Green Focus: Hybrid Car - BMW ActiveHybrid 3

A new car by the makers of BMW is set for 2013 is called the BMW ActiveHybrid 3. The battery inside is a lithium-ion high performance one. Under the hood is a twin turbo straight six cylinder petrol driven engine and an electric motor which gives out a maximum output of 340 hp. For every 100 km the fuel is used at 5.9 litres and the CO2 emissions are 139 grams per kilometre. The vehicle has three driving modes: Comfort mode uses the electric motor and between speeds of 59-80 km/h you can coast which uses no power at all. Eco Pro is for maximum efficiency. The gearbox and accelerator are optimised as well as the climate control. Like comfort mode the vehicle can coast at speeds up to 160 km/h. Sport mode gives you a very sporty way to drive. There is additional power and there is no restrictions on the functions use. In this mode the engine is only turned off at very low speeds. 0-96 km/h can be achieved in 5.2 seconds which is 0.2 seconds quicker than a BMW 335I with a manual transmission. The ActiveHybrid 3 has an 8 speed transmission, which no one else currently offers. The BMW head-up display shows your current speed on the windscreen. It also shows you navigation, control displays and collision warnings. It will also be possible to show additional information such as current speed limit, information on overtaking restrictions. Safety features of the vehicle include adaptive headlights. The headlights adapt to the angle of the road ahead. At higher speeds the front headlights will raise up as more reaction time is needed and in slower speeds like urban traffic the headlights are lowered. The front of the vehicle has 3 different devices to help protect pedestrians in the event of a collision. One of these is that the bonnet has deformation elements to reduce the impact energy created and this helps to act as a crumple zone. A rear view camera provides a view for parking and there is also surround view. There are 5 cameras, 2 side view cameras which are located in the front bumper. There are 2 cameras located in the exterior mirrors and finally the rear view mirror to give you that all round information. Also installed in the vehicle is an accident proof telephone. In the case of an accident crash sensors automatically trigger an emergency call to the BMW assist call centre. This also provides a precise position of the vehicle. You are also able to activate the emergency call yourself. If car rental companies in major cities, like Sydney do start to move their fleets to vehicles which are a hybrid or all electric like the  then this would reduce their carbon footprint as well as helping to reduce their maintenance costs for their fleets and the need to refuel their vehicles. This would also reduce the cost for car rental in Sydney.