[SCOTT26]

Apologies the 5er Active Hybrid will have it's World Premiere at the Tokyo Autoshow on 30 November , not LA.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by maswastage

Sad to see BMW wasting it's time with a gasoline hybrid. When all's said and done, this car will probably be less efficient and not quite as quick as the new 315hp 535d available in Europe.

I think the only time a car like this makes sense over a diesel is for people who drive mostly in densely populated city environments with short commutes and a lot of stop and go traffic. Think, NYC,Tokyo,LA,London.
I have a 6.2 mile commute each way to work in Downtown LA. It's taken me up to 40 minutes to travel that distance, and I never broke 30 mph. In theory you would be using almost no gas in hybrid.
THe new Start/Stop technologies in gas/diesel wouldn't do you much good, because the car has to be at full operating temperature in order to use it, and by the time that happened, you be at your location.

[Diver]

I bet the electric motor is mounted inside the transmission instead of a torque converter. This also eliminates the starter and alternator. This is a feature of the ZF 8 speed. ZF claims up to a 30% bump in efficiency.

[magrelo1]

Nice... How about a 535d xDrive???

[corchar]

Tried to find out if the '12 535i model would have "Driving Dynamics Control with ECO PRO mode."

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by corchar

Tried to find out if the '12 535i model would have "Driving Dynamics Control with ECO PRO mode."

not sure about Germany but all 528 and 535 versions in North America will have:
4U2 - Driving Dynamics Control w/ ECO PRO
1CC - Automatic Start/Stop function

[TimeFor]

Originally Posted by PAMidge

The biggest shame about this vehicle is that the badge "Activehybrid 5" all over it.


From the extra badging on the rear quarter panel, to the door frames, I just think it's sad.


Just what you need, a reminder everywhere you look that you're in a hybrid.


Everything else about the car is just fantastic though.

The only people going to buy this car are the kind that don't care about fuel economy. They're the ones who want other people to think they care. So the ridiculous badging makes sense. This will sell well in Los Angeles but I doubt anywhere else.

If this was really about hybrids then it would be a 520d or the new 528 4cl. Such a waste.

[elgee]

Total output of 335hp: 300hp inline six engine (N55) -- 55hp electric motor
Maximum torque: 330lb-ft (300 lb-ft from the N55 -- 155lb-ft from the electric motor)
????????????
300+55=355
300+155=455
:/

[paul386]

Originally Posted by elgee

Total output of 335hp: 300hp inline six engine (N55) -- 55hp electric motor
Maximum torque: 330lb-ft (300 lb-ft from the N55 -- 155lb-ft from the electric motor)
????????????
300+55=355
300+155=455
:/

A gas engine approximately linearly increases in power and RPM increases. An electric motor has peak power at half of its maximum RPM and 0 power at both maximum and minimum RPM. Thus when you add the power together the maximum combined power occurs somewhere between the maximum engine output and the maximum electric motor output.

For your torque an electric motor produces peak torque at 0 RPM and no torque at maximum RPM. A gasoline engine produces approximately constant torque (with a slight increase generally with RPM). This is the reason for the torque value.

Of course fancy transmissions that change the speed ratios between the electric motor and gasoline engine can screw with this.

[elgee]

Originally Posted by paul386

A gas engine approximately linearly increases in power and RPM increases. An electric motor has peak power at half of its maximum RPM and 0 power at both maximum and minimum RPM. Thus when you add the power together the maximum combined power occurs somewhere between the maximum engine output and the maximum electric motor output.

For your torque an electric motor produces peak torque at 0 RPM and no torque at maximum RPM. A gasoline engine produces approximately constant torque (with a slight increase generally with RPM). This is the reason for the torque value.

Of course fancy transmissions that change the speed ratios between the electric motor and gasoline engine can screw with this.

[thecube128]

thx

[V1per1]

I am very happy with my 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5. It does everything I wanted, plus now I find myself driving to get better fuel mileage. Something I never really thought about with my other cars (335i coupe, Viper GTS).

I will keep my notes on mileage and performance to see if this BMW is a wonderful as it has been for the first 17,500 miles. Average mileage is 27.4 mpg so far.

[Dandle]

BMW have had a lot of trouble shifting them in the UK, they are heavily discounted form the dealers and you still don't see many about. Reviews like this don't help and sort of sum it up really.