Photo: CarPix
BMW only knows how to make one thing, the ultimate driving machine, but some of those "ultimate cars" are supposed to go to corporate car fleets, and because none of them run on electricity, managers from across the world are finding themselves behind the wheel of the things like the Prius PHEV or the Nissan Leaf. The FWD horror!
For the past year or so, German carmakers appear to be coming up with a very nice solution, a drivetrain composed of a petrol-burning motor that can do everything and an electric motor that can do everything as well. This car can be anything from a short-ranged EV to a powerful autobahn rocket. Audi has one in the A3 e-tron, so does Porsche, the Panamera S e Hybrid. But corporate car market is unhappy if it can't drive the BMW 3 Series, which is why they're working on a plug-in version of that car.
The 3 Series plug-in hybrid is a very interesting and important car indeed. We think it's going to be called an "eDrive" after last year's X5 eDrive Concept, and should be offer the mating of a 2-liter turbo engine offering 192 HP and 300 Nm and an electric motor that can power the car independently up to normal city driving speeds.
With a total output of 270 HP and nearly 400 Nm of torque, not only will you not have range anxiety, but you'll also be driving one of the fastest 3 Series models around. Prices should be comparable to those of a 335i, if not a little more.
Our latest spyshots provide us with a closer look of the eDrive electric filler cap, which is being shown for the very first time. Behind it, we can only presume that technology similar to the i3 has been installed and so we'd presume you buy the 3er with the same wall charger.
Word on the street is that Mercedes is also developing a petrol-electric hybrid C-Class sedan sandwich for next year, with just the right taste that caters to the corporate world. We can already see discussions about who has the highest electric top speed.
The 3 Series plug-in hybrid is a very interesting and important car indeed. We think it's going to be called an "eDrive" after last year's X5 eDrive Concept, and should be offer the mating of a 2-liter turbo engine offering 192 HP and 300 Nm and an electric motor that can power the car independently up to normal city driving speeds.
With a total output of 270 HP and nearly 400 Nm of torque, not only will you not have range anxiety, but you'll also be driving one of the fastest 3 Series models around. Prices should be comparable to those of a 335i, if not a little more.
Our latest spyshots provide us with a closer look of the eDrive electric filler cap, which is being shown for the very first time. Behind it, we can only presume that technology similar to the i3 has been installed and so we'd presume you buy the 3er with the same wall charger.
Word on the street is that Mercedes is also developing a petrol-electric hybrid C-Class sedan sandwich for next year, with just the right taste that caters to the corporate world. We can already see discussions about who has the highest electric top speed.
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