[echo46mike3]

I think many of you 45e owners were like me. When we placed order of the car, there was absolutely no 45e test drive whatsoever. I mainly got my impression from different reviews, C&D, YouTube(if there's a YouTube idea about this car, I've watched it). Personally I couldn't care less of the driving dynamics, and I got a feeling of interior from the 40i test driver. The main concerns I had were:
- Pure electric range, is it gonna be worse than official number?
- Fuel economy when battery is depleted?
- Acceleration under electric mode

Every single review I've read or watched, said electric acceleration is miserable. I live half mile from a busy 45mph limit road. During rush hour I always have to gun it to take the left turn on to it. In winter I'd warm up engine in my driveway and for a couple minutes then go gun it out with my previous cars. I had my doubt with 45e. But it turns out, the 190lbft electric motor is plenty enough, that I didn't even need all of it. 60-80mph Accel on interstate? Yeah that's actually pretty bad considering ~140lbft is used to just keep it at 70mph.

Fuel economy when battery is depleted, again most reviews just refer to the EPA number of 20 combined. I've no idea how BMW actually achieved that MPG… I wanted to get over the ICE break in period quickly so I've been driving with battery hold. Under this mode, the 45e is just like a Prius that I've owned for 10 years. And I've noticed that, car actually allows battery level to dip 2-3% below the set threshold if moving slowly and driver is not demanding high power. It'll drag start engine at 25mph, or use the starter earlier if driver puts foot down. It'll shut down engine while coasting, regen while braking, and use electric to get going, just like a Prius. As a result I've been getting really incredible gas MPG.

I've attached my recent trip back from work. It was about 5mi heavy traffic highway at 60mph, then 5mi of stop and go highway, then 10mi of local 30-40mph behind other cars. Driving style is just like any other car you see on the road because I was behind other cars for the whole way. I'm really impressed. Not that people who buys these cars really care about fuel cost, but I guess it's a mental thing.

Also the pure electric range never dipped below 40mi for me at 100%. Maybe it's been cool but not cold here in MA.

What I'm trying to get with auto journalism is… it's soooo far away from a normal everyday driver's perspective especially with "normal everyday cars". Yeah if you are reviewing a sports car, I get it, I own an E46 M3, it's supposed to be driven hard. But same review style of a car like X5 40i/45e? Those same aspects I just couldn't care less about…

From my own buying experience, if anyone around Boston metro west wants to take a look at 45e or go for a short shotgun ride, I'm happy to offer.

[e45_440]

Originally Posted by echo46mike3

I think many of you 45e owners were like me. When we placed order of the car, there was absolutely no 45e test drive whatsoever. I mainly got my impression from different reviews, C&D, YouTube(if there's a YouTube idea about this car, I've watched it). Personally I couldn't care less of the driving dynamics, and I got a feeling of interior from the 40i test driver. The main concerns I had were:
- Pure electric range, is it gonna be worse than official number?
- Fuel economy when battery is depleted?
- Acceleration under electric mode

Every single review I've read or watched, said electric acceleration is miserable. I live half mile from a busy 45mph limit road. During rush hour I always have to gun it to take the left turn on to it. In winter I'd warm up engine in my driveway and for a couple minutes then go gun it out with my previous cars. I had my doubt with 45e. But it turns out, the 190lbft electric motor is plenty enough, that I didn't even need all of it. 60-80mph Accel on interstate? Yeah that's actually pretty bad considering ~140lbft is used to just keep it at 70mph.

Fuel economy when battery is depleted, again most reviews just refer to the EPA number of 20 combined. I've no idea how BMW actually achieved that MPG… I wanted to get over the ICE break in period quickly so I've been driving with battery hold. Under this mode, the 45e is just like a Prius that I've owned for 10 years. And I've noticed that, car actually allows battery level to dip 2-3% below the set threshold if moving slowly and driver is not demanding high power. It'll drag start engine at 25mph, or use the starter earlier if driver puts foot down. It'll shut down engine while coasting, regen while braking, and use electric to get going, just like a Prius. As a result I've been getting really incredible gas MPG.

I've attached my recent trip back from work. It was about 5mi heavy traffic highway at 60mph, then 5mi of stop and go highway, then 10mi of local 30-40mph behind other cars. Driving style is just like any other car you see on the road because I was behind other cars for the whole way. I'm really impressed. Not that people who buys these cars really care about fuel cost, but I guess it's a mental thing.

Also the pure electric range never dipped below 40mi for me at 100%. Maybe it's been cool but not cold here in MA.

