With the F10 5 Series, BMW experimented with hybridization in the form of the ActiveHybrid5. But as fate would have it, the BMW ActiveHybrid5 was a sales disaster, convincing the Bavarian manufacturer to stop production after the 2013 model year. Be that as it may, BMW is willing to give another chance to hybridization for the 5 Series with the advent of the seventh generation, the G30.
Christened 2017 BMW 530e iPerformance, this fellow here is the most fuel-efficient and the CO2 champion of the G30 5 Series. Indeed, it’s even more frugal than the 520d EfficientDynamics Edition. The key to this thriftiness is, of course, the powertrain. Compared to its hybrid predecessor from the F10 generation, the G30 530e iPerformance is a plug-in hybrid. See the subtle charging port on the front fender? That’s where the charging plug goes in.
Other stylistic differentiators that tell the 530e iPerformance apart from the rest of the range are blue details everywhere you look: the kidney grills or the wheel center caps, the eDrive badges adjacent to the Hofmeister kink, you name it. Slated to arrive at European dealers in March 2017, the most fuel-efficient G30 5 Series of the lot drinks 2.0 l/100 km (117.6 U.S. mpg or 141.2 imperial mpg) and produces merely 46 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
These numbers come courtesy of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine and the electric motor integrated into the BMW eDrive system, plus a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission calibrated for maximum fuel efficiency. The lithium-ion battery of the BMW 530e iPerformance has enough juice for up to 45 kilometers (27 miles) of electric range. System output is rated at a steady 252 PS (249 horsepower) from 4,460 to 6,500 rpm, complemented by 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque available between 1,450 and 4,000 rpm.
Most impressively, however, is that 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 6.2 seconds. That’s not bad at all considering that this 5er wasn’t made for uncompromised straight line performance, but to use as little fossil fuel as possible. For those people who don’t care about the polar ice cap at all, the 2017 BMW M550i xDrive is just what the doctor ordered.
Other stylistic differentiators that tell the 530e iPerformance apart from the rest of the range are blue details everywhere you look: the kidney grills or the wheel center caps, the eDrive badges adjacent to the Hofmeister kink, you name it. Slated to arrive at European dealers in March 2017, the most fuel-efficient G30 5 Series of the lot drinks 2.0 l/100 km (117.6 U.S. mpg or 141.2 imperial mpg) and produces merely 46 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
These numbers come courtesy of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine and the electric motor integrated into the BMW eDrive system, plus a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission calibrated for maximum fuel efficiency. The lithium-ion battery of the BMW 530e iPerformance has enough juice for up to 45 kilometers (27 miles) of electric range. System output is rated at a steady 252 PS (249 horsepower) from 4,460 to 6,500 rpm, complemented by 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque available between 1,450 and 4,000 rpm.
Most impressively, however, is that 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 6.2 seconds. That’s not bad at all considering that this 5er wasn’t made for uncompromised straight line performance, but to use as little fossil fuel as possible. For those people who don’t care about the polar ice cap at all, the 2017 BMW M550i xDrive is just what the doctor ordered.