BMW 320e Berline

A rear-wheel drive BMW 3-Series, that sounds fairly nostalgic, doesn’t it? Well, there’s a whole lot to catch up on. Join Tommy for an in-depth look at this Berline from Munich.

320e or 330e?

To start off I want to get one of the most common questions out of the way already. “What is the difference between the 320e and 330e?” Because nowadays the 3-Series models indicated with “30i or e” at BMW, won’t come with the in-line-six no more. From now on they all share the same 4-Cylinder. (I suppose this counts for other models too)

Is this a bad thing, you might ask. Well, it depends on how you look at it. In certain countries it’ll be benefical for taxes. What it basically comes down to, is that both the 320e and 330e share the same combustion engine, yet the one in the 330e has 184hp, compared to 163hp in the 320e we tested here. Is that enough to get you going? Well, then you might want to follow me into the next paragraph…

If we’re talking price differences, it comes down to a 3.000 euro difference between the 320e and 330e, with the 330e being the most expensive of course. The base price of the 320e comes in at 49.405 euros for the berline, and 53.350 euros for the touring.

Driving dynamics

In theory, this is a 330e that BMW tamed a bit. We’ll never be able to call the 320e a sporty car however, because although it has a fair 204 hp, they still need to move the rather heavy 1.961 kg’s. This results in a rather dull power-to-weight ratio, being 9.6kg/hp. The car is said to have an official consumption of 1.7L/100km.

I was very curious at first, how efficient this hybrid would actually be. And… As with all of them, it was a very efficient car for as long as the battery had some juice. When the battery gave up on the other hand… The fuel consumption was a nightmare. I noticed the battery to drain fairly quick during highway driving, even at constant speeds. City driving drained even more of it, because it constantly switched from electric to combustion engine.

What I can say, is that the switching between the two, is the most smooth I have yet to experience in a hybrid. It’s almost seemless. Which will for sure keep the 3 series’ name right up there in the hybrid segment.

Is it a true 3 Series?

On paper you could essentially buy a 320d for 34.900 euro base price. Let’s say you’re in the market for one of these, being a private person. Then the advantage of being able to write a hybrid off on your business, falls away. So all you’re left with is the battery life not being that great on the current hybrids. So basically once the combustion engine has to charge the battery, the fuel consumption is unbelievably high.

So on one hand, it is a true 3 series when it comes to handling and comfort, yet I’m not quite convinced if a 3-series hybrid beats the combustion variant, yet. Once the battery size increases, I’m going to re-view my opinion.

Autobahn fuhrer?

Well, the furthest I’ve driven with the car was to the Belgian coast. Ostend to be more specific.

One speeding and parking fine later, I can safely testify that this 3-series certainly lives up to its expectations. While driving at a constant speed of 120 km/h with cruise control, this car is just a master at providing you with all the needed comfort, and isolating you and your passengers from most of the outside noises. I drove the car in quite extreme weather conditions, being heavy winds and fair amounts of rain, but the 3-series handled it beautifully. I do have to say that the RWD sometimes gave me some trust issues. That being said, you can still opt for the optional X-drive, if that’s what you prefer. I still like the (sometimes) unpredictable character of the RWD BMW’s though.

Is it practical?

On the parking side of things; since this car was equipped with the surround view and rear-view camera, it was a joy to park it up in some of the tighest spots. The surround view gives you a very clear view of every possible object around you, and the sensors warn you for every object that you might not have noticed.

Then we have to talk about this car being a berline, so some of the practicality of the so called “shooting break” gets taken away. The berline gives you more of a limousine look, yet it is far less practical when it comes to bootspace, and especially in the heigth that is. You can still recline the backseats for extra space if needed. My verdict is that the berline has my preference in terms of looks, yet the shooting break definitely does the trick if you have a family or have to move objects of a certain size often.

My final opinion? Buy this car over a 2 series. Buy it as a young second hand car, so you yourself don’t have to take the deapreciation hit.