First units of the BMW 3 Series LCI are slowly arriving at dealerships around the world. BMW’s local market is no exception. Courtesy of BMW Wagner and @ChrisM2F87, we bring you today some photos of the BMW 330e Facelift in Skyscraper Grey. As you can see below, this is the touring model, but most of the visual changes apply to both variants: sedan and wagon. For starters, this BMW 330e Facelift is wearing a Skyscraper Grey Metallic paint and has 18-inch 848 M alloy wheels with a two-tone finish and double-spoke configuration.
Lots of Interior Changes
Inside, the 330e Facelift comes with a combination of Sensatec and cloth. But the most important modification implemented with the mid-cycle update is the adoption of iDrive 8 across the 3 Series lineup, from the bottom to the top. It combines a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with a 14.9-inch touchscreen, which has swallowed the climate controls that used to be physical buttons. o make room for the latter, BMW’s interior designers have slimmed down the central air vents. You can also notice the rocker switch for the automatic transmission, thus replacing the bulky lever of the pre-LCI 3 Series.
The BMW 330e can be had with or without xDrive and this Touring is a rear-wheel-drive affair. It delivers a combined 292 horsepower and 420 Newton-meters (309 pound-feet) of torque from its turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine and electric motor. That gives it enough hybrid punch for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in a more than decent 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h). In electric mode, it maxes out at 87 mph (140 km/h) and covers as much as 38 miles (61 kilometers) in the WLTP cycle without sipping any gasoline.
This specification certainly won’t set your heart on fire compared to an M340i, but the 330e Touring is certainly one of the best value cars in BMW’s lineup. It focuses on luxury rather than sportiness while looking into the future with its electrified drivetrain. Unfortunately, the 3 Series Touring is still not an American affair.
