Why The BMW H3 Hybrid Will Knock Your Socks Off
I don’t know about you but I‘m not easily impressed. Having said that let me tell you about the BMW H3 Hybrid and why it definitely will impress you too.
As you know, most hyrids use batteries as their source of electrical energy. The problem with this system is that the batteries are heavy, expensive and don’t last as long as the cars they are installed in. Because of these problems with batteries, BMW has taken a different and more creative approach to power generation.
Instead of batteries, BMW uses capacitors which they call “Super Caps”. These “Super Caps” are installed in the body of the BMW H3 Hybrid itself. Now, for those of you that don’t want the technical specs, let me make this easy and simple for you to understand. Total capacity of these “Super Caps” is about 190 kilowatts of energy.
Even though this is less energy then you can store in batteries, it still gets the job done for the BMW H3 Hybrid.
The major benefits of BMW using “Super Caps” are two-fold. The first benefit is that they charge very quickly compared to a battery. And secondly, when you need the extra power the most the “Super Caps” discharge quickly. In s sense you can think of them as being like a high performance battery. The downside is that their storage capacity is less than a battery.
But the benefits of the “Super Caps” outweigh the larger storage capacity offered by batteries.
The location of the “Super Caps” in the side-sill of the BMW H3 Hybrid is, in my opinion, a stroke of genius. Not only does this location look great, but it also has two other very important benefits. This location saves space and also provides for better handling because of the low center of gravity.
From an auto engineer’s point of view, this is a dream come true.
The fact is, hybrid sales have taken off and market analysts predict a big increase in market share for hybrids over the next decade. This make BMW perfectly positioned to take advantage of the hybrid opportunity because buyers are asking for more fuel efficient cars.
But, BMW does even more to create a great hybrid.
Consider this—–
With the creation of the BMW “Active Transmission”, the H3 has all the force of a diesel but the reaction time of a conventional gas engine. Without getting into the technical aspects, let me tell you this about the BMW “Active Transmission”.
What makes it so incredible is that it is the same size as the standard BMW automatic transmission but includes two clutches, the electric motor, six driving gears and all the electronics to run the electric part of the system.
What does all this mean to you?
A thrilling ride——that’s what.
Not only do you get about a 20% fuel reduction, but you will also experience 0 to 60 in about 6.7 seconds. Are you ready to feel the excitement of 146 MPH at top speed. Provided of course you can find a road without a “Smokey” where you can run “wide open”. To me this means that you get the best of both worlds. Save money on fuel and get high performance at the same time.
