After being all about diesel at the Detroit Auto Show this year, it looks like BMW is going the next step by adding in hybrid technology next month at the Geneva. A new X5-based concept, apparently called the Vision EfficientDynamics, will be on display and it will employ the mild-hybrid system that BMW is developing in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. In this application, BMW has combined the system with the 201 hp 2.0L twin turbo diesel used in the 123d. Based on the diagram you see above, the hybrid system uses a 120V lithium ion battery that doesn't appear to be much larger than a regular 12V car battery. Electric assist comes from a 15kW motor paired up with an 8-speed automatic transmission. A solar roof is apparently used to pre-heat the transmission fluid, presumably to improve efficiency during cold starts. Mercedes already showed several vehicles equipped with this same mild hybrid system at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September and it's expected to go into production in 2009.

[Source: CarScoop]

I always take announcements by the Association of British Drivers (ABD) with a few heaping teaspoons of NaCL. After all, the ABD is the group that said teaching kids about climate control harks back to Nazi methds not too long ago, and they're not exactly at the forefront of green driving advocacy.

With that in mind, let's see what they have to say about "Britain's Most Unfair and Absurd Tax Proposal." The Association's release is after the jump if you want to read it how they wrote it, but here's the gist.

Thanks to what the ABD calls "clever German engineering," BMW's large X5, an "Urban 4x4," will not have to pay the £25-a-day Band G "gas guzzler" congestion charge in London. ABD says that letting this £40,000 behemoth into London for 80p a day is wrong. The X5 emits between 231 and 299 gm of CO2 per kilometer, and Band G is supposed to hit any vehicles that spit out more than 225 g/km.

What ABD forgets to make clear is why the X5 will be exempt. Plus, the ABD's problem is not that the X5 will skirt by the charge, but that the charge exists at all, that it's "completely unreasonable." I'd like to know more about why the X5 will be exempted, as the news reports I can find about this issue still place the X5 in the Band G category. As for the "completely unreasonable" accusation, that's rich coming from the ABD.

Related:

• BMW X6 hybrid

[Source: ABD]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of the 2007 BMW X5.

BMW is set to release the brand new 2007 X5 luxury Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) onto the Australian market next month with three engine variants including a fuel-efficient 3.0-litre turbo-diesel model which is still over a year away from hitting the American market. The new X5 is larger than its predecessor but manages to balance increased size with stronger performance and better fuel economy. BMW is clearly excited about the new model, providing the media with a colossal 61-page press release kit, the summary of which is provided after the jump.

An array of new safety features and gadgets also find its way into BMW's top selling SAV, including Active Steering, AdaptiveDrive and a Head-Up Display.

Active Steering is a new, optional rack-and-pinion steering system which features a variable transmission ratio based on the steering angle. At speeds up to around 90 km/h, the transmission ratio is very direct, providing a sporty response requiring a minimum of driver arm movement. When parking, the steering wheel requires little more than two turns from left to right lock; and at high speeds, the steering becomes increasingly indirect to give precise, stable directional stability and superior motoring comfort.

AdaptiveDrive is a combined active anti-roll stability system with variable damper control which is designed to prevent body roll and dive in fast bends, or when avoiding an obstacle. Using special sensors, AdaptiveDrive continually measures lateral and longitudinal acceleration, road speed, the position of the steering wheel, and the ride height of the vehicle to improve comfort and agility.

The optional Head-Up Display provides instant readouts of road speed or navigation information that are displayed directly in the driver's line of vision on the windscreen.

But moving on to the good stuff, the X5 comes with either a aluminium-magnesium inline six cylinder petrol engine, a 4.8-litre V8 petrol engine, or a 3.0d turbo-diesel - all of which offer high power and torque output:

• The inline six puts out 200 kW / 268 hp and 315 Nm / 232 ft-lbs.
• The V8 offers up 261 kW / 350 hp and 475 Nm / 350 ft-lbs.
• And the oil burner packs 160 kW / 214 hp and 500 Nm / 369 ft-lbs.

The six-cylinder 3.0 litre diesel engine features third-generation common rail technology, a modern piezo injection system, a Euro-4 compliant particulate filter and a newly developed exhaust gas turbocharger with variable turbine geometry and electrical adjustment.

Of special note is the fact that the diesel X5 returns a miserly 8.7 L per 100km / 27 mpg which is pretty impressive for such a large vehicle. In comparison, the petrol inline six returns 11.7 L per 100 km / 20.1 mpg and the V8 starts to look thirsty at 12.5 L per 100 km / 18.8 mpg. That fact hasn't been lost on Australian consumers either with the diesel model accounting for a whopping 70 per cent of total X5 sales for 2006.

Analysis: The luxury SUV / SAV market has boomed in the last ten years and BMW led the way with the X5 and X3. Even despite increased competition of late, the X5 still accounted for almost 40 percent of the Australian luxury SUV / SAV market in 2006. BMW aren't planning to relinquish their market dominance in 2007 either with the new X5 looking like a very strong competitor indeed. You can expect the fuel-efficient diesel model to once again lead the assault.



Related:

• BMW moves up diesel plans to start with the X5
• eGMCarTech: BMW 5 Series diesel to reach U.S. by 2009
• Introducing Britain's greenest luxury car: the Jaguar XJ Diesel

[Source: BMW]