BMW X5 45e hybrid
Discussion
Not Ideal said:
Just got back from my France trip in my 40e. Stats aren't toooo bad.
2100 miles
48h
24.8mpg
44.2mph
I think the mpg isn't bad considering it had 4x people and 3x suitcases in it for the most part. I think it suffers at the 85-95 leptons mark because its only got a small 2l 4cyl engine which does about 2200-2500 rpm at those speeds which means its working quite hard. I imagine the newer 45e does better at that speed on a long run because it is a 6cyl ?
Some interesting numbers there!2100 miles
48h
24.8mpg
44.2mph
I think the mpg isn't bad considering it had 4x people and 3x suitcases in it for the most part. I think it suffers at the 85-95 leptons mark because its only got a small 2l 4cyl engine which does about 2200-2500 rpm at those speeds which means its working quite hard. I imagine the newer 45e does better at that speed on a long run because it is a 6cyl ?
Edited by Not Ideal on Tuesday 4th August 06:58
I think you are right, the 40e is much more town/short run focused than the 45e. The XC90-T8 and RR/RRS400e have the same 4cyl setup and suffer in a similar way.
On longer runs without a charge, driving at normal (
) speeds I still get high 30's to low 40's - over a much longer run I would expect it to drop a little.For reference, a couple of years ago we went 4 up in my dads Rx400h to Neunen and back, and got over 30mpg average - at similar speeds. (That was with four big blokes, luggage and a stationary engine in the boot!)
Due to CV19 I haven't done my usual 1000mile round trip to Scotland and back in it yet, but that will be the true test.
Out of interest, how big is the tank in the 40e?
GL123 said:
I've just ordered a 45e to replace my XC90 T8. I've enjoyed the Volvo it's got everything I need and lots I don't. Seats are great as a I have a severe back injury. Crazy low BIK and 6 pot swayed to the BMW. The Volvo is quick enough and handles ok for a huge heavy SUV in sport mode which lowers and stiffen the air suspension however you must either live in central London or be crazy to buy one of these personally.
24mpg average for Volvo and small tank means lots of fill ups.
Doesn't tow as well as my wife's diesel outlander either. However as an overall package and low BIK there is no other option than these hybrids. Personally I'd take a 6 or 8 pot diesel any day of the week and I think the legislation needs to change as there is zero incentive for company cars drivers to plug in which completely defeats the object and is more harmful for the environment.
Looking forward to trying the BMW when it finally arrives with a 6 month waiting list...
24mpg was all it could manage once the battery was depleted? Was that an early T8, or one of the facelifted ones?24mpg average for Volvo and small tank means lots of fill ups.
Doesn't tow as well as my wife's diesel outlander either. However as an overall package and low BIK there is no other option than these hybrids. Personally I'd take a 6 or 8 pot diesel any day of the week and I think the legislation needs to change as there is zero incentive for company cars drivers to plug in which completely defeats the object and is more harmful for the environment.
Looking forward to trying the BMW when it finally arrives with a 6 month waiting list...
aponting389 said:
BrettMRC said:
Utter madness not plugging it in IMO, why bother with a hybrid at all?
The low BIK. It makes perfect sense, why bother using his own electricity when he gets fuel for free?1) It's missing the point of the vehicle to not charge it, especially with the bigger ones.
2) Charging them is not expensive.
3) Hauling around half a ton of motors and batteries just to burn even more fuel "just because you can" is feckless.
If the poster above has no charging options at all then maybe I can see where he is coming from a bit, but still seems utterly wrong.
Edited by BrettMRC on Monday 17th August 11:34
GL123 said:
It's complete madness that's what I'm saying. The government make these things very cheap as a company car (the BMW is roughly the same BIK as a 1 litre Fiesta), I don't pay for fuel but there is no way to claim the cost of electricity back. Therefore very few company car drivers ever plug in, and that's where most of these vehicles are going currently. I'd rather a V6 or V8 diesel...
