To complement the local range of the all-new G30 5 Series, it was revealed that the plug-in hybrid variant, called the 530e, will be reaching Australian showrooms in July, making it the 6th BMW to carry the iPerformance tag or the 4th local model to bear that badge, though we’ll have to wait a little longer for official pricing info.
Just like the petrol-only 530i, the 530e pairs the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a 70kW/250Nm electric motor that’s fed by 9.2kWh lithium-ion battery located just ahead of the car’s rear axle. Of course, you can replenish the power reserve by plugging it in to a normal wall socket.
Combined performance stands at 181kW and 420Nm, identical to the smaller 330e sedan, and enables a 6.2 second century sprint time and a top speed that’s unsurprisingly limited electronically to 250km/h. Just like all plug-in hybrids, a central appeal remains the possibility of not using a drop of fuel if only used for short journeys. Assuming the route to work and back is less than 50km (which is how much BMW claims its all-electric range to be), in theory it is possible to never have to invoke the 2.0-litre mill if you keep charging it at home every night, which takes less than 5 hours.
If primarily used in tandem with its internal combustion engine, however, it’s claimed to be able to achieve a figure as phenomenally low as 1.9-litres/100km, allowing it to soldier on for 644km on a single journey in between the next trip to the pumps.
For the Aussie market, it will be offered to buyers in Luxury or M Sport lines and will be equipped similarly to the 530i, meaning standard 19-inch wheels, Adaptive LED headlamps with Selective Beam and High Beam Assist, 360-degree camera, 16-speaker harman/kardon speaker system, and BMW’s Navigation System Professional through the 10.25-inch iDrive screen.
The Driving Assistant Plus package is also supplied, and as such will come with features such as Active Cruise Control, Steering and Lane Control Assistant, Lane Change Warning, Cross Traffic Alert, Side Collision Warning, and autonomous Lane Change Assistant.
iPerformance-specific features:
- Stationary cooling system
- Acoustic Pedestrian Protection
- Extended ConnectedDrive Services featuring eDrive Services
- Charging cable
- Battery certificate, covering six years or 100,000km
Specification highlights:
- Navigation system Professional with 10.25-inch Touch Control Display
- Wireless smartphone charging
- BMW Head-Up display
- Driving Assistant Plus, including Active Cruise with Stop & Go function, steering and
- Lane Control Assistant, front Cross traffic warning, crossroads warning and Lane
- Keeping Assistant
- Parking Assistant Plus, including Parking Assistant with rear Active Park Distance
- Control, Surround View, Panorama View and 3D View
- Speed limit info with Speed limit assist
- Airbags including front, front sides and full-length head protection integrated in
- headliner
- M Sport Package with M Aerodynamics Package M Sport Brakes
- 19-inch BMW M light alloy wheels
- Automatic tailgate operation
- Adaptive LED headlights including BMW Selective Beam and High Beam Assist
- Dynamic Damper Control
- 16-speaker harman/kardon surround sound system
- Sports seats with seat heating and lumbar support for driver and front passenger
- BMW Individual anthracite roof liner
- M leather steering wheel
For more on BMW vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
