Barely two weeks into 2017, automakers are releasing pricing information for their 2018-model-year vehicles. Following the reveals of the 2018 BMW 530e iPerformance and the 2018 BMW M550i xDrive at the Detroit auto show, BMW detailed the bullion customers must fork over to get behind the wheels of these two 5-series models.
Starting at $52,395, the 530e iPerformance is priced some $10,700 less than the previous-generation gasoline-electric BMW ActiveHybrid 5. That car relied on a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 and an electric motor working together to make a healthy 335 horsepower, enough to scoot the 4360-pound mid-size luxury sedan to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds in our test. Still, with dismal (for a hybrid) fuel-economy ratings of 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway, the ActiveHybrid 5 failed to catch on in the marketplace.
The 530e iPerformance, though, is expected to raise the fuel efficiency game thanks to the new car’s plug-in-hybrid technology and smaller four-cylinder engine. BMW predicts 530e drivers will get as much as 15 miles of range out of the car’s 9.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack before the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine needs to be fired up. Even better, BMW estimates the new-age gasoline-electric 530e iPerformance will continue to offer noteworthy acceleration figures: the brand estimates the rear-wheel-drive 530e iPerformance sDrive?s zero-to-60-mph time at 6.0 seconds, with all-wheel drive 530e iPerformance xDrive, $2300 more exp...