330e 2.0 SE Pro Auto 4dr

After 110k miles. Here are 11 things I love about the 330e and 25 things I don't

Likes

1.Plenty of smooth power even just on electric
2.Silky 8 speed gearbox. It's so creamy, I want to lick the gearsitck.
3.Handling - It's a BMW after all, and a very good one. Can scrabble for traction in 2wd form
4.Brakes - progressive and enhanced by the regen. Enough regen that I rarely have to use the brakes
5.Driving experience - I love driving this car. My wife loves driving this car. Anyone would love driving this car. Switch to petrol motor is almost imperceptible.
6.Silence - A dropped pin would sound deafening. No rattles or noises even after 110k miles
7.Comfort aside from a bit lacking in lumbar support, and the seats are a bit too wide, the car is very easy and relaxing to drive. The steering wheel feels great. Pedals are well placed and only flick into sport changes the relaxed cruiser into a B road beat.
8.Economy - my wife and I average 87mpg. Half our driving is on battery, the rest in hybrid mode and a tiny bit in sport (for fun)
9.Media, speakers etc - Even the base model sounds great. Apple CarPlay has an essential role in the enjoyment.
10.Good looking car. Sunset orange suits this model. BMW never could do grills.
11. Performance. In sport mode this thing is very quick. Throw in a tuning box for M340i levels of fun.

Dislikes

1.Charging port - finding/closing. How about lighting the charging port so it can be located at night? When opened the little light just shines in the eyes, not on the socket. And how about a magnetic closure, so I don't have to push on a dirty car. Maybe auto-closing and opening from inside the car?
2.Assistant - Siri is far more useful than Karen (yes, she earned that name)
3.IDrive has too many menus. Car logged me out. Logging in is a huge hassle. Text input is a nightmare. Touch pad on top of iDrive controller picks up touches as scribbles. Aaaargh.
4.Confusing heating switches/menus. It shouldn't need to cycle through a dozen combinations to find what I need
5.Poor heating - Dress warmly
6.DSC too slow - If I waited for the car to react I'd be in a ditch
7.Uncomfortable seats - What is it about BMW seats? Even the front passengers complain.
8.High beam indicator obscured - Did anyone ever test this car at night? The blue/green High Beam/low beam light is tucked into the far left of the display, obscured by the steering wheel. Beyond stupid. I apologise to all the drivers I've dazzled, blame BMW.
9.Light switches hidden behind steering wheel - Did BMW forget about lights and tack them on as an afterthought? Imposible to find the fog lights without searching under the steering wheel.
10.Over fussy cruise/limit control - It's like every new BMW model gets worse
11.Needs a phone signal - In rural England where there is no phone signal all the Connected Drive stuff doesn't work
12.Can’t just set charge times - I can't set the car to charge only on offpeak (peak is more expensive than petrol). I use a timer on the socket instead.
13. Boot layout - Space is limited by fuel tank being moved for batteries but it's not best used
14. No odometer - Well there kind of is but sometimes I just want to set a trip odometer without having to trawl through menus
15. Connected Drive - Pretty basic but still needs a subscription
16. Map update package crashes on macOS v13
17. Buttons near iDrive don’t work with gloves - some of the physical buttons need skin contact!
18. Seats too wide, so it’s hard to do up seat belt (like all BMWs, built for beefy people)
19. Seat belt rattles against window (like all BMWs but made worse in such a silent car)
20. Need to go to boot and back seat to lower seat backs
21. Key has no feel - Opening/closing with the key in the pocket relies on a feel for the buttons. A braille reader would struggle with this one. Why? BMW keys used to be much better.
22. No charging mat - maybe because I have the base model but come on, it kind of undermines the wireless carplay
23. Paying for basic services - I already have the government's hand in my pocket. Now BMW too?
24. B pillars are so wide they constantly block driver's view
25. No manual for just my model - BMW have an online manual which claims to just list the options for an individual car. That would be handy for the base model, only it isn't. I trawl through pages of features only to find I don't have them.

Report as offensive