POWER TRIP

BMW’s mid-sized business sedan is now available as a plug-in hybrid. alethia tiang is convinced it is the way to go just about anywhere

BMW’s mid-sized business sedan will get you to where you want to go

when the bmw 5 was launched a year ago, we took it out for a spin and became impressed by this smooth, powerful everyday drive. The petrol-run 530i kept both driver and passenger in consideration with its design and technology.

So when its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sibling, 530e iPerformance, arrived, we expected similar — if not better — results. After all, BMW was also behind the award-winning i3 and i8 models.

It’s also about time to give greener vehicles a go, as the Geneva International Motor Show’s display of plug-in and electric cars the likes of Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-tron, Polestar 1 and Porsche Mission E (now Taycan) Cross Turismo, showed. And with more public charging points available these days, owning an electric car has become more convenient.

As expected of hybrids, 530e is quiet. Hit the ignition button and the car only does so much as light up without the engine start-up noise. Get behind the wheel, put the car into Drive mode and everything feels, well, normal. It doesn’t feel any less robust than the petrol variant.

To its credit, it is hard to tell if the car is running on electric motor, petrol engine or both at any point of the drive. That’s because the 530e has been designed to switch elegantly and seamlessly over different powertrains with nary a hiccup. The electric motor has an output of 113bhp and 250Nm of torque, while the 2-litre combustion engine generates 184bhp and 290Nm. Altogether, total power is at 252bhp and 420Nm, the same specifications you’d get in the 530i. Likewise, acceleration is the same, down to 0.1 of a second. So it’s every bit as good as the 5 Series, and with more environment-friendliness to boot.

The 530e doesn’t look vastly different from 530i — the signs are discreet anyway. Blue is the colour adopted for the i models — crossreference i3 and i8 — and 530e has it on kidney grille slates and wheel hub covers. The most obvious giveaway? An eDrive emblem on the side and a 530e badge on the boot lid.

There are three driving modes, each indicated by a button next to the gear lever: The default Auto eDrive, Max eDrive and Battery Control. Engage any one and you won’t feel much difference during normal drives.

It is in slow traffic that you’ll appreciate eDrive. Crawling during jams aren’t as painful with 530e — at low speeds, the electric motor is a boon on fuel consumption. On full charge, 530e supposedly covers up to 50km purely on electric power. But a more realistic range would be about 30-40km (similar to the i8), enough to get from home to work, or vice versa, without using an ounce of petrol.

Running on Type Two charging stations, this Bimmer takes less than five hours to charge — the car was left to charge over a dinner out and when I returned, it was at full capacity. My only gripe was the heavy wall charger that made me huff and puff as I carried it to the front of the car (where the plug is).

If there’s a downside, it is the smaller boot capacity. Since the battery is installed under the rear seat, cargo room amounts to 410 litres, over 100 litres less than its gassed-up sibling’s. In comparison, the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius offer 443 litres and 502 litres respectively. That said, boot space is still adequate for three checkin luggages.

While there are not many Type Two stations now in Singapore — which 530e runs on — majority of the current Type One chargers are slated to be switched to it in the near future. BMW is also working with the government and various agencies to ensure more will be available throughout the island. By 2020, 2,000 charging points are expected to be rolled out, with up to 20 percent available for public use.

Saving fuel while saving the earth — now that’s a future we look forward to.