As recent rumors suggested, BMW is, in fact, growing its hybrid offerings, though battery power may not be headed to the 3 Series just yet. The German automaker has just unveiled a new production ActiveHybrid 5. The vehicle is based on the 535i, and pairs the company’s turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine with a 55-horsepower electric motor and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
A lithium-ion battery pack provides electricity storage. All told, the system produces somewhere around 335 horsepower and allows the driver to whir along on all-electric power at speeds of up to 37 mph, but it can only push along in all-electric mode for around 2.5 miles at average of 22 mph. Early guesses say that the system will afford a “double-digit percentage improvement in fuel economy over the 535i,” yet it will also propel the ActiveHybrid to 60 mph in around 5.7 seconds.
That’s plenty quick by any account, and BMW says that the vehicle will be available in U.S. dealerships by as soon as March of next year. So far, there’s no indication as to exactly how much BMW will ask for the vehicle or what sort of fuel economy buyers can expect. Is this a suitable replacement for the short-lived X6 ActiveHybrid? We certainly think so, but we aren’t exactly fans of high-riding hybrids, either.
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