What I'm trying to get with auto journalism is… it's soooo far away from a normal everyday driver's perspective especially with "normal everyday cars". Yeah if you are reviewing a sports car, I get it, I own an E46 M3, it's supposed to be driven hard. But same review style of a car like X5 40i/45e? Those same aspects I just couldn't care less about…

From my own buying experience, if anyone around Boston metro west wants to take a look at 45e or go for a short shotgun ride, I'm happy to offer.

Agree with this assessment. Three weeks and 800 miles later, I'm yet to fill gas in my 45e. Came with a full tank from the dealership and now it's around 25%.

Most of the driving so far has been around town (10-30 miles), with two long distance -- one 100+ miles and the other 200+ miles. I charge to 100% every night. Pretty impressive so far for a car this size!

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by echo46mike3

I think many of you 45e owners were like me. When we placed order of the car, there was absolutely no 45e test drive whatsoever. I mainly got my impression from different reviews, C&D, YouTube(if there's a YouTube idea about this car, I've watched it). Personally I couldn't care less of the driving dynamics, and I got a feeling of interior from the 40i test driver. The main concerns I had were:
- Pure electric range, is it gonna be worse than official number?
- Fuel economy when battery is depleted?
- Acceleration under electric mode

Every single review I've read or watched, said electric acceleration is miserable. I live half mile from a busy 45mph limit road. During rush hour I always have to gun it to take the left turn on to it. In winter I'd warm up engine in my driveway and for a couple minutes then go gun it out with my previous cars. I had my doubt with 45e. But it turns out, the 190lbft electric motor is plenty enough, that I didn't even need all of it. 60-80mph Accel on interstate? Yeah that's actually pretty bad considering ~140lbft is used to just keep it at 70mph.

Fuel economy when battery is depleted, again most reviews just refer to the EPA number of 20 combined. I've no idea how BMW actually achieved that MPG… I wanted to get over the ICE break in period quickly so I've been driving with battery hold. Under this mode, the 45e is just like a Prius that I've owned for 10 years. And I've noticed that, car actually allows battery level to dip 2-3% below the set threshold if moving slowly and driver is not demanding high power. It'll drag start engine at 25mph, or use the starter earlier if driver puts foot down. It'll shut down engine while coasting, regen while braking, and use electric to get going, just like a Prius. As a result I've been getting really incredible gas MPG.

I've attached my recent trip back from work. It was about 5mi heavy traffic highway at 60mph, then 5mi of stop and go highway, then 10mi of local 30-40mph behind other cars. Driving style is just like any other car you see on the road because I was behind other cars for the whole way. I'm really impressed. Not that people who buys these cars really care about fuel cost, but I guess it's a mental thing.

Also the pure electric range never dipped below 40mi for me at 100%. Maybe it's been cool but not cold here in MA.

What I'm trying to get with auto journalism is… it's soooo far away from a normal everyday driver's perspective especially with "normal everyday cars". Yeah if you are reviewing a sports car, I get it, I own an E46 M3, it's supposed to be driven hard. But same review style of a car like X5 40i/45e? Those same aspects I just couldn't care less about…

From my own buying experience, if anyone around Boston metro west wants to take a look at 45e or go for a short shotgun ride, I'm happy to offer.

The MPG and mi/kWh number shown in trip computer and the app are NOT the pure MPG or mi/kWh. 45e takes the total miles driven (EV + ICE), divided by gallon used for MPG. And again, total miles driven divided by kWh for mi/kWh. So it is double counting the miles, which make the dash board look better.

The correct method to calculate real life time MPG and mi/kWh is separating ICE miles and EV miles, and device by their energy source respectively. I will give my own example here after 3 months of ownership. After separating ICE and EV mile, my life time MPG = 22.1. life time mi/kWh = 2.01.

If you don't mind share this screen, I can calculate yours.

[quad_drive]

Our 23 45e has been beyond our expectations. We got it mainly because we needed to replace our 15 F15 X5 and the PHEV tax credit. Never got to test drive one prior.

Since having the vehicle for over a month now, for our use cases, we can be 95% to be on EV mode. I had to burn gas on purpose just to get over the break in and get some new fuel in the tank, since the fuel is from the dealer/factory. Not having to worry and plan a trip to Costco gas station is a blessing. I charge it up daily.

Driving in hybrid mode is awesome. Most of the time, with EV only power, getting the car moving from stop is plenty powerful. Unless, you are living your life quarter miles at a time.

The only complaint I have has to do with iDrive 7 behaving inconsistently and a few overzealous annoyances.

