2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 review: 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

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2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

8.9

2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

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The Good

BMW's hybrid system adds significant power to the <b>2011 ActiveHybrid 7</b>, while making it the most fuel-efficient 7-series model. An active suspension gives the car excellent handling. Google local search integrates with the navigation system.

The Bad

Points-of-interest and music library screens are unintuitive, and not easy to operate while driving. The hybrid system's idle stop feature shuts off power steering and doesn't work well in stop-and-go traffic.

The Bottom Line

Although a tech powerhouse, in some ways the hybrid system in the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 feels like a novelty. It adds power and fuel efficiency, but also adds quirks to everyday driving. Cutting-edge cabin tech features are available in all 7-series models.

Most automakers use the additional energy provided by a hybrid system to get away with a smaller gasoline engine, thereby maintaining expected power but reducing fuel use. BMW looked at that extra power and thought, "Excellent, we can make our cars go even faster!"

Such is the case with the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7, which hosts the same engine as the standard BMW 750i, a twin turbo direct-injection 4.4-liter V-8, but straps on an electric motor getting power from a 120-volt lithium ion battery pack. The result: substantially more horsepower and better fuel economy than the 750i.

Besides the power train, the ActiveHybrid 7 offers all the amenities of a typical 7-series. In fact, BMW makes many tech features standard on the hybrid that would be options on other 7-series models. Things such as the 16-speaker audio system upgrade, head-up display, and rearview camera come with the car, helping to justify its premium price tag, high even by BMW standards.

Mild hybrid
As the ActiveHybrid 7's hybrid system can't fully drive the car under electric power, it should be considered a mild hybrid system. Like Honda's Integrated Motor Assist system, BMW's hybrid system adds boost under acceleration and lets the engine shut down at stop lights. But the ActiveHybrid 7 feels much smoother.

From the driver's seat, there is little to indicate the hybrid system. As in other new BMWs, the tachometer has a blue region in the fuel economy gauge, indicating when the car is regenerating electricity from its momentum. The superwide 10.2-inch center LCD can be made to show a real-time animation of the car's hybrid power distribution, but its 3D presentation makes it more difficult to read than the power diagrams found in Toyota and Ford hybrids.

A 3D power flow animation looks good, but is not easy to read.

The clearest indication of the car's hybrid nature comes when it stops at a traffic light. The tach needle drops to zero as the engine goes silent. Take your foot off the brake, and the engine comes back to life with surprising smoothness, considering the size of the engine.

This idle stop system requires some getting used to, and is not preferable in some situations. It works great in places with particularly long traffic lights, as the car can sit there not burning gas or pumping out pollutants and carbon dioxide. But in traffic jams, with stop-and-go traffic, shutting down the engine for 5 seconds at a time is not as efficient, and is slightly annoying for the driver.

The amount of power on tap in the ActiveHybrid 7 also takes some getting used to, as the car lunges forward with just a light tap on the accelerator. Putting a hybrid label on a car may sound green, but the real virtue of this hybrid system is horsepower. The combined output from the turbo V-8 and the electric motor is rated at 455 horsepower and 515 pound-feet of torque. Compare that with the 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque in a 750i. The ActiveHybrid 7's power is closer to that of the V-12 760i.

BMW puts the ActiveHybrid 7's acceleration at 4.7 seconds to 60 mph, and it feels every bit that fast when you put pedal to metal, or pedal to plushly carpeted floor. The car surges forward, the traction control quickly adjusting power to keep tire motion useful, making for very little hesitation in the initial push. The big car feels steady and solid as it picks up speed, the speedometer slipping past 60 mph to hit 70, 80, and 90 in quick succession.

Although essentially the same engine as in the 750i, this one produces significantly more horsepower.

Although they use the same basic engine, the extra power the ActiveHybrid 7 has over the 750i doesn't all come from the hybrid system's electric motor. While figuring out how to make the gasoline and electric drive systems work in harmony, BMW engineers realized they could do away with things like the starter, the alternator, and the belt driving the air conditioning compressor. The hybrid system handles the tasks of those components.

Shedding that gear, and probably some clever tuning from BMW, increased the output of the 4.4-liter V-8 to 440 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque. The hybrid's electric motor, by itself, is rated at 20 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque. This motor sits between the engine and the transmission's torque converter. Its lithium ion battery pack forms an odd little cube in the trunk, a strange packaging decision on BMW's part.

But hybrid systems are supposed to have something to do with fuel economy, and so it goes with the ActiveHybrid 7, which gets EPA economy of 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway, from 2 to 4 mpg better than the 750i. Driving over a combination of city streets, 65 mph freeways, and mountain highways in sport mode, the car turned in an average of 20.6 mpg. Nothing miraculous, but still quite good for a car of this power and luxury.

BMW handling
Given the hybrid system, you would think the car would suffer a handling penalty for carrying this extra gear, but it doesn't. Although 230 pounds heavier than the 750i, it holds the road well, its active suspension making sure that the tires stay in strong contact with the pavement.

