2018 BMW 530e iPerformance

MARKETPLACE

How do you develop a plug-in hybrid when your company’s mantra is to build the ultimate driving machine? That’s the question that kept poking at me during a brief drive of the new 2018 BMW 530e xDrive iPerformance sedan. And, for equal consideration, how is green credibility and fuel economy reconciled with your pedigree as an automaker, which demands better, faster, and more fun-todrive motorcars?

You evolve. Reinvent. Expand. And maybe you redefine what “ultimate” means.

With BMW iPerformance technology, BMW resolutely moves toward a future demanding eco-electric powertrains. It’s been five years since it began this march forward with the first ActiveHybrid models, BMW’s approach temporarily culminating in the fascinating, disconcerting, and strangely exhilarating 5 Series plug-in, the 530e.

BMW uses the same 2.0-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine from the 530e, paired with an eDrive AC synchronous electric motor, a lithiumion battery, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. The result is 248 horsepower (same as the 530i) and 310 lb.-ft. of torque (52 lb.-ft. more).

Though the 530e makes more total power, it is also heavier, so performance metrics are essentially identical between the two…except when it comes to fuel efficiency, of course, thanks in part to an estimated 30 miles of pure electric driving range. Once that is expended, the car is predicted to return up to 29 mpg in combined driving, according to the EPA.

Last year, BMW launched a redesigned 5 Series, a rather late arrival that went on sale in February of 2017. Available in turbocharged 4-cylinder 530i and turbocharged 6-cylinder 540i model series, the new Five quickly proved itself superior in nearly every way over its arguably more attractive predecessor.

Now, for 2018, BMW expands the 5 Series lineup, adding a new 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid version with limited electric driving range and superior fuel efficiency, as well as a new M550i performance model with a twin-turbocharged V8 engine.

Thanks to the 2018 M5, BMW is not going to let the Mercedes-AMG E63 storm down American highways unchecked. The new M5 packs a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine under the hood, resulting in a whopping 600 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. of torque. The V8 mates to an 8-Speed M Steptronic automatic transmission, which also marks the debut of the M-specific all-wheeldrive system. When a driver first starts the 2018 M5, it is in all-wheel-drive mode with stability control on. However, the driver can enable various driving modes, including a rear-wheel-drive mode without stability control.

Lineup expands with new plug-in electric and performance models

M5 returns to the lineup for 2018, equipped with all-wheel-drive for the first time ever

530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid is priced almost identically to 530i

Plug-in hybrid supplies 248 horsepower, 310 lb.-ft. of torque, approximately 15 miles of electric driving range, and rear- or all-wheel drive M550i features twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine with 456 hp. and 480 lb.-ft. of torque, accelerating to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds Rear-biased all-wheel-drive is standard for M550i, along with M Performance chassis and component upgrades that make it the “fastest and most agile BMW 5 Series to date,” according to BMW

Staying true to BMW’s “ultimate driving machine” principles, the technologically advanced BMW 5 Series is terrific to drive, especially now that the 2018 lineup gains added power and performance. We’re still warming to its aquatically themed face, though.