Quote:
Originally Posted by StevenDS85
A 330e only makes sense if you do a lot of city traffic (and charge it). The 330i has a similar fuel consumption on long distance. In september we did 870km on 5.9 l/100 km. (39.8 US MPG). Speed was between 120 and 160 km/h on German autobahn.
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This is really true for all PHEVs -- the economics of packing the batteries and electric motor and drivetrain components makes it pretty difficult to excel at everything. Not everyone will be happy with a PHEV. There are so few PHEV sedans on the market, because manufacturers can't make it all fit and provide everything that consumers demand. (This is why nearly all manufacturers have migrated their PHEV efforts toward crossovers and SUVs -- there's just more space to pack the extra components.)
If my 330e mileage can be comparable to the 330i on a long road trip (and it sounds like it can), then I consider it a win for us. The mid-range and around town/city trips will all be significantly better. While some people would be put off by the 10.6 gallon tank -- we would never drive 350-400 miles without stopping for a break anyway.
We both work from home, are a one car family, and often use work-paid rental cars for trips over 400 miles.
We will consider our car to essentially be three cars:
- An EV for around town/errands/going out to eat. Nearly everything we need is within a 10 mile radius (22 mile round trip) of our home.
- A super-hybrid for those mid-range trips to the city/airport/ball game/special event (trips between 30-100 miles)
- A pretty nice (albeit slightly heavy) ICE with pretty good mileage for trips over 250 miles.
We do most of our driving in the first two categories.
We currently drive a 2013 Hyundai Elantra coupe with pretty decent mileage (36-38mpg on long trips). I expect the 330e will match or beat that on long trips, and be a great improvement on the around town and mid-range trips.
Besides -- it was between this and a Prius Prime. I'm pretty sure we can all agree which one will be more fun to drive....