Reply With QuoteHave you had a look at the new E-class? The new model was just released and its suppose to the top of its class (looks like the s-class)
My current company car (BMW 520d) will be going back in around 6 months & I can start the ordering process now.
I can order a Merc or another BMW & what has caught my (frugal BIK) eye is the 330e.
Any owners who can let me know how it drives compared to a 'normal' 3 (or even 5) series?
My daily commute is mostly motorway - 20 miles in & 20 miles home. My 5-series does that in a nice comfortable manner at the moment :)
Have you had a look at the new E-class? The new model was just released and its suppose to the top of its class (looks like the s-class)
I'd expect the OP is looking at the 330e due to the low C02 and subsequent cheap BIK. The E-class won't come anywhere near the 330e for that.Originally Posted by jonny
Can't help you with the BMW but I have a Golf GTE - I would say the same thing is apparent in most PHEV - take the electrical range with a pinch of salt an the combined, well just half then probably half again! Great from a BIK perspective and private fuel (if you get it) but not the most efficient cars.
OK, I'll get in there first.
MX5?
I had one (or the missus did) - unfortunately I managed to break it by flipping it over a few times. I survived surprisingly well!
Unfortunately, it did lead to me having to marry the lady & promise no more MX5s.
Last edited by racingclub; 13th April 2016 at 20:27.
The E-Class is tempting or a spec'd up to the hilt C-class. The 330e power & acceleration numbers just interest me, coupled with the aforementioned BIK advantage.
Me next, is there a BMW forum somewhere that might conceivably have a broader opinion than a watch enthusiast forum?
i don't know, is there? Funny the amount of non-watch posts I can find...if I really look hard....
Dont know about the 330, but I had a 335D and that was a flippin missile. Soooo much torque. I have a CLS220D now though and tbh I prefer the Merc.
Stuart
The instant response from an electric engine is addictive. once you've tried it everything else feels ancient.
Edit. Haven't tested the 330e but the Volvo d6 with 215bhp diesel and 70 extra from the electric means 640nm of torque. I-n-s-a-n-e.
Last edited by jonasy; 13th April 2016 at 22:55.
Only driven the 330 as a brief demo - it was 'ok' to drive, but if driven 'normally' I couldn't get anywhere near the quoted MPG figures. I certainly wouldn't buy one (and I'm a BMW fan!) - if I was desperate for economy I'd but a 320D or 116
I've had a demo in one, and it's a 3 series with an electric motor... The engine and motor combined make for a fairly quick car, which is good.
Whether you get benefit out of it depends on where you're going to be driving it really.
An A road commute followed by a few electric miles in town, you'll be doing high 60's to the gallon I reckon.
On a long motorway journey, I'm not too sure as the batteries will be depleted fairly quickly and you're left with a 184bhp petrol engine, with matching economy.
You'll need to charge it daily to get the best out of it, like any electric car really, and it could work for you dependent on your journey profiles.
Like all 3 series, it drives very well, and retains rear wheel drive which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your preferences..
I haven't run a company car for years, so you're probably better placed to establish BIK etc, but I'd be tempted by one.
Part of me feels that this is still an immature technology though, and there's something better coming down the line yet.
But as a company car it's more about BIK than economy- 7% value verses something like 18/19% for a 320d. I'll definitely be looking at a hybrid/plug in as my next co car.
Just to warn you the 330e is subject to huge lead times as a new car now...........won't see a car ordered now until October at the earliest.
not sure what would happen - I work for a very large org, so I assume our fleet division would have a reasonable relationship with BMW.
Don't bank on it. I do too but was on the gte waiting list and quoted 6 months. I waited 4 months then got fed up so went for a cancelled order. Had I waited it would have been 9 months as the deliveries got pushed back.
Supply and demand on these vehicles and especially ones for the company market.
I get mine on the 25th....had one for a day a couple of weeks ago. Impressions were quick, quiet, battery didn't last long, wouldn't change my 5 but the BIK advantages are too attractive, especially now the 3% diesel weighting is back post-budget.
Ian
while we are here, anyone tried a C350e?
I've driven the 330e for several hundred miles and was very impressed. I deliver BMWs although I am not employed by them.
There are several modes available which will retain the electric charge either manually or automatically, for when you get to the "big city" and in Sport modes you will even recharge the battery as you drive up to about 50% on the motorway and possibly 65% or higher on A & B roads where brake regeneration is more active. Apparently if you were to put London as your destination into the satnav, the car knows to retain charge in the battery for the city run and will run on mainly petrol on the motorway.
Economy obviously won't come near the silly lab figures but a real range of 400 miles per tank/charge is achievable. If just saving fuel is the main criterion then it won't be the car for you, but that isn't really the point of it. Think 40+ mpg rather than 50/60+ mpg. Note that the fuel tank is reduced capacity and you lose a small amount of boot space.
