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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum 2017+ BMW 5 Series (G30) General Discussions 2020 530e EPA Fuel Economy Drop

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      09-26-2019, 03:15 PM   #1
LogicalApex
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2020 530e EPA Fuel Economy Drop

I am awaiting my MY2020 530e and have been awaiting the EPA fuel economy numbers to get a guesstimate on the impact of the larger battery and efficiency improvements BMW noted in their press release. The EPA posted their numbers today and they are confusing.

How could the MY2020 530e be less fuel efficient than the MY2019 version when it was given a bigger battery and more efficient engine. Is there a more powerful engine packed into the MY2020 530e or did the EPA numbers come up wrong.

Will see once I get mine, but wasn't sure if there is some details I missed.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find...42109&id=40557

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/08/02/b...tional-xdrive/
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      09-26-2019, 04:29 PM   #2
amus3d
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Those numbers don't mean anything to me. My 2018 was rated at 29mpg but in reality I get more like 25mpg. I drive pretty conservatively too.
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      09-26-2019, 10:06 PM   #3
cruiserchuck
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I noticed a similar drop on the 2020 530e. It makes no sense. I may call BMW tomorrow, and ask what happened.

I looked on Fuelly, and saw that folks there are reporting about 35 - 40 MPG for the 2019 x drive model. Hopefully the 2020s will do better.

Don't manufacturers report the MPG estimates to the EPA? If so, this change must be the result of new information provided by BMW.

Last edited by cruiserchuck; 09-26-2019 at 10:13 PM..
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      09-26-2019, 10:45 PM   #4
Wivenhoe
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They can’t have been reporting on the 2020 with the uprated battery - the cost of charging has gone down and yet if it was the uprated battery it must be more about 50% more expensive
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      09-27-2019, 05:56 AM   #5
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More weight to move may impact efficiency overall.
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      09-27-2019, 10:05 AM   #6
LogicalApex
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cruiserchuck View Post
I noticed a similar drop on the 2020 530e. It makes no sense. I may call BMW tomorrow, and ask what happened.

I looked on Fuelly, and saw that folks there are reporting about 35 - 40 MPG for the 2019 x drive model. Hopefully the 2020s will do better.

Don't manufacturers report the MPG estimates to the EPA? If so, this change must be the result of new information provided by BMW.
Yeah, that's exactly what I've been tracking as well. The California Air Resources Board also gave the 2020 530e xDrive more electric only range (~30 miles). So for the EPA numbers to show a performance reduction between MY2019 and MY2020 is really puzzling to me.

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/eligible-carpool-sticker-list

For gas only cars the EPA allows manufacturers to submit, but they do take a random sample and test them themselves. I don't know if that process is exactly the same for electric vehicles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wivenhoe View Post
They can’t have been reporting on the 2020 with the uprated battery - the cost of charging has gone down and yet if it was the uprated battery it must be more about 50% more expensive
That's what I'm thinking as well...

Quote:
Originally Posted by jsf721 View Post
More weight to move may impact efficiency overall.
The press release from BMW was that the battery capacity was increased without any weight increase on the car. Looking at the 2019 and 2020 xDrive versions there is a weight decrease of 11lbs in MY2020 if Edmunds is accurate on the 2019 530xe. Which is what makes it so puzzling. As the engine hasn't been beefed up in MY2020.
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      09-27-2019, 12:16 PM   #7
cruiserchuck
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So I called BMW this morning, and asked about the EPA estimate reduction. The person that I spoke with could not explain it. He initially speculated that maybe the 2020 battery was heavier, but after checking the specs, confirmed that the car is not heavier for 2020.

I am worried that BMW has been overstaying the MPGe and MPG for 2018 and 2019, and has now corrected it for 2020.
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      09-27-2019, 12:53 PM   #8
SteveinArizona
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You are worrying about an insignificant difference. If MPG is that important to you, I suppose you could drive in Eco Pro mode and hypermile. That would make far more difference that shown in the official numbers.

How you drive, where you drive, how often you plug in, etc. will have far more impact.

My suggestion is not to worry about the official numbers.

I do a lot of local driving, and do so in pure electric mode, and I have the ability to usually recharge during the day. I am still usually the fastest car. f For longer drives, where the terrain permits, I like to drive enthusiastically. Putting those two together, I have been getting between 700 and 1000 miles on a tank of 91 octane gasoline on my 2018 530e with a 12.4 gallon tank.

That meets my goal of having a performance car but one that doesn't destroy the environment.

But there are many different reasons to buy a car. What are your goals for the 530E?
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      09-27-2019, 05:22 PM   #9
amus3d
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If we are looking at the numbers, the decrease in MPG on 2020 530e has now made it less efficient than the 530i. So basically for those that drives more than the full-electric range, it makes less sense to pick up the 530e over the 530i.
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