The BMW 3-Series is one of the world’s most popular small upscale performance cars. The BMW 330e plug-in hybrid takes the stylish 3-Series and more than doubles its efficiency to 75 MPGe. The only obvious visual sign that the 330e is carrying a 12 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack is the charging port near the driver’s door. It's also decked out with unique chrome window panels and BMW’s Laser headlights.
The 2021 330e increased the size of that battery from the previously available 7.6 kilowatt-hour pack to 12 kWh.
The rear-wheel-drive 330e and all-wheel 330e xDrive pull most of their power from a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine via an eight-speed automatic transmission. That’s good for 181 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The 330e also uses an electric motor to push total power output to about 288 ponies.
A cool new performance feature in the new BMW 330e is called “XtraBoost.” When a driver stomps the accelerator into a “kick down” mode, an extra 41 horsepower is available for up to 10 seconds. Energy is usually reserved to maximize the all-electric range. But when XtraBoost is deployed, the BMW 330e uses the battery power to scoot down the road from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in about five and a half seconds.