Tesla’s Model 3 unveil last year was met with a whirlwind of positive feedback and demand with more than 400,000 pre-orders taken so far, each potential buyer plonking down around $1,300 to stake a claim on their own unit.
But they made it clear that the actual car won’t actually start rolling off the production lines until at least the tail end of 2017, with the bulk of deliveries scheduled for 2018. A large factor of that boils down to the fact that the production line itself isn’t ready and Tesla needs to complete work on their new Gigafactory in Nevada before full-scale manufacturing can begin.
So, yes, there’s the wait. And waiting is a theme that BMW is keen to emphasise with their new ad campaign with the 330e plug-in hybrid – whether it’s years of waiting for the actual Model 3 to arrive in production form or the hours of waiting for it (or any other electric car) to recharge its depleted battery.
BMW points out via voiceover that Model 3 owners will need to find a lot of ways to fill the time – ringing in the new year twice (maybe more), filing tax returns twice (maybe more) -
The Munich automaker is indeed looking at it from a more pragmatic perspective, offering up its 330e as the car for today, which in the adverts are touted to achieve 72mpg (around 3.2-litres/100km) from its petrol-gasoline powertrain.
The 330e is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 134kW and 291Nm. But that’s supplemented by a 65kW/249Nm electric motor wedged between the engine and 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. Together, they produce a combined 185kW and 420Nm and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.9 seconds, just 0.1 seconds slower than the 330i M Sport.
The car can achieve a maximum all-electric range of 22.5km and a zero emissions top speed of 120km/h from its 5.7kWh battery, which takes around 4 hours to fill from a depleted state using a standard wall power outlet.
For more on BMW vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
