BMW 530e M Sport 2021 Review

BMW has introduced a number of key upgrades with the 2021 BMW 530e M Sport, not least of which is a wholesale change in its pricing policy.

Four years ago, you could buy the plug-in hybrid variant of BMW’s 5 Series, the BMW 530e iPerformance, for $110,500 plus on-road costs. In 2021, the updated BMW 530e M Sport model will set you back $122,900, which is a jump of over 10 per cent and $4000 more than when it initially arrived in July last year.

More significantly – and moving away from BMW’s original policy of offering price parity for its plug-in hybrid – the BMW 530e M Sport is also $3000 higher than the price of its conventional stablemate, the petrol-engined BMW 530i.

At any rate, the car on test features a lot of new standard features, which partly compensates the higher purchase price.

A larger 12.3-inch ‘control’ display and Android Auto are new features for the range, as is its slightly modified exterior with revised bumpers, slim new headlights and a wider kidney grille.

Carryover kit includes 19-inch alloy wheels, electric seat adjustment with position memory for the driver, a head-up display, 16-speaker Harman Kardon audio system with digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Live Cockpit Professional. The latter is BMW-speak for its digital instrument cluster with integrated sat-nav display.

In addition, the 530e also gets dual-zone climate control, a powered boot lid, heated seats, adjustable lumbar support and wireless phone charging.

Our test vehicle was also loaded with optional extras including 20-inch alloy wheels, an electric sunroof, metallic paint, BMW’s Laserlight headlights, black Nappa leather upholstery, comfort seats for the driver and front passenger, and BMW’s innovative Drive recorder – an in-built dash-cam that constantly records footage using the vehicle’s surround view cameras. This last item ($390), the comfort seats ($500) and the upgraded leather upholstery ($2300) are individual options, but the rest are bundled together as an ‘Enhance Package’ for $5900.

The 2021 BMW 530e M Sport is technically unassessed by crash safety authority ANCAP.

In the current G30 generation of 5 Series though, ANCAP has awarded the 2017 BMW 520d with a five-star rating from Euro NCAP data. It’s not unreasonable to presume that the 530e with the same basic crash structure and an inline petrol four-cylinder engine in the same location as the 520d’s four-cylinder diesel will probably be in the same safety ballpark for occupant protection.

Standard safety features for the 530e consist of a knee airbag for the driver, plus frontal airbags and side-impact airbags for the driver and front passenger, plus side-impact airbags for front and rear seat occupants.

Driver assistance and active safety technology includes blind spot monitoring (with active assist), emergency brake display, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, adaptive LED headlights with high beam assist, lane keep assist, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights and tyre pressure sensors.

The optional LED ‘Laserlight’ headlights proved very effective and dipped in phase when approaching an oncoming car.

The BMW’s forward collision warning comprises a red vehicle icon in the instrument cluster if it detects a vehicle ahead at a closing speed of, say, 60km/h and roughly 40m distance. It’s not accompanied by an audible alert and works well without startling the driver.

Over the course of our time behind the wheel of the 2021 BMW 530e M Sport, we spent much of it recharging from a 10-amp power outlet when it wasn’t being driven. And when it did go places, it was mostly in electric mode.

The relatively small battery of the plug-in hybrid (upgrade from 9.2kWh in the 2017 model to 12kWh) takes a lot less time to recharge than batteries in pure-electric vehicles, so refilling it from a standard domestic outlet takes around four hours and doesn’t pose any major problems.

If your daily commute is around 40km to work and back, the 530e M Sport will easily accommodate that without using the petrol engine at all. BMW claims it has an electric-only driving range of 57km on the WLTP cycle.

A visit to a friend’s place during the week involved 15.3km of travel along the freeway, and 11.8km back via the arterials and side roads. The BMW completed the round trip with three occupants on the outbound leg and four for the return home with about a quarter of the battery’s charge remaining, having set off with a calculated range of 42km.

That indicates that the latest 530e has made some progress as its predecessor struggled to complete 32km in electric-only driving.