Performance-wise, the car seems quieter than an internal - combustion - only version, and has great mid range acceleration - much better than a 320D in that respect. MUCH better. It also seems to ride better - probably because it hasn't been saddled with huge wheels and rubber-band tyres.
Importantly, the BIK is hugely better and if you travel into the London Congestion Zone you won't incur any costs.
Delivery may be a problem however - according to a report in a recent Business Leasing magazine, the car is sold out till 2017 although as you say, larger lease companies may have some in their pipeline.
Head over to Pistonheads BMW forum
Won't count for a thing if the supplying dealership doesn't have a pre allocated build slot in the time frame you want. Sorry...
So as mentioned above I got my 330e on Monday and have done just shy of 200 miles this week.
I'm plugging it in at work where we have a dedicated point. It's taking around 3 hours to fully charge, after that the dial shows 21 miles, but depending on driving style and what's switched on (ie. a/c, lights etc) I actually get 11-15 miles. It's enough to get me to work and almost back every day. You get a cable to charge at a standard socket (3 pin plug) and this is supposed to take 5 hours. The fast charge cable costs £165 (they omitted to tell me this, but work paid). I haven't tried the 3 pin yet, but will over the weekend. The battery is also charged by coasting and braking, though I'm yet to do long enough journeys to see how realistic a way this is of getting a sufficient 'free' charge to fill the battery up.
The switch from electric to petrol drive is almost imperceptible and interestingly, when there's a lot of demand made on the engines (ie hills or heavy throttle) the petrol one kicks in until the car stops again, when it reverts back to electric. I've had around 50mph out of the electric one so far. I've not bothered over-riding the battery yet to drive just on petrol. MPG is around 40 and climbing as I've mainly just been doing the commute this week. As a petrol car it's very quiet and smooth, with enough pull.
As has been commented the boot space is compromised but for me it's fine - we have a family hack for the weekends. Coming from the wafty drive of a 5 the car is a lot more agile and 'chuckable', not that this is my general driving style, and inside is nice if a little smaller than I would like.
All in all then an interesting proposition from a tax-saving point of view but somewhat of a swizz in terms of the everyday usability of the electric motor to do real distances. This technology will develop in time and there is something nice about doing a pollution-free, low cost commute. I do around 18K a year so will see how the novelty wears in the next few years. Now for the quick iphone pics...
just to close the loop on my own thread - I had a Merc C350e demo last week & I plan to order one in Premium Plus trim.
600nm of torque on tap is moderately surprising :)
Thread resurrection but did you order and how is it if so?
yeah, I've had the C350e since Christmas.
I like it & it makes OK value for me as a company car.
I do 20 miles into work with a full charge on a mix of country roads and motorway & get about 80ish mpg. On the way home with no charge, I get around 50ish.
With foot down its very rapid in any mode, but I tend to keep it in Eco. Feels less involving than BMW's I've had, but perfectly relaxing with its 'Airmatic' suspension.
One of my favourite features is being able to start the climate control & heated seats from my mobile on a winters morning :)
Let me know if you have any specific q's.
Thanks. Good info.
Been chatting with someone at work today about his so seriously considering this for my next company car. I can't order for 7 months though. Currently have a Golf GTE so benefit from the low BIK too but the merc would only be about £10 per month more than it costs me now.
Person I was talking to said similar to you re air suspension and the power.
Definitely top of my list at the moment.
I'd shortlist a couple of cars and arrange an extended test drive in each. On paper the BMW 330e sounds great. They reckon 25 mile range on batteries alone and near 150mpg; I would not count on that at all! I haven't driven one but have the same engine in my Mini (BMW use it in Mini's from Cooper S to JCW and their own products in various guises/states of tune. It won engine of the year and is a belter. Mine returns 36.6 mpg in my hands which is mostly urban and with a heavy right foot. The 330e has the addition of an 87bhp electric motor to fill in the torque and boost the headline BHP figure, not that either seem lacking in the petrol only model, but I guess the 3 series and batteries is a lot heavier than my Mini Works edition.
the 330e looks great on paper but be sceptical of the figures, you'll get nowhere near the economy. It's tricky as the future of diesel is looking a little questionable. I think hybrid is probably the way to go. Try and plug it in at work and get her charged up for your return journey too, plus the BIK is good for the performance and type of vehicle.
The figures are not really realistic - my GTE gets about 48mpg but I'm a long distance driver. I do know that if you use it for short journeys and can charge regularly then you can run these on electric only which significantly increases the efficiency.
I've had a 330e in Sport trim since the beginning of September. I got it as a company car tax dodge and couldn't stretch the budget to the C350e. Very happy with it as it came with with upgraded kit (LED DRL & headlights which I love) introduced since the mid-July builds. Would have preferred the Merc as the BM is coming up to end of life.
