Thanks Savington. So, I was the poster who probably triggered this discussion on 530e vs 540i and fuel efficiency and all that.
This thread is dead now, but just thought of coming back and posting some real world, long term, first hand observations, will keep it short though, there is no need to make any case, just some info for anyone who is still looking for any review.
I drive 30 miles a day, I charge my car every night at home and do not have charging capability at work. When I am leave in morning, it says I have 21 miles of EV range available. However, I never drive on Max EDrive, but always drive on Auto eDrive.
BMWâs iPerformance hybrid tech is linked with your Navigation system, it sees the path you are on, and understands traffic situations and the Terrain for anticipating slopes and climbs. It then manages the energy usage intelligently by switching between gas and electric on its own. Also anticipates when it will gain energy by braking and downhill slopes and plans accordingly. BMW recommends using NAV everytime to get max benefit of the system.
That being said, I have been getting about 50-60 mpg in real world usage, which is pretty good for me!!! It is more than double the fuel efficiency I would get with 530i ( not even comparing with 540i as this model is equally priced to 530 not 540).
BUT, I would like to highlight, the efficiency for you will be lower if you have longer commute, or majority of driving on freeways. When I drive out of town, my net fuel economy reading comes to about 35 mpg for that trip. Thatâs because, when on freeways, itâs mostly running on gas and is not getting much opportunities to re charge the batteries. Gas is more efficient on freeways than electric motor anyways, so itâs not bad.
I live in Cali and is sensitive towards gas prices, always close to $4. I also live in a county that offers $2000 rebate, and Electric company had $800 rebate and $1000 from CCA. I got $3800 in rebates total for this car, and my lease payments are $540 which is for a pretty loaded one with packages. making this the cheapest 5 series trim with same HP and higher torque than a trim above (530i). And itâs instant EV torque
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Overall, this choice has been a Win in my eyes, and I would re-lease this model without a second thought after my term end.