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Originally Posted by kDub2019
That would be a 15 minute commute each way for a round trip of 30 minutes. Assuming you don't have a free charger at work you would come home with a dead battery every day especially if you drive 5 minutes to lunch each way. Both the 10 minute and 5 minute estimates are likely below average times for anyone using a car who does not work from home. In addition to this any weekend trip to go play golf, visit friends and family etc. is again going to deplete the battery and a road trip is a joke.
This is NOT how the BMW sales department sells the vehicle. When I originally confronted them about my observations two different dealerships told me that my car must be defective. However both service department managers at the dealerships said - "no this is how the car works - the sales department just plays dumb so they don't lose the sale".
These were AutoNation dealerships (Encinitas). When I called BMW-NA they said "we don't get involved in dealership issues" after 3 days of internal escalations.
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How did the BMW dealer market it to you?
Hybrids and EVs are a shift that takes a bit of research to determine where it may or may not fit for each owner. If your goal is to get long electric only range then you're better off going with a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) like a Tesla or a Bolt. If your goal is to get a hybrid with a very long range there are other great choices as well like the Prius.
The MY2020 530e boosts the battery capacity which I'm excited to get a chance to try, but it won't be boosted into the 50 mile golden zone yet. As there is always a trade off to be made in terms of weight.
BMW compromised on total range for the 530e which isn't ideal for a person needing to lean heavily to the electrical side, but they countered that with a PHEV that performs really well and allows to 530e to retain a lot of the driving characteristics of its gas sibling. You won't be driving a 530e and feeling like you're in a Prius where acceleration and everything leans heavily toward the fuel efficiency side of the spectrum.
If you don't charge the 530e ever it is a less than ideal purchase as you'll be lugging along the dead weight of the electric power train which is about 500lbs. If your electricity costs are so high that gas is cheaper then any EV Hybrid or not is going to be a poor buy. Charging the EV battery from gas is a bad idea unless you're in the EU and need to go into a zone where it is illegal to turn on your gas engine.
If you asked me to explain the 530e I would say it is a PHEV whose primary job is to give a 5-series driver a car that benefits from the EV perks (improved fuel economy, HOV lane access (some US states), lower taxes (gov rebates, etc), and EV restriction compliance (some EU cities are banning gas cars in the city). While still driving and feeling like a normal 5-series. It is a 5-series first and an economical car second (which is to be expected on a $60K car).
For me, where I live I can drive for 45 minutes on the highway and have only made it 6 miles. Joys of living in the super congested NE US. I plan on charging the car regularly (a full charge will cost me under $2 @ ~16 cents per kWh compared to over $3.50 for a gallon of premium gas) even living in the city where I lack a garage
. Compared to the 11MPG I'm netting on my current car this car will be an all around winner.
But again... Every situation is unique and you need to dig deep into where and how this stuff will impact you. Sales people will always tell you what will net a sale as their job is to sell you something. Your job is to think of every reason why it won't work and push back to make sure your needs are met
