Apparently, BMW recently hosted a few journalists in Europe to drive the 2020 BMW 330e, revealing that the next-generation 3 Series hybrid now gets 252 horsepower, more than double the pure-EV range of the old car, and an “XtraBoost” feature that seemingly acts like a Fast & Furious nitrous sequence.
While we did not get to drive the 330e just yet, we did learn some more facts and figures. According to a press release from BMW about its hybrid lineup at this week’s Geneva Motor Show, the 2020 330e puts down 252 horsepower, with an electric motor incorporated into the eight-speed transmission. That’s just 3 hp shy of the new 330i.<
In Europe, the EV-only range maxes out at 60 km, which roughly translates to about 37 miles, but Roadshow reports BMW hedged that the range could be significantly lower when the car comes to the U.S. due to different tuning to meet the country’s regulations. Regardless, it’s a guaranteed improvement over the outgoing car’s 14 mile range.
As with BMW’s other hybrids, there’s an EV-only drive setting just running on the energy from the 12 kWh battery, a gas-engine-only setting, or both working together offering the most performance, with the option of a battery control mode that keeps the battery at a specified level of charge for EV-only driving later.
To get the most performance out of the 330e, there’s the XtraBoost drive setting, which can provide up to 41 hp more over the normal sport mode in 10 second intervals, paired with more aggressive throttle response and transmission shifts. Top speed in EV mode is 87 mph, or 143 mph in hybrid mode, according to Roadshow.
The 330e will go on sale in the U.S. next year after it gets through all the regulation stuff. It’s expected to be offered with all-wheel drive and only weighs 220 pounds more than the 330i, according to Roadshow, and was previously expected to be priced around the same as the base gas model.
Sounds like a solid car.