Locally assembled eDrive F30 goes from 0 to 100kph in 6.1 seconds yet returns 2.1-litre/100km

It’s a good time to be alive. As a motorhead. In Malaysia. Who looks at prices of premium sedans and clenches fist in frustration.

A good time; especially if you’re a fan of BMW.

Earlier today, the latest addition to the Malaysia 3-Series family was officially launched – the 330e Sport. Like the X5 xDrive 40e before this, the 330e is a plug-in hybrid; and also runs a TwinPower four-cylinder, 2.0-litre petrol engine plus electric motor. Another similarity: it is assembled in Kulim, Kedah.

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Being a CKD and a hybrid the 330e receives a handsome incentive of RM120,000 per unit. The benefit to us is an even more handsome selling price of RM248,800 (without insurance).

Okay, so you can buy a new 318i Luxury for RM202,800 but that one looks regular. The 330e, however, delivers in total of 252hp at 5000rpm and 420Nm from the first twitch on the accelerator. This propels the car to 100kph from standstill in 6.1 second. The 318i will also not deliver a fuel consumption of 2.1-litre per 100km.

The star of the show is the eDrive technology, of course. A driver can travel up to 37km at speeds of 120kph. That’s a very practical range of zero emission, electric driving.

The vehicle set-up and powertrain control can be configured as desired with the eDrive button and Driving Experience Control switch. The eDrive presents three driving modes – Auto eDRIVE, Max eDRIVE and Save Battery.

The high-voltage battery of the new BMW 330e offers a gross energy capacity of 7.6 kWh and can be topped up with energy from any domestic power socket. Full charge by the conventional domestic power socket would take 5 hours. The BMW Wallbox Pro, meanwhile offers a quicker charge time of 3.5 hours.

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