Six- and eight cylinder gasoline-hybrid models might be impressive and all (…sometimes, but not always), but if you really want to make the best use of this twin power-source technology in terms of efficiency, you need less cylinders under the hood.
This is what BMW proposed with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder X5 eDrive Concept that was claimed to return an impressive fuel consumption of just 3.8 liters per 100 kilometers (74.3 mpg UK / 61.9 mpg US) and CO2 emissions of 90 g/km. Place the same hybrid unit on a smaller and lighter car like the 3-Series, and well, you get the picture…
Our spies photographed BMW‘s engineers testing an F30 3-Series, which besides the “Hybrid Test Vehicle” decals, also came with a charging port cover hidden behind the black tape on the driver’s side front fender.
It’s completely reasonable to believe that the 3-Series Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) will share the same powertrain setup with the bigger X5 PHEV that we scooped testing at the end of last year.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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