Saving £148 per month on tax vs my old car in the current tax year.
I charge every night at home on a Rolec wallpod. On my first day the ConnectedDrive app reckoned I could do 29 miles, but real world electric driving range is around 16 miles, which gets me to work where I do not have access to charging. If you register onh BMW 360° ELECTRIC you have a free 12 months subscription where you can track your recharging costs. I think this is a £45 per year option on earlier cars built pre-July 2017.
I make use of the climate pre-conditioning which gets the cabin up to 22 degrees C ready for when you leave on a morning.
Options include folding rear seats as part of the interior comfort pack which I will put into use this weekend as I move one of the kids into uni halls.
Other options I regret not getting: Surround-view; larger 18 inch wheels.
Cheers
I've ordered a 330e m sport for November delivery, really looking forward to it. As a company car driver it was the tax savings that appealed to me, no brainer.
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Is it here yet? Any pics?
It’s here!
I love it
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Only got it last Wednesday so not even had it a week yet. Done 300 miles so far. Happy to answer any questions
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I find it hard to understand why folks who are getting an expensive car for nothing moan about getting the cheapest BIK........try buying an expensive car with your own money instead!
Seriously, over the years we’ve ended up with car manufacturers having to produce vehicles to meet silly government taxation rules, a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. This is one reason why we’ve ended up with the roads full of diesel vehicles and their associated polution issues, none of it was rocket science but successive governments have been obsessed with CO2 emissions and simplistic politics.
The official fuel consumption/emission figures are an absolute joke for most models; my 3.0 diesel Jag is supposed to be capable of over 50mpg when driven gently on open roads but it simply isn’t possible (I’ve tried!), so we’ve got a taxation system based on purely spurious numbers. I pay £240/ yr to tax my car (based on the official test figures) but by rights it should be more because the fuel consumption I get is approx 60% of the official overall figure.
At least when you buy your own car you can buy what you really want without fretting over BIK etc, my heart really bleeds for the BIK moaners. Personally I’d never want to own a 4 cylinder diesel because the big 6 cylinder engines are so much nicer, but if I was in the BIK scenario I guess I’d end up with one, or maybe I’d just bite the bullet and get what I really wanted whilst reminding myself I was getting the car very cheaply.
As for the hybrid electric cars, no way would I spend my own money on one. Depreciation is a major consideration when you pay for your own and I think second-hand buyers are still wary of hybrids.
More good reasons not to own an electric /hybrid.......I don’ t have a beard, I don’t wear open toe sandals and I don’t live on beans / organically grown vegetables.
Give me the 3 litre full-fat gas- guzzler every time, and I don’t care what it costs me to run it!
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 7th November 2017 at 11:36.
I have a 3.0 BMW diesel (company car)which will get 50mpg on a run. The lure of a six cylinder fast diesel outweighed the BIK.It is going back next week and being replaced by a 330e which will save £200 per month. I would have got another six cylinder diesel but there are non on the list and the 330was the next best thing.
I agree - if it was my own money I wouldn’t be getting one.
I’m probably buying my own car next year and it will likely be a six cylinder petrol!
L
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On a run (210 miles) I’m getting circa 42 mpg but bearing in mind I’ve done one journey over 100m and it’s not run in yet.
I didn’t think that was too bad tbf.
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It's part of your remuneration - it ain't "for nothing". The cheapest BIK makes sense for some people. I moved over to the dark side (diesel) when Gordon Brown helpfully encouraged us all to use low CO2 emission company cars. I think my BIK halved and the only thing I lost out on was the lovely sound of a 6 cylinder petrol engine.
I'd have loved the 330e's predecessor - the ActiveHybrid 3: 306bhp petrol engine plus an electric one!
I have bought cars with my own money... & whilst you may have a point, it irks to pay BIK tax on what is essentially a business tool. For example - I work from home - I have no commuting miles, only private miles are at weekends where I rack up about 20 miles on average.
So over 95% of my 25,000 miles p.a. are business related - yet I have to pay over £250/month for the privilege of having the company car.
Sure £250/month is not a lot to pay to have a brand new Jag on the drive, but given the option to reduce this - I would, like most - give hybrids and other technologies serious consideration.
Especially as the new hybrids offer serious performance & luxury with big reductions in BIK.
As others have said - it’s a no brainer.
z
[QUOTE=walkerwek1958;4553169]I find it hard to understand why folks who are getting an expensive car for nothing moan about getting the cheapest BIK........try buying an expensive car with your own money instead!
Paul I normally like your posts and agree with most of what you say but you’ve shown a lot of naivety here. I’m guessing you’ve never had a company car?
My business mileage is more than my private mileage on a ratio of 3 to 1, my company won’t let me opt out and monetise the car benefit due to the amount of business mileage I do. The 330e gives me the opportunity to reduce my BIK from a previous near £300 per month. I could have done a private PCP deal on a decent car for less than my BIK payments.
