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Even though the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 is a hybrid, you’ll never mistake it for a Prius. When you visualize hybrids, you think of fuel efficiency but this BMW hybrid is absolutely not that fuel efficient. Even though the 2011 ActiveHybrid 7 will save on fuel compared to its other 7-series siblings, its ride in stop and go traffic is iffy and the power steering gets turned off in idle stop. It really is a engineering powerhouse, and the hybrid system adds power and fuel efficiency but also adds quirks to your driving everyday.

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Almost all hybrids have a smaller gas engine since the car is also being powered by the electric motor but this is not true for the BMW ActiveHybrid 7. Most hybrids lower gasoline costs even when maintaining power, but BMW saw the extra power, and decided to make their cars go faster. Typically the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 has got the same engine, a twin turbo direct-injection 4.4-liter V-8, as the standard BMW 750i. The only variation is the addition of an electric motor than gets its power from a 120-volt lithium ion battery pack. This makes the gasoline economy of the ActiveHybrid 7 better than the 750i, and with a lot more horsepower as well.

The ActiveHybrid 7 should simply be thought to be a mild hybrid system because the car is not able to drive completely under electric power. It is like the Integrated Motor Assist System of the Honda, where it creates boost when it is speeding up, and when it stops it lets the engine shut down. When you happen to be in the driver’s seat, you won’t even know that you are in a hybrid, but it has a blue area in the fuel gauge, which shows when the car is having electricity regenerated by its momentum. When you arrive at a stoplight, you will know it really is a hybrid because the engine will go quiet and the tachometer drops to zero. With the size of the engine, it is shocking how smooth the engine comes back to life, when you take your foot off of the brake.

The idle stop set up is quite impressive if you are at a traffic light but it can’t be the same when you are stuck in stop-and-go traffic. The vehicle will tend to shut down for 5 seconds at a time which can end up being irritating after awhile. Additionally, it takes getting used to the level of power, because the vehicle lunges frontward with the slightest touch of the accelerator. It does not sound like a very eco-friendly car but the goal of this hybrid is to add power more than improve fuel efficiency.

When you imagine a hybrid, you think of fuel efficiency, and even though the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 is more efficient that the standard BMW 7-series, it only gets around 20 miles per gallon. Even though that is great for a luxury sport vehicle that isn’t all that much for a hybrid.