BMW lets you customize the car's sport setting.

A rocker switch on the console changes the damping through Comfort, Normal, and Sport settings. Comfort loosens up the suspension, making it smooth over bumps, while Sport screws it down tight. In this mode, the ActiveHybrid 7 corners very well, responding to steering input with precision.

However, all 7-series BMW models are big vehicles, and the optional active roll stabilization feature is smart technology to include. This feature puts rotary actuators on the front and rear sway bars that counteract the body's tendency to lean in corners. Lacking this feature, the weight of our tester ActiveHybrid 7 made itself felt in the turns. It is a worthwhile option, making the car much more capable.

The Sport setting also affects throttle response, making the engine's power more readily available. In addition to the rocker switch, the transmission has its own Sport setting, which makes downshifts more aggressive, and holds onto low gears longer. Keeping the tachometer well above 2,000rpm, the transmission's Sport mode defeats the gas-saving nature of the hybrid system.

The ActiveHybrid 7 gets two more gears than the 750i.

However, the ActiveHybrid 7's transmission plays a big part in the car's fuel economy. It has eight gears, two more than in other 7-series models. The tall gears help the car reach its 26 mpg highway rating, while the greater choice of gears lets the engine run more efficiently through its range of speeds.

To ensure cabin comfort, BMW powered the air conditioner off of the electrical system so that it doesn't stop when the engine shuts down at stop lights. However, the power steering still relies on the engine to pump its hydraulics, resulting in an immovable wheel when the engine is shut down. BMW really should have looked into an electric power steering unit for the ActiveHybrid 7.

Google search
Much more technical innovation can be found in the cabin. As in other BMW models, the navigation system uses some of the richest maps in the industry, with lush topographic contours. Zooming out beyond a mile scale, the maps change to satellite imagery.

A weak point in BMW cabin tech has always been the screens for finding points of interest or browsing a music library, and that problem remains in this new hybrid. The screens look like they were designed by a computer programmer rather than an interface expert.

Integrating Google searches with the navigation system is just one of this car's cutting-edge features.

But the ActiveHybrid 7 features a new way to find local addresses: it has a built-in Google search function. Entering the term "diner" in San Francisco brought up a list of local restaurants that either had diner in their names or that fit the description of being a diner. Taking it a step further, a search on the term "hammer" only brought up businesses with hammer in the name, rather than a list of hardware stores, which is more a limitation of Google than BMW.

The Google search box uses an ugly design, making it look shoehorned into the car rather than like a well-integrated feature. But the functionality is good, as clicking any search result lets you send the address directly to the navigation system. The list of results comes back a little slowly, similar to doing a search with any 3G-connected smartphone.

Beyond merely showing the car's speed, the head-up display, which comes standard on the ActiveHybrid 7, shows route guidance. This display shows everything from a simple arrow to a rendering of a multilane freeway complete with lane suggestions.

The car's user manual is searchable in the main LCD.

BMW makes a good number of driver assistance features available for the ActiveHybrid 7. The model delivered to CNET included blind-spot detection, which uses warning lights in the side mirror mounts to indicate a car in the blind spot, and lane departure warning. This latter feature vibrates the steering wheel when the car drifts over a lane line.

The premium audio system is a nice bonus for the ActiveHybrid 7. It brings in 16 speakers and a 600-watt amp, rather than the 10 speakers in the standard 7-series. Although most luxury automakers include a brand-name audio system, the speakers in this car lack any logo, but that doesn't impinge on the quality. This very well-balanced system produces fine sound throughout the frequencies, with satisfying bass, courtesy of two subwoofers, and highs with good detail and no shrillness.

Along with the usual controls for bass and treble levels, surround sound, and balance, BMW includes a seven-band graphic equalizer, letting audiophiles fine-tune the sound output.

Audio sources include standard HD radio, satellite radio, iPod integration, and a full 12GB of onboard storage. The only thing the ActiveHybrid 7 lacks is Bluetooth audio streaming, something BMW has not yet adopted.

In sum
Rather than coming across as a well-refined, ready-for-prime-time technology, the hybrid system in the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 seems almost experimental. The battery box sits uncomfortably in the trunk and the idle stop feature requires more attention than it should. However, there is no denying the extra power and fuel economy delivered by the system. Coupled with BMW's high-tech suspension and eight-speed transmission, this car's performance tech is tops.

But the cabin electronics rate even higher. BMW pushes all the boundaries, integrating Google with the navigation system, creating good phone integration, and designing a high-quality audio system. Add to that the available rear-seat entertainment system and a raft of driver assistance features, and the ActiveHybrid 7 earns an outstanding score.

The main area where BMW stumbles is design. The sedan form is as practical as ever, and certain design cues mark it clearly as a BMW. That said, you wouldn't look twice at the car if you passed by it on the street. The iDrive interface does some things right, such as its easy-access main menu, but digging into deeper screens, the paradigm gets a little strained, with search screens for points of interest and audio sources that are not easy to use while on the road.