Have you ever plugged it in? Surprised the company doesn't provide a charging facility!
GL123 said:
I work from home and travel regularly around the UK. Car is in car port on gated drive next to a plug socket. I plugged it in once but didn't bother again because anything more than light throttle kicks the ICE in. Probably because it's so heavy as its full of batteries....
The 45e is a very different beast in that regard 
^What he said
The 45e is currently the best 4x4 PHEV in terms of combined range, but none of the PHEVs will be as good as a decent diesel on repeated long journeys.
With the pandemic I've not yet had an opportunity to do my semi-regular Scotland runs which would give a good indication as to MPG without a charge at one leg of the trip. (Although if you look at my C350e thread, it's not always that cut and dried on long trips with PHEVs... https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... )
The 45e is currently the best 4x4 PHEV in terms of combined range, but none of the PHEVs will be as good as a decent diesel on repeated long journeys.
With the pandemic I've not yet had an opportunity to do my semi-regular Scotland runs which would give a good indication as to MPG without a charge at one leg of the trip. (Although if you look at my C350e thread, it's not always that cut and dried on long trips with PHEVs... https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... )
Edited by BrettMRC on Tuesday 18th August 08:08
Turfy said:
BrettMRC said:
aponting389 said:
BrettMRC said:
Utter madness not plugging it in IMO, why bother with a hybrid at all?
The low BIK. It makes perfect sense, why bother using his own electricity when he gets fuel for free?1) It's missing the point of the vehicle to not charge it, especially with the bigger ones.
2) Charging them is not expensive.
3) Hauling around half a ton of motors and batteries just to burn even more fuel "just because you can" is feckless.
If the poster above has no charging options at all then maybe I can see where he is coming from a bit, but still seems utterly wrong.
Edited by BrettMRC on Monday 17th August 11:34
It is just as "feckless" using your 2.5t, 3.0V6 when you could be in Prius. I suspect the Prius would not be suitable for a number of reasons that are known only to you.
Personally, I see the huge hybrid 4x4 SUV as a total joke for innumerate reasons. It is a very disingenuous attempt to convince the world that you are helping it. Compared to the X5M, maybe you are. Compared to the other 95%+ of cars that are better for the environment, you are not...
Charging has a cost; it is not free. Clearly there is a BIK angle here.
My point was that if you have a plugin hybrid, whether it is for BIK purposes or not - refusing to charge it seems utterly daft for a lot of reasons. (Environmental, driving experience, economy etc)
I can see no reason why you would think I am being anything other than truthful? I've nothing to gain nor lose from the approval of the internet.
On another note... going back to the dealer on Friday to have some niggling behaviours looked at.
Since the software update the following happen:
Does not always lock on the remote, have to get back in restart the car, turn it off and get out again... odd and annoying.
Charging keeps defaulting back to 6A, annoyoying.
The auto braking has decided that it needs to help out duing low speed parking if you get within 6-8" of an object, also annoying.
However, inspite of this it is still awesome. For most trips it's 80-95% battery, so the av-mpg sits at 90, on longer trips it still does 45-50mpg.
I've moved to an office that's only an hours drive away (give or take) and can charge once I get there, so I'm doing the majority of that commute on EV.
It's a fantastic car.
custardkid said:
After ordering in January mine in now in the country, but held up with the battery / weld spot issue
Doh!
Looking on line it looks like the open pore wood is no longer available?... So looks like it'll be fairly unique!
How is yours going?
Are you getting the same 50:50 battery : fuel miles as Harry?
What is the battery/weld issue then? Will it mean a new car, or can they repair it before it gets to you?Doh!
Looking on line it looks like the open pore wood is no longer available?... So looks like it'll be fairly unique!
How is yours going?
Are you getting the same 50:50 battery : fuel miles as Harry?
Turfy said:
BrettMRC said:
Turfy said:
BrettMRC said:
aponting389 said:
BrettMRC said:
Utter madness not plugging it in IMO, why bother with a hybrid at all?
