Combustion engine and electric motor work together efficiently and harmoniously in the BMW ActiveHybrid 3. The responsibility for this lies with intelligent energy management.

It enables surplus energy to be drawn off, stored intermediately and then transformed back into motion when required. It thus ensures an efficient interplay between combustion engine and electric motor and optimum energy utilization. The system thus recognizes an uphill or downhill section in the route profile of the navigation system*, for example, and thus organizes energy use accordingly: the electric motor supports the combustion engine on uphill gradients by means of the boost function and on downhill stretches, the surplus kinetic energy is fed back into the high-performance battery.

In urban traffic driving takes place purely electrically – and hence free of local emissions – whenever it makes sense in energy terms. This enables distances of approximately 3 to 4 km to be covered almost silently with a maximum speed of up to 75 km/h.

The vehicle is also capable of gliding when the driver's foot leaves the accelerator and allows the car to coast. During this process, the combustion engine is switched off and disconnected from the drive train. The car uses its own kinetic energy for propulsion and rolls along the road without consuming fuel. With ECO PRO Mode activated, it is possible to glide at up to 160 km/h, thus saving even more fuel.

Functions such as pure electrical driving, coasting or the boost function provide an entirely new driving experience in the ActiveHybrid 3.

• This requires the Navigation system Professional (available as optional equipment for the BMW ActiveHybrid 3).