2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 - Car and Driver
The ActiveHybrid 5 is BMW’s latest contribution to the expanding world of hybrid motoring. Lexus has been in the game awhile, and Mercedes is set to debut an E-class hybrid. But for the moment, at least, the ActiveHybrid 5 represents the most sophisticated performance hybrid yet, a seamlessly smooth operator that advances the state of the art in its class. Alert BMW faithful might reasonably observe that the company has offered two ActiveHybrids, one based on the 7-series sedan and one on the X6 crossover. For one thing, don’t be misled by the word active as employed here. It’s BMW’s way of identifying hybrids with Ultimate Driving Machine chops. the earlier Actives aren’t as sophisticated as the latest one. The Active 5 is based around BMW’s 3. 0-liter aluminum inline-six—DOHC, direct injection, twin-scroll turbo, intercooled, Double VANOS variable valve timing, 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. It is arguably the sweetest six in all of internal combustiondom—smooth, potent, and willing, sweeter still allied with BMW’s eight-speed automatic, the only Active 5 transmission. As in many other hybrids, the IC engine is augmented by an. Source: www.caranddriver.com
