the adaptive suspension of its 430i and M 440i brethren, this is a very smooth, easygoing sports coupe, with just enough sportiness to keep you interested, if you're that way inclined.

The 4 Series comes with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB, forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, reverse cross-traffic alert and reversing camera.

The 4 Series hasn't been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP and the 3's five-star rating can only be a guide because of the very different structure of the 4. 

Sports cars rarely fare well in the sometimes complex rules so carmakers tend to keep them away from the clutches of crash testers.

The 330e M sport is covered by BMW's five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The hybrid battery is covered by a six-year/100,000km warranty.

BMW offers a five-year/80,000km service package for the 3 Series for $2150.

Service intervals are condition-based, and the car will let you know when it's time for a check-up.

BMW offers a ho-hum length of three years and 100,000km of warranty coverage. Mercedes has gone to five years so one wonders why BMW (and Audi) hasn't joined its German rival.

Servicing is entirely reasonable at $1650 for a five-year/80,000km package that covers the 12 month/16,000km servicing regime. 

At $330 per service, it includes things many carmakers don't, such as brake fluid and spark plugs. 

You can go full noise with the 'Plus Package', which costs $4500 and chucks in brake pads, rotors and even windscreen-wiper replacement. That doesn't seem like terribly good value to me unless you drive like a lunatic.