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Luxury Hybrid Sedan Guide: BMW ActiveHybrid 3, Infiniti M35h, Lexus GS 450h

Luxury Hybrid Sedan Guide: BMW ActiveHybrid 3, Infiniti M35h, Lexus GS 450h

Nelson Ireson

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2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3

HI-RES GALLERY: 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3

With the 2012 Infiniti M35h already setting Guinness records and the 2013 Lexus GS 450h shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show, today's unveiling of the 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 makes it a three-way race for sport-sedan hybrid supremacy. How do the numbers stack up?

Performance

First up, lets look at each car's hybrid drive system. The 2012 Infiniti M35h starts with the familiar 3.5-liter V-6 paired with a 50 kW electric motor for a net output of 360 horsepower. The 2013 Lexus GS 450 follows a similar path, pairing an Atkinson-cycle 3.5-liter V-6 with an electric motor of not-yet-specified output and net power of 338 hp. The 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 slots in just below the other two, but does it a little differently, with a 300-horsepower twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder paired with a 40 kW electric motor for a net output of 335 horsepower.

Lexus says the GS 450h will hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, the quickest of the bunch. Infiniti's M35h takes 6.1 seconds, and the BMW 3-Series hybrid hasn't yet made any claims, though the slightly less-powerful non-hybrid 335i makes it to 60 mph in a scant 5.4 seconds--even the 328i, powered by the new N20 turbo four-cylinder, makes the 0-60 run in 5.7 seconds, meaning the GS 450h's hold on the quickest sport hybrid sedan (on paper) is tenuous at best.

Another aspect to performance with this set of modern hybrids is the ability to drive in electric-only mode. While these aren't intended to be driven any substantial distances in electric-only mode, they all offer the ability to some degree. The Infiniti is the speediest, traveling up to 62 mph on electrons alone, but it has a short range of just 1.2 miles. Infiniti says that its test show mixed driving allows the average owner to spend up to 50 percent of the time in electric-only mode, however.

BMW's electric-only mode is not as fast, topping out at 37 mph, but extends the range up to 2.5 miles. It does have the unique ability to coast in electric only-mode at speeds up to 100 mph, however, saving fuel when not on the throttle even at full freeway speeds.

The Lexus GS 450h's hybrid-electric system can drive the rear wheels independently as well as in tandem with the combustion engine, but details on range and speed haven't been announced as yet.