Bmw 530e ordered?

[Bill4San]

[Bill4San]

[Bill4San]

There she is. Bluestone grey with the M Sport Plus Pack.

Depending on the sun - can look like a gunmetal type grey or much lighter and more blue.

I do like this colour!

[Steven.Willerby]

Bill4San said:

Holy sh*t that looks awesome

[Bill4San]

A quick question to fellow owners - what charge profile do you use from the 3 available (Maximum, Reduced, Low).

When my car arrived it was set to 'Low' but it seemed to take a very long time to charge, so today I have changed it to 'Reduced'.

I'm charging from a normal three pin socket in the garage and I hope that the charger can cope without overheating.

Cheers

[hantsxlg]

Max mode for me. I think you only need one of the other modes if you are being creative with charging.. ie using a partly coiled extension cable or a long spur of old wiring to a socket where you don't want to draw 13amps for a long period

[clarkey]

I've just hit 500 miles in the first two weeks, I love it. I can do about 24 miles on a charge in current weather conditions. I did my first longer journey at the weekend - about 130 miles, and average 58mpg on the trip, which is excellent. Fuel costs seem low for my usage pattern - I think it has used about £20 of fuel to do 500 miles, average a bit over 140mpg

[Bill4San]

hantsxlg said:

Max mode for me. I think you only need one of the other modes if you are being creative with charging.. ie using a partly coiled extension cable or a long spur of old wiring to a socket where you don't want to draw 13amps for a long period

Thanks Hants. I've tried the 'Reduced' setting for a few days now and the charge time from zero to 100% has dropped from about 9 hours to 7 hours.

How long does yours take on the 'Maximum' setting? I'm still not sure whether to go for that, but I don't suppose it would be an option if there was any risk of fire.

[hantsxlg]

In max mode I charge in about 2.5 to 3 hours on my 32amp charger, though the 530e only draws 16amp max I think

[Bill4San]

Thanks Hants. I'll give it a go on Maximum tonight and let you know how that works out.

Another question: Don't UK cars with the HK speakers have speaker lights?

I'm disappointed because I can't see them in the menu and I thought they look pretty snazzy on youtube.

[chris56]

Couple of corrections to some of the information posted about charging.
In the UK market the BMW supplied Mode 2 charging cable which charges from a domestic socket will only draw 10 amps when set to MAX. The value is imprinted on the BMW supplied cable. If you buy an aftermarket Mode 2 charging cable from one of the EV cable suppliers then the max amp will be detailed on the cable. I have a Mode 2 one from EV connectors and that also charges at 10 amps.
If you use a Mode 3 cable then the car will charge at a maximum of 16 amps.
I charge mine at MAX mode 10 amps both at home and at work - typical charge time from battery discharged to battery fully charged is around 4.5 hours

[hantsxlg]

Chris56
I'm not sure your info is correct. I was home at about 1900 tonight and the car had used all the ev battery. It is now 100% charged... so in 2.5 hours. I have a type 2 charger and bmw type 2 charge cable (not the domestic
3 pin 13amp transformer jobby) and understand it will pull 16amp. It certainly charges far slower the couple of times I've used the 3 pin plug transformer jobby.

[chris56]

hantsxlg said:

Chris56
I'm not sure your info is correct. I was home at about 1900 tonight and the car had used all the ev battery. It is now 100% charged... so in 2.5 hours. I have a type 2 charger and bmw type 2 charge cable (not the domestic
3 pin 13amp transformer jobby) and understand it will pull 16amp. It certainly charges far slower the couple of times I've used the 3 pin plug transformer jobby.

Apologies if my post was unclear.
As supplied from new the 530E in the UK comes complete with a type 2 charger which is fitted with a domestic 3 pin plug transformer. The cable attached between the 3 pin plug and the transformer is marked at 10amp and this is the maximum charge rate that the car will charge from when set at max for this cable.
By the sound of it, you have purchased a type 2 to type 2 cable and have a Type 2 charger installed from one of the EV charger suppliers (Rolec, Polar etc etc). The maximum charge that the car will charge at using this arrangement is 16amp which is what you are observing

[Bill4San]

Thanks for the replies Hants and Chris.

I only have the BMW supplied charger with a 3 pin plug and use it in a regular socket.

I've charged (from empty) at the Low rate (which took c.9 hours), the Reduced rate (which took c.6-7 hrs) and now the Maximum rate (which takes c.4-5 hrs).

So it'll be maximum all the time for the next 3 years!

Another thing I have noticed is that the Spotify App doesn't work very well. It plays music via Bluetooth OK, but the menus are a mess. When you select a song it plays something else entirely. It really has a mind of it's own.

[Bill4San]

An update - the Spotify app no longer has a mind of it's own.

It has instead stopped connecting completely.

[Bill4San]

Another Spotify update (sorry) - the App has not only stopped working but has now disappeared altogether. I'm hoping BMW are updating the software and it will return in a working form. But I am an optimist and it probably has gone for good!

[Jag_NE]

Bill4San said:

Looks great. I’ve got the 530d in the same colour but SE. I had the option to take a 530e or opt out and I picked up a 530d (bank loan) and I calculate I will be marginally up month to month, but when it’s paid off the car is all mine.

[Bill4San]

Nice one Jag. The colour doesn't look anything special on these dark winter days but when your car is clean and polished in the sun it really does look different. Let us know you get on with mpg, but I'm charging overnight everynight and travelling 30 miles each way to work (incl approx 15 miles each way on M/way) and averaging just over 50mpg. If I could charge at work, I think i'd be averaging nearer 75mpg. Fantastic for a car of this type.

[Pintofbest]

I got mine a month ago now but have been travelling a lot so not too many miles, love it so far. The refinement is excellent and being on electric through our village has surprised a few people, as it has in car parks too when you are pottering along and someone is walking down the middle of the road!

Pretty basic spec - M-Sport plus, heated rear seats, Carbon Black with black interior,

[Bill4San]

Very nice PintofBest. I'm just waiting for the summer and a few long drives - North Coast 500 is top of my list. Won't help my MPG but oh what fun!