Given that the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 concept the company brought to the 2010 Geneva auto show was pretty much showroom ready, the official announcement of the production car presents no surprises. The first BMW to add electric power to the firm’s splendid turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, the 5 plants an electric motor between the engine and an eight-speed automatic. The motor provides an additional 55 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque and gets its juice from a 96-cell, 0.68-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack mounted between the rear wheels. BMW claims a combined output of 335 hp and 330 lb-ft, increases of 35 and 30, respectively, over the 535i’s lonely turbocharged inline-six. Like BMW’s other hybrids, the 5 features brake-energy regeneration and an engine stop/start feature that shuts the engine down when coasting and stopped.
Unlike the 7-series hybrid, the 5 can accelerate on electric power alone. BMW says the battery and electric motor are potent enough to push the car to 37 mph or, at lower speeds, cover approximately 2.5 miles before asking the combustion engine for help. Mash the right pedal to the floor and the ActiveHybrid 5 should hit 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, according to BMW, which is usually a couple of tenths on the conservative side in its estimates. While the company isn’t sharing final EPA ratings yet, it claims the fuel-economy improvement over the 535i will be a double-digit percentage. Seeing as a 535i with the eight-speed auto scores 20/30, figure on the hybrid being right around the 22/32 rating of the less-powerful and newly four-cylinder 528i.
Meet Eco Pro
The ActiveHybrid 5 arrives with BMW’s nifty Driving Dynamics Control system that aligns throttle, transmission, stability-control, and damping characteristics into Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ settings. The hybrid, however, gets a fourth setting known as Eco Pro. The opposite of the Sport modes, Eco Pro optimizes powertrain settings for relaxed driving and maximum efficiency, tasking the electric motor with as much of the work as it can handle while decoupling the engine as much as possible. In this mode, the engine can shut down while coasting at speeds of up to 100 mph. Eco Pro also turns the corona rings around the headlights green. (Actually, it doesn’t, but we wish it did, and we’d find Eco Pro more attractive if it did. We hereby submit that as a suggestion for BMW product planners to consider. You’re welcome.)
Powertrain Meets World (Careful, This Operation Cannot Be Undone)
One of the most interesting aspects of the ActiveHybrid 5 is the level to which its powertrain management makes decisions based on information from outside the car. Navigation is standard on the ActiveHybrid 5, and the car’s computer uses data about road conditions, elevation changes, and other parameters along the programmed route to proactively optimize available battery power. If, for instance, a selected route includes lots of hills, the computer may allow the battery to deplete more deeply in anticipation of downhill stretches that provide adequate recharging opportunities. The computer also can keep the battery at a higher state of charge toward the end of a long trip to allow electric operation in slow-speed, stop-and-go driving in cities or around neighborhoods. BMW calls this “intelligent energy management,” and this is just the beginning. Along with many other companies, BMW is working with local and national governments to develop vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems that have very interesting—and sometimes alarming—applications. (You can read more details here.)The driver and occupants can track all of the above on the iDrive display, or they can just sit back and enjoy comfy surroundings that are otherwise little changed from the 535i’s.
Because “LethargicHybrid” Wouldn’t Sell
We won’t know to what extent the ActiveHybrid 5 fulfills the “active” part of its moniker until we drive it, but our expectations are pretty high. Besides the upgraded braking system and futuristic 18-inch five-spoke wheels, most of the hybrid’s chassis components are unchanged. There’s precedent too: For the most part, the 7-series and X6 hybrids boast the impressive dynamics typical of their brand.
BMW has not released pricing for the ActiveHybrid 5, but we don’t expect the car to carry the same $20K–$30K premium affixed to the company’s other hybrids. Its competition, the Infiniti M35h and upcoming Lexus GS450h and Audi A6 hybrid, have already established pricing for the class between $55,000 and $60,000. Given that a 535i starts just above $53,000, we figure the ActiveHybrid 5 should start right around $60,000. That will mean the hybrid-5 buyer is spending about 40 percent less than the hybrid-7 seeker, and getting a car with what’s ostensibly a far more advanced and effective hybrid system. Now that is a decisive step.