At the conclusion of a 70km test drive one night, the 530e posted a fuel consumption figure of 3.4L/100km and electricity consumption of 14.4kWh/100km. Those are reasonable figures for what is a large car – and one that was being driven enthusiastically at times.

The 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, however, is a pleasantly refined unit that delivers its power with some verve. It’s a traditional combustion engine, not a lean-burning Atkinson-cycle powerplant that you often get in hybrids, and it sounds sporty as it approaches its 6500rpm redline, where the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission naturally shifts up a gear.

Despite the M Sport badge on its tail, the 530e’s performance is not all that startling. BMW claims that when activating the Xtraboost function, which sends an additional 25kW of power from the electric motor for up to 10 seconds, the 530e can sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds – three-tenths faster than without it.

But it feels like a car that wants to cruise along serenely, rather than encouraging you to drive it quickly.

The automatic transmission is as smooth as usual for a ZF unit, and the engine restarts with little more than a shrill note, only faintly heard for about a second as the engine cranks over.

There are shift paddles either side of the steering column, but these do not provide different levels of energy recovery from the brakes like a dedicated EV or some other plug-ins. Instead, befitting BMW’s claim of engaging the driver in the experience, they merely change gears when the petrol engine is operating like a conventional system.

As for the brakes, they’re strong and feel progressive underfoot at cruising speeds, but the calibration of its regenerative braking does make low-speed deceleration a little awkward.

Although the powertrain of the 2021 BMW 530e M Sport doesn’t necessarily invite you to drive it in the spirit of its M badging, the plug-in 5 Series does impress with its overall dynamics.

While the roadholding is hindered somewhat by the additional weight of the battery pack and the Goodyear tyres, measuring 245/35 R20 at the front and 275/30 R20 at the rear, the 530e feels secure at higher speeds and sits flat in the corners.

As we found with the previous 530e iPerformance, its ride comfort is fine over larger bumps, but the tyres are not as compliant over sharp edges and the ride does feel at times a little on edge.

It might be better on the standard 19-inch wheels, rather than the optional 20-inch alloys. There’s also some road noise intrusion from the tyres at touring speeds, but otherwise is very quiet inside.

The optional front seats are supportive and well-shaped without being overly aggressive. If you like your seats softly padded, but still snug when the g-forces start to build, the $500 optional Comfort seats are worth the spend.

The interior is attractive and practical, with most controls simple to use and within easy reach. We’ve praised BMW’s latest generation of ergonomic design for being flexible and informative, and the 530e has improved on that a little further – particularly in the case of the satellite navigation. The system recalculates very quickly and offers useful prompts when voice commands are given.

Where amenity is concerned, the cup holders in the centre console are a little small for anything larger than picnic cups, but there is a bottle holder in the door bins to compensate.

Handily, the inductive phone charging tray is located under a sliding panel that conceals it when not in use.

As was the case with the 530e tested back in 2017, the boot of the current model is restrictive in terms of size, shape and practicality. By plug-in hybrid standards it’s adequate, however, and BMW has told us in the past that it will accept a bag of golf clubs.

It’s easy to dismiss a car like the 2021 BMW 530e M Sport – and its obvious rival, the Mercedes-Benz E 300e – particularly with what we’ve learned about alternative-energy vehicles over the past four years.  

Do the numbers really stack up, for instance? That extra $3000 premium over the price of a 530i will take some years to recoup – even if you can use the electric motor for most of your daily commute.

And since you’re spending a lot of money anyway, it’s not unreasonable to drop an additional $15,000 for the fully-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, especially at a time when SUVs are definitely pushing passenger cars off the front page.

But let’s say for the sake of a metaphor that you’re someone that likes the changing seasons. You’re someone who doesn’t want to be ‘all electric’ or ‘all petrol’ all the time. If so, the BMW 530e might be the right car for you.

It’s a genuinely pleasant car to drive, and a technological tour de force as well.

The 530e exudes presence in any company, it’s comfortable and safe, but most importantly for car enthusiasts, it is the ideal transition from our internal-combustion past to our electrified future.

How much does the 2021 BMW 530e M Sport cost?
Price: $122,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric plug-in hybrid
Output: 215kW/420Nm (combined)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 2.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 53g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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