Following the debut of the new-gen 5 Series and all-electric i5 earlier in the year, BMW has now rolled out the plug-in hybrid variants of its luxury sedan. The 5 Series will be offered in two PHEV variants – the 530e and 550e xDrive, the former with a four-cylinder petrol engine while the latter packs a larger six-cylinder mill and all-wheel drive.
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Starting with the 530e, the entry plug-in hybrid uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine paired with an electric motor to develop a combined 295 bhp and 450 Nm. The 550e on the other hand uses the larger 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line-six petrol mill giving it a system output of 483 bhp and 700 Nm. BMW says that it has used new innovations to extract more power from the electric motor. It says that the electric motor is paired with a pre-transmission before being connected to the engine side of the 8-speed automatic gearbox. The company says that this has resulted in the electric motor’s torque being bumped up from 280 Nm to 450 Nm without an increase in the motor’s size.
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Both PHEV variants come with a 19.4 kWh battery pack and support up to 7.4 kW charging. BMW says that with a 7.4 kW charger, the battery can be topped up in 3 hours 15 minutes while using a household socket will take 11 hours and 45 minutes. BMW claims that the 530e can cover up to 103 km in EV mode alone with this figure dropping to 90 km for the all-wheel drive 550e.
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In terms of design, there is little to set the PHEV apart from the standard petrol 5 Series, with the most notable difference being the 19-inch light alloy wheels and flap for the charging port on the fender. The PHEVs also get BMW’s Iconic Sounds Electric which provides acoustic feedback whenever the accelerator is pressed. The 550e additionally gets adaptive suspension and adaptive steering as standard.
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The plug-in hybrid variants of the 5 Series will go up against the likes of the Mercedes E-class PHEV in global markets.
