By John LeBlanc
One of the biggest contributors to the fuel savings of any gasoline-electric hybrid is the vehicle’s automatic start/stop systems, a feature that allows the gas engine to shutdown when the vehicle is stopped in traffic or at an intersection. Stop/start systems work so well automakers are now applying them to gas-only models. And one of the latest is Germany’s BMW, with it’s all-new 2012 328i compact sedan.
Combined with the new 328i’s turbocharged four-cylinder and eight-speed automatic gearbox, BMW’s Auto Stop/Start system allows for exceptional fuel economy estimates: 8.0 L/100 km city, and 5.3 L highway. The compromise is the lack of refinement when the BMW’s stop/start system shuts down and fires up the four-banger. Shuttering and shaking, the 328i’s mechanics are nowhere near as smooth or seamless as to what you’ll experience in Toyota’s stop-start setups, what I consider the industry leader. In fact, the stop/start system in a
2012 328i Modern I recently tested was one of my main grievances with the car.
Of course, as I religiously did, you can always turn BMW’s stop/start system off. But it won’t stay off the next time you start the car. To score those fantastic government fuel economy ratings, stop/start is the default mode. Turn the 328i on or off, and the stop/start system is allows there. But apparently there’s been enough of a backlash from owners that BMW has now sent out a service bulletin to its dealers, instructing them to switch the stop/start system on customer cars to “Last User Mode” if they like. This will keep the system off after starting the car the next time, with the ability to turn it back on.
Despite offering the option to kill its default mode, BMW seems committed to stop/start technologies. In its dealer service bulletin, BMW said it “will be the first automobile manufacturer to bring (stop/start) technology to all new models”, mainly to meet “increasingly stringent emissions and fuel economy requirements.”
It seems to me, then, that stop-start is good for BMW, but not for BMW drivers. It allows the automaker to score great fuel economy ratings, but at the expense of the driving refinement and performance expected in the vaunted brand’s Ultimate Driving Machine image.
What do you think? Is turning off the stop/start system only a minor inconvenience? Or is this yet another option that benefits the automaker over the auto owner?
Source:
Bimmerfile
Comments
December 15th, 2013 @ 9:03 pm
To me, the stop/start system is a royal pain. So no, turning off this “feature/option,” is a minor inconvenience. Of course, it be great if the car owner could permanently disable this annoying stop/start feature. To me, it would seem that turning a car engine off and on would produce more wear and tear on the engine. And least, but not last, in my opinion this would benefit the car dealers, manufactures and of course the government, greatly . . . think about it!