2017 BMW 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid details revealed

BMW has added a plug-in hybrid to its 2017 BMW 5-Series range, and with an all-electric top-speed of 140km/h it’s no environmental lightweight.

The 530e iPerformance is powered by 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo engine coupled with an electric motor for a combined power/torque output of 185kW/430Nm.

In hybrid mode it’s capable of reaching 0-100km in 6.2sec and reaching a top speed of 235km/h. Fuel consumption is a tiny 1.9km/h on the European test cycle which will take it 650kms between fills. In all-electric mode it has a top speed of 140km/h and a 50km range.

Power is distributed to the rear wheels via the standard eight-speed transmission in hybrid and all-electric mode which does away with the need for a weighty torque converter.

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This gives it similar performance to the more powerful 210kW/450Nm ActiveHybrid5 in the current 5-Series range, which is just 0.3sec quicker despite having a 3.0-litre turbo six as the primary motor along with a relatively greedy fuel consumption of 6.4L/100km thanks to the absence of a plug-in capability.

Space has also been saved, with the batteries mostly fitting under the rear seats, which keeps boot space at 410 litres – that’s 120-litres less than the conventionally powered 2017 5-Series variants, but appreciably more than the 375-litres in the ActiveHybrid5.

The 9.2kWh battery bank can be fully charged in under five hours from a domestic power socket and in less than three hours if hooked up to a BMW wallbox with 3.7kW charging capacity.

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The 530e iPerformance comes with a range of driving modes including Sport, Comfort and Eco Pro, plus “eDrive” settings that let the driver tailor the hybrid system’s operation even more precisely to the journey ahead through three driving modes – Auto eDrive, Max eDrive and Battery Control for different economy and power settings.

It will be available with all standard and optional driver assist and infotainment equipment available to the 2017 BMW 5-Series, which can all be used in all-electric mode.

This includes automated and driver assist technology including Lane Change Assistant and Lane keeping Assistant which is capable of autonomously changing lanes at up to 180km/h and steer around obstacles before returning to the correct lane position.

The BMW 530e iPerformance will be on sale in Australia from the mid-February, with the rest of the all-new 5 Series range expected to arrive from March. Pricing for the 530e plug-in hybrid has yet to be announced, but for specs and pricing on other 5 Series grades see our range rundown.