GreenCarReports - Green Car Reports
There are two main types of hybrid car in the world: those that are built from the ground up as hybrids, and those that are hybrid conversions of existing cars. The 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 is the latter. And that may be the biggest problem with the BMW ActiveHybrid 5: It feels like a car that has been somewhat reluctantly turned into a hybrid. But BMW has replaced the traditional automatic gearbox torque converter with a 40-kilowatt electric motor, powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. In fact, apart from the external badges and a few trim coloring tweaks to highlight its green credentials, the ActiveHybrid 5 is a hybrid in disguise. Like other BMWs, the ActiveHybrid 5 offers a variety of driving modes that adjust the car's throttle response, shift timing and suspension stiffness. For most of our test, we kept the ActiveHybrid 5 in Eco + mode. Unlike the Toyota and Lexus system, which uses a pair of motor-generators that provide continuously variable torque, the BMW ActiveHybrid 5’s single-motor full hybrid system is reluctant to push the mid-size luxury sport sedan along. Source: www.greencarreports.com