The low BIK. It makes perfect sense, why bother using his own electricity when he gets fuel for free?1) It's missing the point of the vehicle to not charge it, especially with the bigger ones.
2) Charging them is not expensive.
3) Hauling around half a ton of motors and batteries just to burn even more fuel "just because you can" is feckless.
If the poster above has no charging options at all then maybe I can see where he is coming from a bit, but still seems utterly wrong.
Edited by BrettMRC on Monday 17th August 11:34
It is just as "feckless" using your 2.5t, 3.0V6 when you could be in Prius. I suspect the Prius would not be suitable for a number of reasons that are known only to you.
Personally, I see the huge hybrid 4x4 SUV as a total joke for innumerate reasons. It is a very disingenuous attempt to convince the world that you are helping it. Compared to the X5M, maybe you are. Compared to the other 95%+ of cars that are better for the environment, you are not...
Charging has a cost; it is not free. Clearly there is a BIK angle here.
I guess if the T8 in question is being used daily and the petrol is "free" it is a £ decision not to charge the car.
How much would it cost to charge the battery daily to full, use, recharge the next day? £2 - £4.
I think it's probably about £3.00 to charge?
It is a much nicer drive with charge in the battery, I took mine out yesterday with very little charge and wondered what the unusual slight vibration was as I went up a nearby hill!
Update:
Since the charging issue and software update mentioned previously the '45 has been acting strangely, it went in to BMW last week to see if they could find a cause but no joy. (They did kindly send out a BMW Genius before I went to home to make sure none of the problems were user error... a little irritating but I can see why they would want to check)
The issues were:
Randomly not locking off of the remote.
Unlocking when the remote was within 10ft of the car...not 6" from the handle like it should.
Randomly no longer recongising the keys unless they were held against the transponder on the steering column.
Resetting the charging rate back to 6A at random.
Highly intrusive automatic braking when trying to manouver into a space or a narrow lane. (Not fun when it stops you reversing off the lane into the driveway!)
Last night it escalated into something a bit more annoying/dangerous. Just leaving the house and the drivers dash display switched off, on the central display I had a series of errors and warnings concerning the entire external sensor suite and driver assistance systems. Turning on and off, getting out locking and unlocking etc would not clear the error.
I used the in-car BMW assistance feature to get through to the BMW roadside assistance team. Within 90mins they had a tech out to the car, he was able to get some codes off of it this time which clearly showed some major issues, his opinion was the CanBus has been borked by the software update.
Interestingly he pointed out that a lot of this generation of BMW have been totally bricked by OTA software updates and can only be switched on and driven onto the low loader with the intervention of a laptop. (Seems like effectively a boot disk required to bring them to life)
To quote the tech "we are out there picking up the pieces of these failed updates".
Today it's going into BMW and they are going to give me a suitable replacement as I have a 600mile round trip with 3x PH Director Build adults starting this afternoon!
Hoping a fresh download cures it, or they can find a problem with the canbus.... I do not like the idea of driving heavy vehicle so reliant on fly by wire and automation if it can be so critically ****ed up by software updates - bordering on the dangerous. (Not saying that in a Daily Mail way, just stating the obvious)
Wonder what they will give me to use in the interim?
Since the charging issue and software update mentioned previously the '45 has been acting strangely, it went in to BMW last week to see if they could find a cause but no joy. (They did kindly send out a BMW Genius before I went to home to make sure none of the problems were user error... a little irritating but I can see why they would want to check)
The issues were:
Randomly not locking off of the remote.
Unlocking when the remote was within 10ft of the car...not 6" from the handle like it should.
Randomly no longer recongising the keys unless they were held against the transponder on the steering column.
Resetting the charging rate back to 6A at random.
Highly intrusive automatic braking when trying to manouver into a space or a narrow lane. (Not fun when it stops you reversing off the lane into the driveway!)
