Plug in Hybrid a great story. But is it the best solution?
This is a proudly South African fairytale story of a really sophisticated car. The BMW X3 3.0e is a truly impressive piece of kit in its own right as you will read anon, but its back story is pretty impressive one all on its own.
When BMW first started building cars at its Rosslyn, Pretoria plant, they assembled pretty well anything. From the SA-specific Glas-based 1800 and 2000 SAs to the M1-powered 745i, it was a very versatile plant that shoved the propeller brand front and foremost into the minds of South African drivers seeking sheer driving pleasure.
As time moved on, global needs came to bear. Rosslyn became a focussed plant producing 3-Series only for local and global consumption. That was based on a voracious local appetite for the Three based on its natural abilities, race performance and a good share of ‘I just want it’.
A highly anticipated monthly sales fight
At a time, for a decade or two, the Three fought it out for fourth on the overall local new car sales charts with archrival, and also locally produced in East London, the Mercedes-Benz C-class. Both sold a thousand vehicles a month in what soon became a most anticipated monthly sales battle.
But like video killed the radio store, the internet destroyed magazines and EV’s thought they’d done with ICEs, the world changed. Hold that ‘EV thought’ for a moment. At the same time, SUVs were starting to give sedans a bit of a hiding. So lo and behold, Rosslyn switched to building previous model X3s for local and world markets.
Getting back to that EV thing… there was a time midway through that previous X3 lifecycle, where every man and his dog, except for BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and one or two others, promised us combustion engines were dead. The three carmakers noted took a different, more sober view and promised future owners a choice.
Oh what a lovely hybrid surprise!
Anyway, one of the ‘interim plans’ in the lead-up to that utopian world of an electric future saw BMW develop a plug-in hybrid X3 to fill the gap while it worked on catering for a growing battery appetite and slotted it in to Rosslyn’s plans. One thing led to another, the market rejected EVs, and all of a sudden the PHEV nobody had any great plans for, was the car everyone wanted.
So this car became central to BMW sales needs and Rosslyn is, by the by, now a pretty significant cog in BMW world affairs. And here it is at last, the BMW X3 30e in all its latest G45 generation splendour, on our driveway.
It looks the part, doesn’t it? By far the best looking X3 yet. The poor first X3 arrived in the middle of that awful BMW design era, struck by the mythical Bangle Stick. And it’s taken until now to fully shrug off some of Chris’ less savoury nuances. As it turns out, Bangle was actually way ahead of his time, but anyway.
The best looking X3 since the Bangle Stick
Sleek and flowing in this subtle metallic beige, it opens up to a sumptuous blue-tipped cockpit that still splits opinion. We love how BMW uses material on elements like the dash. Driver-focused as ever, it’s also supremely tech laden and while we’d still prefer more buttons, this latest system is a little easier to understand and operate.
The gist of this car is however, so to say, under the bonnet. Propelled by a 2-litre turbo four cylinder petrol engine coupled at the tote with a 135 kW synchronous electric motor integrated to its 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission, X3 30e makes a combined total of 220 kW and 450 Nm.
That’s channelled into BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive for optimal traction and handling. X3 30e is no slouch either. It consistently delivered 5.8-second 0-100 km/h runs on the Auto test in a performance envelope to match what a V10 M5 would muster just 20 years ago. And almost identical to the Toyota RAV4 plug-in. But that’s just half the story.
Drives like an EV. With full petrol backup.
Charged by a 19.7 kWh high-voltage lithium-ion battery, BMW promises a fully charged X3 30e drives up to 90 on the battery only. Regen and the drive modes are effective and clever use will stretch battery range. But it charges happily overnight on your regular Eskom 240V socket. Without making much of a dent on your household use.
We saw closer to 70 km on a full battery, which is still beyond most daily commutes. So in essence you can drive it like an EV every day. We’d expect close to 900 km on a full tank and battery. The hybrid system seamlessly combines the petrol engine and electric motor for smooth acceleration and efficient power delivery.
We were impressed by the BMW X3 30e plug-in hybrid. Even if some say that it will ever match a good turbodiesel. Especially since the woke have buggered off down their hole. Looking at the PHEV premium, that tenet becomes clearer. Which is probably why you can’t get a 30d anymore. Somehow we think that car would still rain on this fairytale parade. – Michele Lupini
Images & testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: BMW X3 30e xDrive M Sport
Engine: 220 kW 450 Nm 2-litre petrol I4
Motor: 134 kW synchronous electric
Drive: 8-speed automatic AWD
Battery: 19.7 kWh lithium-ion
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 2.63 sec
0-100 km/h: 5.85 sec
0-120 km/h: 8.14 sec
0-160 km/h: 14.30 sec
400m: 14.1 sec @ 159 km/h
80-120 km/h: 4.11 sec
120-160 km/h: 6.17 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 215 km/h
Fuel Hybrid: 1.1 l/100 km
Fuel Overall: 7.6 l/100 km
Energy: 23 kWh/100km
CO2: 26 g/km hybrid
EV Range: 90 km
Total Range: 900 km
Warranty/Service: 2y unl./5 y 100K km
LIST PRICE: R1.310M
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