BMW 330e vs BMW 520d

What's the difference?

A hybrid BMW 3 Series makes sense now that everything is going electric. And the BMW 330e M Sport is the plug-in hybrid version of the 330i petrol variant. What's not to like, then?

Well, that's what we're here for because this review of the BMW 330e M Sport will reveal everything we've discovered about the car and will help you decide if it really does make sense to make it your next car.

We've covered everything from practicality to on-road performance, features and prices. And yes, we've run a fuel test to see just how efficient this plug-in hybrid is to live with in the real world.

Eco-friendly vehicles are the leather pants of the new-car world; it takes a lot of money to make them look good (but people who own them think they look fantastic regardless). If you don't have a gazillion dollars to drop on a Tesla,  then it's a one-way ticket to Prius town. And really, who wants that? 

But what if it didn't have to be that way? Behold the BMW 530e iPerformance.

Seemingly tired of waiting for the Australian Government to introduce any sort of meaningful subsidy for green cars, BMW has made the choice simple: you can have a petrol-powered 530i for $108,900, or opt for the plug-in hybrid 530e for... $108,900. This is truly revelatory thinking.

There's no specification penalty, either, and the hybrid will power to 100km/h in an identical 6.2 seconds, so you're not even any slower. But you are sipping less fuel, emitting less C02 and basking in the general smugness, and sweet silence, that comes with feeling like you're saving the world.

So what's the catch?