Last night it escalated into something a bit more annoying/dangerous. Just leaving the house and the drivers dash display switched off, on the central display I had a series of errors and warnings concerning the entire external sensor suite and driver assistance systems. Turning on and off, getting out locking and unlocking etc would not clear the error.
I used the in-car BMW assistance feature to get through to the BMW roadside assistance team. Within 90mins they had a tech out to the car, he was able to get some codes off of it this time which clearly showed some major issues, his opinion was the CanBus has been borked by the software update.
Interestingly he pointed out that a lot of this generation of BMW have been totally bricked by OTA software updates and can only be switched on and driven onto the low loader with the intervention of a laptop. (Seems like effectively a boot disk required to bring them to life)
To quote the tech "we are out there picking up the pieces of these failed updates".
Today it's going into BMW and they are going to give me a suitable replacement as I have a 600mile round trip with 3x PH Director Build adults starting this afternoon!
Hoping a fresh download cures it, or they can find a problem with the canbus.... I do not like the idea of driving heavy vehicle so reliant on fly by wire and automation if it can be so critically ****ed up by software updates - bordering on the dangerous. (Not saying that in a Daily Mail way, just stating the obvious)
Wonder what they will give me to use in the interim?
Gets better...
I should have been at BMW for 11am to drop off the borked one and collect the "luxury hire car" from their partner.
10:50 got a call from LCH who were delighted to tell me they can have a 1 series at the dealership "between 14:00 and 15:00".
right off! Last night I was promised a comparable vehicle by 11am.... LCH called back and said they have nothing to offer me then.
Now awaiting a call back from BMW.
I'm not trying to be an arse here, yes I have another car - but my wife needs a tall car due to joint problems so I can't take the 4.6 and leave her unable to go anywhere for the weekend.
Why do companies make promises they can't fulfil directly?
/end rant/
I should have been at BMW for 11am to drop off the borked one and collect the "luxury hire car" from their partner.
10:50 got a call from LCH who were delighted to tell me they can have a 1 series at the dealership "between 14:00 and 15:00".
right off! Last night I was promised a comparable vehicle by 11am.... LCH called back and said they have nothing to offer me then.Now awaiting a call back from BMW.
I'm not trying to be an arse here, yes I have another car - but my wife needs a tall car due to joint problems so I can't take the 4.6 and leave her unable to go anywhere for the weekend.
Why do companies make promises they can't fulfil directly?
/end rant/
Edited by BrettMRC on Friday 11th September 11:45
After a significant amount of dicking about Enterprise on behalf of BMW managed to get a car to be around 18:00 on friday evening, I jumped in it and got on with the weekends plans.
They gave me a 520d saloon, not too bad considering - but a few observations:
There is nothing remotely sporty about it, so why call it an M-Sport?
Room in the back is not great, with my usual seating position there was 5" between my seat back and the rear bolster.
It's a good cruiser.
Very cheap to run - I filled it up half way to Sussex, (c60l) and have done 400miles on half a tank driving at normal speeds - so probably 55mpg+. (Diesel still makes sense for these kind of trips)
Some bits of the interior felt a bit low rent, especially the steering wheel.
I don't think it felt as nice as the 2009 520d estate we had for awhile.
I'm now awaiting some sort of contact from BMW to find how long they will have the X5 for as Enterprise want the 5 series back tomorrow....
They gave me a 520d saloon, not too bad considering - but a few observations:
There is nothing remotely sporty about it, so why call it an M-Sport?
Room in the back is not great, with my usual seating position there was 5" between my seat back and the rear bolster.
It's a good cruiser.
Very cheap to run - I filled it up half way to Sussex, (c60l) and have done 400miles on half a tank driving at normal speeds - so probably 55mpg+. (Diesel still makes sense for these kind of trips)
Some bits of the interior felt a bit low rent, especially the steering wheel.
I don't think it felt as nice as the 2009 520d estate we had for awhile.
I'm now awaiting some sort of contact from BMW to find how long they will have the X5 for as Enterprise want the 5 series back tomorrow....
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