Has anyone thought about an F10 ActiveHybrid 5?

As per the title. I can't help myself scanning the classifieds for f10's at the moment. Forgetting for a moment that Finance would like to have a chat with Head and Heart about the notion of changing at the moment, Head and Heart have kind of agreed that a '11-13 530d of some description would be a compromise that they could probably both live with. However, there are a few AH5's that pop up in the same searches that would probably meet some of the needs of both without paying a great deal extra for it.

Has anyone else refined a similar thought, and what conclusions did you draw?

Autocar suggests that the AH5 is good - effectively a 535+i, but with lower CO2 classification (useful for VRT, R/T, etc.). Their test conclusion was that the consumption benefit wasn't apparent in the real world and that it was in fact a bit of a dipso. Other than that it seems they liked it and the performance.

Thoughts appreciated :)

It depends on the type of driving you'd be doing really I suppose. Outside of urban stop/start driving, they're apparently not very economical at all.

It seems to me that they were a knee-jerk reaction car that BMW rushed out to compete with other exec hybrids, but they haven't really caught on. One point of note is that BMW only offer 5 years warranty on the batteries, so what happens when you run into battery issues ? It may be a very hard sell down the line...

I'd take a 530D M Sport all day ahead of one tbh.

If hell bent on an Exec (mild) hybrid, then it would be hard to look past the Lexus GS450H (especially in F Sport guise) - a neighbour has one in this very colour and it is a very impressive car in the flesh. The refinement and waftability is unrivalled in the bigger Lexus cars. Maybe I'm just getting old having picked up an older model one last year....:o

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/95523/...eview-pictures

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Originally Posted by Big H

It depends on the type of driving you'd be doing really I suppose. Outside of urban stop/start driving, they're apparently not very economical at all.

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Yeah that's what my Head is saying. Heart is saying that it would be a feeble attempt to keep the "petrol" in "petrolhead" :)

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Originally Posted by Big H

Maybe I'm just getting old having picked up an older model one last year....:o

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Of the car and old age, have you worked out which is the "cause" and which is the "effect"? :)

Thanks for the feedback.

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Originally Posted by dergside

Yeah that's what my Head is saying. Heart is saying that it would be a feeble attempt to keep the "petrol" in "petrolhead"

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I would have thought you've enough petrol's in your (enviable) current collection to satisfy that need ! Nobody would think any less of you for going for a tractor engined F10....;)

If not doing major mileage, then maybe look at the i3 - VRT is buttons to import, yet they seem to command a premium here at dealers.
A well balanced chassis and enough go to keep in interesting.

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Originally Posted by Big H

I would have thought you've enough petrol's in your (enviable) current collection to satisfy that need !

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Depending on the perspective you start from, that could possibly be true (:)) but it sounds like you've been talking with Mrs D!

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Originally Posted by Big H

If not doing major mileage, then maybe look at the i3

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Mileage hovers around the 20k per year mark, sometimes a bit more, rarely much less. About half is the regular commute and I do agree that an i3 could fill fulfill that need effectively, hence some of the questions on the i3 thread in recent days. The other half is regular long runs where comfort and grunt are useful - from Tipp to tiptop Donegal tonight for example. The only problem with the current fleet is that everything is CO2 based for road tax. Not so much a problem for the ones that you can pick and choose when to tax and use, but the prospect of reducing the road tax when next replacing the daily drivers from a current €3k or so per year to 20% of that is tempting. I've done my bit for funding the recovery.

I've driven the F10 530d and have to say it is a beautiful car to drive. We also have a 30d X6 in thre amily and it is a fine machine and great engine. That said I drove a Porsche Macan during the week which had the 3.0d VW powerplant and I thought it to be a much smoother and petrolesque engine. Would you consider an A8, macan or such? Sacrilegious but I've driven the A8 in particularly extensively and they are amazing cars in every sense.

There’s was a big thread on these on pistonheads a year or so ago. I came across it by accident but it may provide some info on this car as it’s quite rare.