[m3_08]

Driving loaner 530e for 3 days. Nice car, very smooth, super seats (my favorite!). Getting 37mpg average and its nice car for my suburban commuting.
But the 'e' part....I'm getting about 15 miles from the fully charge battery- i'ts not a lot.
I understand for some folks they can charge at train station, work etc but I found this is totally not adequate to my family needs and we don't drive much.
I guess I need something with 70-100 miles range to convince me to switch to 'e'.

[enigma01]

Originally Posted by m3_08

Driving loaner 530e for 3 days. Nice car, very smooth, super seats (my favorite!). Getting 37mpg average and its nice car for my suburban commuting.
But the 'e' part....I'm getting about 15 miles from the fully charge battery- i'ts not a lot.
I understand for some folks they can charge at train station, work etc but I found this is totally not adequate to my family needs and we don't drive much.
I guess I need something with 70-100 miles range to convince me to switch to 'e'.

Definitely, not for everyone.

My commute is 17 miles each way, and it gets me both ways purely on electric power, which happens to be "free" because of my over-sized solar panels. (OK, the "free" part isn't exactly true since I paid for the panels with uncle Sam chipping in 30%).

I fill up my smallish tank (smaller than my M3's) every 3 months.

Do I wish it had a longer range? Absolutely... but it was the best compromise car as a commuter and baby carrier.

If you want a longer range, you can get something like a Tesla or Taycan. I still wanted an ICE/hybrid because I didn't want to have a range anxiety even with a 300'ish mile range battery (e.g. a weekend trip to Vegas would be stressful if I had to stare at the battery level all throughout the trip).

Do I love the car? Meh... it's efficient at what it does and meets my needs, but at the end of the day, it's still a compromise. I was hoping for the G80 to be less of a compromise with 4 doors, but I am still not over that look. Ugh.

By the way, full charge takes roughly 2 hours with the Level 2 charger. So, not bad.

[LogicalApex]

It all depends on which way you're looking at the 530e. The pure electric range isn't the only way to look at the 530e. It is still a hybrid and will get you great fuel economy if driven in Auto eDrive (with the best being this in conjunction with the GPS navigation set) as it can run the electric portion when it is most efficient. It can also recharge via regenerative breaking and coasting like all other hybrids.

The pure electric range serves a few purposes though. If you have a commute that is shorter it can allow you to potentially drive solely on electricity. In addition to this it can allow you to drive on electricity only in EV only zones like in some EU cities.

Looking at the electric range alone is the wrong way to look at it as it isn't an either or scenario...

I don't believe the 530e is ever worse off fuel economy wise than the 530i either. Even running purely on gas and never plugging it in will result in the same fuel economy (or a tiny bit better) due to the gas engine being weaker in the 530e (but boosted by the electric engine). That being said, the more you can charge the car the better your fuel economy and it offers some nice perks alongside it (preconditioning the car, no annoying "start-stop", really nice electric style acceleration, etc).

IMHO there really isn't a major reason to not jump on the 530e over the 530i, but many do...

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

It all depends on which way you're looking at the 530e. The pure electric range isn't the only way to look at the 530e. It is still a hybrid and will get you great fuel economy if driven in Auto eDrive (with the best being this in conjunction with the GPS navigation set) as it can run the electric portion when it is most efficient. It can also recharge via regenerative breaking and coasting like all other hybrids.

The pure electric range serves a few purposes though. If you have a commute that is shorter it can allow you to potentially drive solely on electricity. In addition to this it can allow you to drive on electricity only in EV only zones like in some EU cities.

Looking at the electric range alone is the wrong way to look at it as it isn't an either or scenario...

I don't believe the 530e is ever worse off fuel economy wise than the 530i either. Even running purely on gas and never plugging it in will result in the same fuel economy (or a tiny bit better) due to the gas engine being weaker in the 530e (but boosted by the electric engine). That being said, the more you can charge the car the better your fuel economy and it offers some nice perks alongside it (preconditioning the car, no annoying "start-stop", really nice electric style acceleration, etc).

IMHO there really isn't a major reason to not jump on the 530e over the 530i, but many do...

I agree except for the final sentence. I am satisfied with my 530e (I would be more satisfied with more HP) and would purchase it again vs. a 530i BUT that doesn't mean that everyone should. The i is a lot lighter and therefore more tossable and will do better at highway speeds.

Everyone is different and has different needs and desires. The e makes a ton of sense if you have charging capability at home and at work. It makes less sense if you have charging capability at home but not at work and begins to pale in comparison to an i if you have no at home charging capability or if you have long drives to and from work and for work.

I work mostly from home and have a level 2 charger in my garage so for me the e works well. But not everyone will find that it works well for them.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

I agree except for the final sentence. I am satisfied with my 530e (I would be more satisfied with more HP) and would purchase it again vs. a 530i BUT that doesn't mean that everyone should. The i is a lot lighter and therefore more tossable and will do better at highway speeds.

Everyone is different and has different needs and desires. The e makes a ton of sense if you have charging capability at home and at work. It makes less sense if you have charging capability at home but not at work and begins to pale in comparison to an i if you have no at home charging capability or if you have long drives to and from work and for work.

I work mostly from home and have a level 2 charger in my garage so for me the e works well. But not everyone will find that it works well for them.

That's an extremely good point. The extra battery weight of the 530e is very noticeable as it is about 500lbs extra weight on the car and that extra weight can be felt.