MANILA: While the motoring media is awaiting the world preview of the all-electric BMW X3 next year, the Bavarian company gave a taste of what to expect with the debut of the BMW X3 xDrive30e.

Introduced earlier this year, the X3 xDrive30e is the seventh plug-in hybrid model and is ready to enter the production line of BMW’s Spartanburg plant next month and go on sale worldwide come the second quarter of 2020.

The alphanumeric designation after the nameplate means it’s an all-wheel-drive variant with an electric motor assisting the combustion engine. The traditional 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder turbo engine can churn 184 Hp of power and is placed under the hood. While the 12 kWh battery which generates 109 hp of power is tucked under the rear seats. The combined output of the two engines is 292 Hp of power and 420 Nm of peak torque. This means the BMW crossover is capable of going 0 to 100 km per hour acceleration in just 6.2 seconds.

The hybrid engine is partnered with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. But what most of us would like to know is how far the car could go solely on electric energy. You’d be happy to know that the plug-in SUV is capable of up to 46km of pure-electric driving with a maximum EV speed of 110km/h or 135km/h before the combustion engine takes over.

The BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system splits power between the front and rear wheels via both the combustion and electric power, including only the latter. The driver can control the charge state of the battery with the option to utilize electric driving for later on the trip. In terms of boot space, it has the same 450 Liters as the conventionally powered X3 models. This can be further expanded to 1500 Liters when the split-fold rear seats are tucked away.

BMW has yet to announce the price for the new BMW X3 xDrive30e but said that they will disclose it before the on-sale date sometime in the second quarter of 2020.

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