So your comment about “getting an expensive car for nothing” is nonesense. My so called free car involves plenty of 12 hour days travelling and until recently my BIK bill was over £3k per year for something that was extensively a tool for my work.
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Ps car taxation rates are calculated based on the C02 emissions of the car not MPG so not sure where your going there.
By the way the 330e is quicker and more powerful than your 3.0d XF so good luck in your slower 3 little gas guzzler
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I think you'll find MPG and CO2 emissions are directly proportional unless the laws of physics have changed recently.Ps car taxation rates are calculated based on the C02 emissions of the car not MPG so not sure where your going there.
By the way the 330e is quicker and more powerful than your 3.0d XF so good luck in your slower 3 little gas guzzler
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I`m happy with my Jag and I take a certain pride in knowing I paid for it myself, no PCP or crap like that. I`ve always bought my own cars and I`ve got zero sympathy for anyone who grumbles about taxation on company cars. You get a brand new car on your drive that you've paid zilch for and you get taxed on the benefit, sounds fair to me and arguably the tax should be a lot higher. If folks need to travel on company business they could borrow the works van, when I was working our company had a policy of using hire cars when people had to travel and I see no reason for not making that more widespread. The folks who get the company cars would squeal, because they like the new car on the driveway, but they'd soon get used to it and stop squealing........or find another job.
As for having a job that involves driving lots of miles, I`m struggling to see the upside. I`d rather drill my own teeth than spend hours driving every day regardless of the fancy motor I`ve got the dubious privilege of spending that time in.
Paul
Just to butt in to the 'company car' debate, my accountant advised me to lease a car for the sole pupose of reducing my personal tax liability as a sole trader. I had no interest in having a new car but when she explained it it was a no brainer (90% of my mileage is genuinely business mileage so I can have 90% of the total cost of the vehicle, including insurance and fuel, as tax relief to reduce my profits and ultimately the amount of tax I pay). If the car is over 130g/km of c02 then 15% of the costs are immediately disallowed so I avoid those. I have short term leases and I change cars every 3 months or so. I'm currently in a BMW X1 xDrive 18d auto and I take delivery of a 320d M Sport Touring auto on Monday. To be honest, I'm absolutely loving having these cars and choosing below 130g/km co2 for maximum tax relief is no hardship. Any self-employed person moaning about their personal tax liability really isn't doing it properly in my book. I was PAYE for ages and I got REAMED every month by HMRC.
I'm not sure if what I've said adds to the debate but, as a sole trader, I for one chose sub 130g/km co2 emitting cars to maximise my tax relief EDIT: and I don't feel bad for doing so and I don't feel like I am compromised on what car I drive.
Last edited by beechcustom; 8th November 2017 at 21:54.
Paul - it's because most company car drivers (like me) are obliged to have a company car and therefore pay tax on it and the technology or offering is not yet there.
Company car drivers are sitting ducks for the taxman. I would love to opt out and like you drive a 6-cylinder, powerful car (being a Petrolhead of sorts) but would be taxed to high heaven, plus yes, you're right, why on earth would I want to drive a boring 4 cylinder diesel for £350 per month in tax? I made the change from a 520D to a 330E, I now pay approx £140 month in tax (saving £200 pcm) and I hate the damn thing. You're right, the taxation system is wrong, but in certain cases like mine, the inability to opt-out and the preferential BIK treatment on hybrids makes the hybrid vehicle a no-brainer. However, the variety, availability and technology in the cars available is at least 5 years off becoming mainstream.
Ian
The (income) tax system should only be geared to the true Benefit in Kind that the employee has and not bugger around with trying to influence which cars are bought
Last edited by BillN; 8th November 2017 at 23:33.
Agree 100%, but they can’t resist meddling and trying to claim the high ground by doing so.
I’m stil laughing at the ‘my car goes faster than your gas-guzzling Jag’ comment previously, a real playground comment if ever I heard one.
I’ll make an equally daft comment: all company cars should be forced to have different coloured number plates to show the driver’s been given the car for nowt.
Paul
But saying you can’t understand people meaning about getting a car for nothing isn’t a playground comment?
That’s an intelligent informed comment?
I was merely responding in like. I have no need for a company car but have to have one as a tool of my job, I no option to opt out and paid over £3.5 in tax last just on the car which i did under 6k private miles in and most of those where to and from the office.
You’ve let yourself down with a lack of understanding. A private car would cost me less than the BIK on my company car.
This thread was for people with a shared interest in the 330e.
If you feel the need to comment please start another thread explaining that people paying over £3.5k are actually paying “nowt” and should have special number plates.
Andrew
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^^ sorry £3.5k pa
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+1 - well said Sir.
z
Completely agree with you a totally stupid response.
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