The BMW 530e Annoyed me.. But Would I Buy It?

[@lanehogger1532]

Plug in hybrids are great around town and get excellent mpg’s in this setting. However plug in hybrids are very heavy with the weight of the battery etc so on long journeys when using the petrol engine the mpg’s are rubbish because of the weight the petrol engine has to haul along. I’m interested to see how the newer shape 5 series with double electric range would compare on long journeys

[@yankidiot]

I recently had a 2023 530e hire car and thought it was brilliant on fuel only possible downside I saw was the slightly smaller fuel tank, I did around 1000 miles in it

[@mrgcc]

oh really? What kind of MPG were you getting? Were you plugging it in before driving or did you do it similar to me? I guess for me the main issue was that without plugging the car in to charge the petrol engine really isn't doing good with struggling to pull the weight of the car, considering its only getting around 10% better than my M5, which has pretty much twice as much power and cylinders I dont think its good enough.

[@yankidiot]

@@mrgcc Not sure on the exact Mpg but it was decent I put around £130 in to do just under a 1000 miles and it had about 200 miles range left of battery and petrol, I did not plug it in I just let the car re charge itself

[@mrgcc]

Did you do mostly motorway driving or local? I am really surprised by that as you can tell I was not getting anywhere near that level of fuel economy in my time with the car. From what your saying you got pretty much 50+ mpg? I wish I was getting that from the car from my trips 🤣

[@yankidiot]

@@mrgcc I drove from Manchester to Aberdeen, Inverness then followed the Caledonian canal across the country to Fort William over some mountain roads then back to Manchester, A mix of all kinds of roads but mostly A and Motorways, I had it in Eco from the moment I collected it then once I figured out I started trying to charge the battery fully using the re gen braking, I would say 50+ easily, I also did Manchester to Inverness in my 2016 Audi S3 that cost me £160 about 3 years ago..2 full tanks

[@julianh5021]

​@@mrgcc As with any phev it needs to be plugged in as much as possible. Since I plug in daily, the car runs on ev going around town. Running on ICE, I get anywhere between 35-41 mpg US on the highway at a steady 70mph. Over the past 2k miles, I've averaged 68 mpg combined.

[@Birmingham_racing]

Plug in hybrids make perfect sense if you do small amount of miles and have a home charger but yeah boot space is a big compromise. I remember my brothers old 2006 Lexus gs450h boot space was embarrassing although that was early hybrid technology. If it was my money I would just go with a smooth 6 cylinder diesel which will give plenty of torque and decent mpg or 530i as you suggested if you don't do many miles

[@mrgcc]

Yeah I just think the reality of owning a plug in hybrid is a little different than you would hope, its a little annoying to remind yourself all the time to plug it in when you get home to make the most out of it. Same 100% get a diesel or a nice petrol and call it a day, if you want a hybrid or an electric car for local driving around, this car is WAY to big and heavy to make the most out of that lifestyle....

[@julianh5021]

​ @mrgcc I wish BMW sold the 530d or 540d here in the US - I'd jump into one in a heartbeat. As much as plugging it in is annoying, the same thing can be said for getting gas. The nearest gas station is 10mins from me (while a very short drive, its still a chore I have to do 4 times a month on a pure ICE car), while once I got used to plugging in at home, it takes at most a few seconds per day. The result is that I only have to get gas on road trips.

[@RzzHi]

Thanks Bro. Wanted to the truth about fuel economy on BMW hybrid, no one had given the facts. I have an Audit A6 Black Edition, TDI with stage 1 engine tune amazing car with the full kit inside but not ULEZ, hence soon will have to go. So looking at BMW 5 series, 540i, but need to know the fuel economy driving at 30,40,70 and 80 miles per hour and report in what you think of the 540i.