[mkenny28]

After my initial break in period with two long road trips in there, my trip computer has 36 MPG and 5.6 mi per kwh as the averages (1943 total miles with 800 and some change being all-electric). My usage has now been about 85% all-electric so I expect the MPG to go up and the mi per kwh to go down.

The thing about reviewers is they push the vehicles they review to the max and most seem to be completely oblivious to the use cases for PHEVs. Way too much concentration on 0-60, speed, etc and not enough on how people who PHEVs work for actually use the vehicles themselves.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by mkenny28

After my initial break in period with two long road trips in there, my trip computer has 36 MPG and 5.6 mi per kwh as the averages (1943 total miles with 800 and some change being all-electric). My usage has now been about 85% all-electric so I expect the MPG to go up and the mi per kwh to go down.

The thing about reviewers is they push the vehicles they review to the max and most seem to be completely oblivious to the use cases for PHEVs. Way too much concentration on 0-60, speed, etc and not enough on how people who PHEVs work for actually use the vehicles themselves.

With these numbers, your actual ICE MPG = 21.3. Mi/kWh = 2.31. Both are within range of a few other members reporting here.

I actually believe the combined MPG with depleted batter to be 20 is quite reasonable for BMW practice. BMW do under report their MPG. A few 40i owners reported "since factory" MPG to be 24-25. So I am not surprised 45e will also get 1-2 MPG above BMW claims.

[echo46mike3]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

The MPG and mi/kWh number shown in trip computer and the app are NOT the pure MPG or mi/kWh. 45e takes the total miles driven (EV + ICE), divided by gallon used for MPG. And again, total miles driven divided by kWh for mi/kWh. So it is double counting the miles, which make the dash board look better.

The correct method to calculate real life time MPG and mi/kWh is separating ICE miles and EV miles, and device by their energy source respectively. I will give my own example here after 3 months of ownership. After separating ICE and EV mile, my life time MPG = 22.1. life time mi/kWh = 2.01.

If you don't mind share this screen, I can calculate yours.

Alright I just went to look at mine, it came out to be 23.4mpg and 2.58mi/kwh since I took delivery.

[Di3s3l_Power]

excellent assessment,
every online review talks about how slow the electric mode is, but in real day to day life is good. If you want speed you can always press the sport mode and have 400 hp & 440 torque

[nZtiZia]

we had just refinanced in Oct 2020 and came out on top with huge equity, so I decided to walk into the BMW dealership. up to that time, I've driven Audi SAVs, but my wife always drove a bimmer. the 45e is my first bimmer daily driver, and i consider it one of the best purchases in my adult life.

it was a spontaneous purchase as I knew nothing about it. the only thing that drew me in was that it was a hybrid, and I wanted to try one. all the reviews and opinion pieces I read came after I purchased and took delivery. while many here lurked and took some notes prior to purchasing their bimmer, I didn't even join the forum until after I took delivery cuz I didn't even know about it before or after I ordered.

my work commute is entirely electric. I once went 7 months between fuel fill ups (these are usually associated with road trips). last time I filled up was this past April when returning from a trip, and I still have 22% left in the tank which I'm filling up tomorrow before another road trip, so that's another 7 months between fill ups!

[jBwFellow]

I had my first ever big road trip last month, 2000 miles each way (driven fast) from NJ to WY. Once in WY we did around 500 miles of local driving including a fair amount of easy off-road, usually in Sport or Battery Hold mode (probably should have stayed in Hybrid)

Only plugged in once, for about 20 minutes at a free spot 5 miles down a dirt road in Red Canyon.

Average MPG 23.5 for the trip, which knocked down my overall by bit

Car performed great, as usual, just one instance of a "No Signal" black screen followed by an idrive restart.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by jBwFellow

I had my first ever big road trip last month, 2000 miles each way (driven fast) from NJ to WY. Once in WY we did around 500 miles of local driving including a fair amount of easy off-road, usually in Sport or Battery Hold mode (probably should have stayed in Hybrid)

Only plugged in once, for about 20 minutes at a free spot 5 miles down a dirt road in Red Canyon.

Average MPG 23.5 for the trip, which knocked down my overall by bit

Car performed great, as usual, just one instance of a "No Signal" black screen followed by an idrive restart.

Separating ICE and EV miles
ICE MPG = 22.0
EV mi/kWh = 1.28

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

Separating ICE and EV miles
ICE MPG = 22.0
EV mi/kWh = 1.28

what screenshot do you want to calculate these for me (since Factory or Individual)?

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

what screenshot do you want to calculate these for me (since Factory or Individual)?

