Off late, BMW has started offering so many models under so many trims, that it is hard to get excited for all of them. Every now and then they will launch a new trim or a new addition and honestly, I don’t even feel like reading about it. Exclusivity is directly proportional to the excitement. You won’t witness the red moon if it happens every Wednesday and its the same case with these launches. But the recent launch by Beemer is quite exciting and frankly, relevant enough to talk about.
The German car manufacturer unveiled its latest plug-in hybrid, the 545e xDrive which is largely based on the 5 series sedan. Unlike the underpowered 530e, this baby has a 3-litre straight six-cylinder mated to an electric motor which produces a whopping 394 bhp and 600 Nm of torque which launched the car from a standing still position to 100 kph in just 4.7 seconds and helps the car achieve a top speed of 250 kph ( electronically limited). The electric-only mode has a top speed of 140 kph and a range of 30-35 miles.
Transmission duties are performed by an eight-speed automatic transmission and the electric motor is built into it. As its name suggests, it is an AWD model.
But coming to the most important part has the electric helped in improving efficiency? If you look at the stats( 2.4-2.1 l/100km) then yes but if you go a little deep, it’s not that simple. The thing about hybrids is that the car never achieves the claimed efficiency because firstly the batteries do wear off with time and also these stats are achieved on a fully charged battery, so unless you don’t have a compact charger with unlimited electricity, you would have to compromise a little but besides this, it a masterpiece!
Prices and other details yet to be announced.
