Late last year BMW announced that four models in its range will get mild-hybrid technology. Those models were all using the same 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine and were part of the 5 Series range. A bit later we also told you that a host of other cars will also get the 48V technology but back then nobody officially confirmed our report. That confirmation came today as BMW announced six more cars will get the 48V mild-hybrid tech.
Starting this Spring, mild-hybrid technology will also be offered as standard on the BMW 320d Sedan, BMW 320d Touring, BMW 320d xDrive Sedan and xDrive Touring, BMW X3 xDrive20d and BMW X4 xDrive20d. As you can tell, these are the most popular choices in Europe right now and they will help BMW bring its overall emission levels down a bit more as the EU regulations are changing and tightening the norms even more.
As for the cars themselves, they will most likely feel roughly the same in day-to-day operation. The mild-hybrid systems come with an 11 HP starter generator that helps out from time to time. It will be used to start up the car when departing from standstill and will provide boost for the internal combustion engine for very short spurts whenever needed. The 48-volt mild-hybrid system also allows the cars to be more efficient by making better use of energy recuperation.
When the vehicle decelerates, the combustion engine can be disconnected at a speed of less than 15 km/h. The kinetic energy gained when decelerating further to a standstill is then used for recuperation. The efficiency-enhancing effect of the “coasting” function has also been optimized.
At a speed of up to 160 km/h (100 mph), the combustion engine is no longer switched into idle mode but is completely disconnected. The optimized “coasting” function is available both in the COMFORT and ECO-PRO modes of the Driving Experience Switch.