If since factory, it will be the life time statistics. If individual, it will be statistic since the individual reset. I can do both if you share screen shots. It is in my macro now, all done automatically

[jiggie]

Unless you find yourself in traffic a lot or on significant elevation changes, getting 25+ MPG on ICE is pretty common, obviously contingent on driving style lol.

[LarsOtium]

From Factory our numbers are:

32.5mpg with total miles of 11,952.

Electric miles of 2,967 and 13.9 mi/kWh.

A cross country trip is probably about 8,000 miles of the total and it was done with virtually no charging of batteries beside regen.

[sygazelle]

Hopefully this post doesn't derail this informative thread, but I've been trying to figure out the efficiency difference between a G05 40i and 45e as measured in cost per mile for the two energy sources.

After reading posts and articles, I think the efficiency difference can be measured pretty simply as shown in this spreadsheet snapshot.

Unless I'm missing something (entirely possible), the 45e is a clear winner where gas is expensive and electricity is cheap. It's obviously a clear winner if you have already paid for a solar system to generate your own electricity.

Where the business case is tougher is where electricity is expensive; places like the Bay Area where I'm paying 48 to 55 cents per kwh, depending on time of day. In that situation, the cost per mile for the two energy sources is close to the same, depending on what assumption is used for miles per kwh.

Of course, tax incentives change the business case as well.

And finally, there are those who want a hybrid even if there are no proven savings which is a also a legitimate point of view.

Am I missing something or is it really this simple?

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by LarsOtium

From Factory our numbers are:

32.5mpg with total miles of 11,952.

Electric miles of 2,967 and 13.9 mi/kWh.

A cross country trip is probably about 8,000 miles of the total and it was done with virtually no charging of batteries beside regen.

If I use my formula to split ICE and EV, I got this
ICE MPG = 24.4
EV mi/kWh = 3.45

MPG number is inline. mi/kWh is not reasonable tho. that is Tesla Model 3 kind of number and we know 45e won't get near. Mind shareing "since factory" screen?

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Hopefully this post doesn't derail this informative thread, but I've been trying to figure out the efficiency difference between a G05 40i and 45e as measured in cost per mile for the two energy sources.

After reading posts and articles, I think the efficiency difference can be measured pretty simply as shown in this spreadsheet snapshot.

Unless I'm missing something (entirely possible), the 45e is a clear winner where gas is expensive and electricity is cheap. It's obviously a clear winner if you have already paid for a solar system to generate your own electricity.

Where the business case is tougher is where electricity is expensive; places like the Bay Area where I'm paying 48 to 55 cents per kwh, depending on time of day. In that situation, the cost per mile for the two energy sources is close to the same, depending on what assumption is used for miles per kwh.

Of course, tax incentives change the business case as well.

And finally, there are those who want a hybrid even if there are no proven savings which is a also a legitimate point of view.

Am I missing something or is it really this simple?

I have the same conclusion for SF Bay Area right BEFORE this recent stupid Newsome induced gas price increase. $5.59 is no long possible. Costco Sunnyvale is $6.28 today. If you go to brand name (Chrveon or Shell or 76) near any highway exits, you can easily see $7.09. so 40i gasoline cost goes up by ~25% in your table.

[LarsOtium]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

If I use my formula to split ICE and EV, I got this
ICE MPG = 24.4
EV mi/kWh = 3.45

MPG number is inline. mi/kWh is not reasonable tho. that is Tesla Model 3 kind of number and we know 45e won't get near. Mind shareing "since factory" screen?

I think the EV mi/kWh is so high because of long mountain descents thru the Rockies and the Sierra.

[LarsOtium]

Screen shot…

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

I have the same conclusion for SF Bay Area right BEFORE this recent stupid Newsome induced gas price increase. $5.59 is no long possible. Costco Sunnyvale is $6.28 today. If you go to brand name (Chrveon or Shell or 76) near any highway exits, you can easily see $7.09. so 40i gasoline cost goes up by ~25% in your table.

Well, that changes the outcome for sure if my basic premise is correct. Is the math this simple or are there factors I'm not considering?

In addition, the PGE cost was too high. As of October 1, the rate plan average is closer to 40 cents per kwh. With those two changes, here is an updated spreadsheet.

The 45e is now economically compelling if the purchase price is not higher and you do most of your driving on electric. Otherwise, the benefit in the spreadsheet begins to shrink.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by LarsOtium

I think the EV mi/kWh is so high because of long mountain descents thru the Rockies and the Sierra.

that makes sense. but wow, may I ask where were you driving from and to where? Going through both Rockies (Colorado/Wyoming) and Sierra(Cali/Nevada), must be a fun trip.