The incongruity of buying a plug-in hybrid or electric car with a vibrant color and performance add-ons is always very fun. Hybrids are supposed to be sensible, sustainable, intelligent cars for people who care to be seen as sensible, intelligent people. So when you see one that looks like performance car, it’s always fun. And it doesn’t have to be some full-blow hybrid supercar, like a Porsche 918 Spyder. It can be something normal, like a BMW 330e, as seen in these photos.
The Flashy Verde Mantis
This BMW 330e is fitted with a full suite of M Performance parts, which gives it carbon fiber grille trim, a carbon fiber rear lip spoiler, a carbon fiber front splitter, and new black wheels. So it looks like a sportier, M Performance car and not a sensible hybrid. But making it look even sportier and angrier is its Verde Mantis paint.
Verde Mantis is one of the most exciting colors in BMW’s Individual palate. It’s a bright, vibrant green paint that looks more at home on a supercar than a hybrid sedan and it adds a ton of life to the BMW 330e. And now that the 3 Series has been facelifted, it looks even better.
The BMW 330e plug-in hybrid is a pretty good car in its own right. With its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, paired to an electric motor, it makes a combined 288 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. Though, despite its impressive specs, it takes 5.6 seconds to get to 60 mph, due to its slightly porky curb weight. Adding a battery pack and an electric motor to an existing four-cylinder car does add quite a bit of weight. However, it makes up for that with punchy low-down torque and 22 miles of pure electric range. It’s not a lot but it can get you to a shop and back without burning any dino-juice.
And if you get it with some M Performance parts and a cool Individual color, like Verde Mantis, you’ll have a car that’s both fun to drive, fun to look at, and better for the environment. That sounds pretty perfect, as far as daily drivers go.
[Photos: instagram.com/chrism2f87]
