2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 – The Road to Berchtesgaden and Steyr – The Diesel Driver – The Joy of Diesel Driving

After spending the night in Berchtesgaden, it was time to head out again with the ActiveHybrid 5, this time to Steyr, Austria. Since the Austrian border was literally just a stone’s throw away from our hotel, we crossed the border via a small country road at an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). The first Austrian village we encountered was Hallein, which we swiftly left behind us as we motored towards the Austrian Autobahn A10. We followed the A10 in the direction to Salzburg, where we switched onto the A1.

The A1 was the very first Autobahn built in Austria and connects the capital Vienna with Salzburg on an east-west axis. Thanks to the Austrian speed limit of 130 km/h (80 mph) our drive was more than relaxed and we were able to enjoy the Austrian Alps as well as a passing and brand-new looking BMW 1602.

While driving the ActiveHybrid 5 on the Austrian Autobahn, I was also able to experience the so-called “coasting mode”. The coasting mode switches off the combustion engine and disconnects it from the drive shaft when the driver moves his foot from the gas pedal. No engine braking takes effect, the car emits no CO2 and the recovered energy is used to recharge the lithium-ion batteries. The coasting mode is available up to a speed of 160 km/h and does not need to be consciously activated. The engine’s switching off is smooth and barely noticeable and the engine is immediately re-activated when additional power is needed. While coasting, all safety and comfort functions remain fully operational.

After following the A1 for 117 km (72.7 miles) we used exit 195 at the “Voralpenkreuz” to switch onto the federal highway 122 towards Steyr, where we soon arrived at the BMW Motoren Werke Steyr.

Every BMW diesel passenger car is powered with a diesel engine manufactured in Austria, and we will report on our visit to BMW Motoren Werke Steyr in an upcoming article.

Later that day, we drove back to Berchtesgaden via Salzburg and, on the following day,

BMW Motoren Werke Steyr

from Berchtesgaden to Munich. In total, we covered a distance of 696 km (432 miles) and achieved a fuel economy of 9.6 l/100 km (26.1 mpg) with an average speed of 60.2 km/h (37.4 mph).

BOTTOM LINE

Keeping in mind that this report covers the first few drives with a BMW ActiveHybrid 5, I have to admit that I am still a little bit disappointed about the fuel economy figures we achieved. Comparing the figures with other cars in our fleet, including the similarly-sized diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, we see a difference of nearly 3 liters per 100 km.

In other words, the E350 BlueTec was able to deliver 5.6 mpg more than the ActiveHybrid 5. Does the old (European) phrase still apply, that diesels will always be ahead of hybrids with a petrol engine when looking at fuel economy? Indeed, our VW Jetta TDI long term test diesel consistently delivers 30 mpg, and that is in mostly city driving.

Upon returning to Munich, we took delivery of our Azurite Black ActiveHybrid 5 and promptly drove to Italy for lunch.  We’ll report on that drive in the next installment.     

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