[Philipdo]

Hi all, new forum member here.

After driving 4 Mercs in a row, my wife finally convinced me to step into the world of BMW. I absolutely do NOT regret this decision! My 2021 xDrive 30e is one of the most vivid and responsive cars I've ever driven. Mostly in Comfort/Hybrid mode and for daily rides of 40-50 kilometers on average. Fuel consumption after 4 months is 3.4 L/100 Km which is very satisfying.

Lately I'm using the M/S mode more and more. I did not know that in this mode the battery automatically regenerates. After a 15 minute drive I have accumulated appr. 7-8 electric kilometers. When I switch back to hybrid, the regenerated electric kilometers seem to last twice as long as the ones after a full night of charging on the plug. Is this subjective or are there others that have the same impression?

Philip

[misterdom]

I'm curious what the left shift is for in general. I don't mean to hijack your thread. I know they I can use the shifter to change gears when it's in left position but I also notice the rpm +1000 when I leave it in "s" It must be some quick way of enabling "bug-out" mode. 🤣

[jsh139]

Originally Posted by misterdom

I'm curious what the left shift is for in general. I don't mean to hijack your thread. I know they I can use the shifter to change gears when it's in left position but I also notice the rpm +1000 when I leave it in "s" It must be some quick way of enabling "bug-out" mode. 🤣

Gear shift to the left is "sport" mode. The manual says:

The shifting points and shifting times in the
Sport program are designed for sportier han‐
dling. The transmission, for instance shifts up
later and the shifting times are shorter.

[en1gma]

Originally Posted by misterdom

I'm curious what the left shift is for in general. I don't mean to hijack your thread. I know they I can use the shifter to change gears when it's in left position but I also notice the rpm +1000 when I leave it in "s" It must be some quick way of enabling "bug-out" mode. 🤣

You can program this in the individual Driver Modes settings.

By default, in Sports mode the engine is more responsive, gearbox stays in a lower gear for longer, etc. You can change the defaults to have, for example, the gearbox to replicate Comfort mode but keep the engine frisky and steering heavier, etc.

[misterdom]

Originally Posted by en1gma

You can program this in the individual Driver Modes settings.

By default, in Sports mode the engine is more responsive, gearbox stays in a lower gear for longer, etc. You can change the defaults to have, for example, the gearbox to replicate Comfort mode but keep the engine frisky and steering heavier, etc.

So there is a sport mode button I use to put the car in sport mode. Then I can move the shifter to the left and get more sporty?

When I get in my G30 the first thing I do is press sport mode every time. While in sport mode I noticed moving the shifter to the left made the car behave as you described. The rpm increase and shift is at higher rpm. I didn't know the left shift made sport mode more sporty? Learned something..hmm

[TX3M]

Moving the shifter to the left does the following:
1. Manual shifting mode
2. It keeps the car in a lower gear longer before upshifting (resulting in higher revs) and the throttle is more responsive
3. More aggressive engine braking
4. It does not allow the car to shift into 8th gear

[Goldiegee]

Back to the original question, yes it is subjective. The power in the battery is just the same. Also it uses more fuel to charge up than the cost of the electricity from your plug, so it is not an efficient way of driving. It is only really meant for charging the battery at the end of a long journey if you know you are going to be driving in a built up area and want to reduce your emissions.

[Philipdo]

Originally Posted by Goldiegee

Back to the original question, yes it is subjective. The power in the battery is just the same. Also it uses more fuel to charge up than the cost of the electricity from your plug, so it is not an efficient way of driving. It is only really meant for charging the battery at the end of a long journey if you know you are going to be driving in a built up area and want to reduce your emissions.

Thanks Goldiegee. When I put the shifter in the left position, 'sport light' so to speak, the battery regenerates power without me activating 'Battery Control'. And it does so convincingly and without any negative impact on the braking feel. This must be different from battery control. Is this standard behaviour or am I missing something here?

[Philipdo]

I think I got it. When I drive in comfort mode, pushing the shifter to the left, it is still in comfort mode, albeit more spirited. And in comfort mode the battery automatically regenerates power

[Andre OFV]

Greetings from Brazil, everyone!

My two cents on this discussion is the following (happy for anyone to disagree ):
Shifter to the left or "m/s" means the TRANSMISSION is in manual/sport mode. This increases revs, makes the shifting program more aggressive (holding gears longer before upshifts) and increases engine braking. It also allows you to manually shift gears on a more continuous basis than when the shifter is in the right side automatic "D" and you just eventually make a shift using the paddles and then the car quickly goes back to automatic.

Sport mode button (is a driving mode, as are comfort and Eco-Pro) does not affect the transmission - it changes the programs for the ENGINE, STEERING, and SUSPENSION, depending on your car's options.

Yes you can combine the two for a more fun driving experience

Regarding regeneration while in m/s: I think it charges the battery more quickly simply because there is more engine braking, which logically leads to more regeneration.

[Goldiegee]

Originally Posted by Philipdo

I think I got it. When I drive in comfort mode, pushing the shifter to the left, it is still in comfort mode, albeit more spirited. And in comfort mode the battery automatically regenerates power

When you put it in sport mode it will charge the battery from the engine but only up to a small amount (not sure exactly but maybe 10%?).

This is because to get the full performance of the car in sport mode it needs the battery. So even though your gauge says zero, there is still charge in your battery which is only accessed in boost mode (you can see it on your dials if you accelerate hard). Putting it into sport mode means you are likely to need it more so it tops up the battery in the background. I once took a long fast drive in Scotland and really hammered it, but I never managed to run out of boost despite my gauge saying 0% when I started.

[TXGrey]

Originally Posted by Andre OFV

Greetings from Brazil, everyone!

My two cents on this discussion is the following (happy for anyone to disagree ):
Shifter to the left or "m/s" means the TRANSMISSION is in manual/sport mode. This increases revs, makes the shifting program more aggressive (holding gears longer before upshifts) and increases engine braking. It also allows you to manually shift gears on a more continuous basis than when the shifter is in the right side automatic "D" and you just eventually make a shift using the paddles and then the car quickly goes back to automatic.

Sport mode button (is a driving mode, as are comfort and Eco-Pro) does not affect the transmission - it changes the programs for the ENGINE, STEERING, and SUSPENSION, depending on your car's options.

Yes you can combine the two for a more fun driving experience

Regarding regeneration while in m/s: I think it charges the battery more quickly simply because there is more engine braking, which logically leads to more regeneration.

^^^^^All of this….

[Philipdo]

Originally Posted by Goldiegee

When you put it in sport mode it will charge the battery from the engine but only up to a small amount (not sure exactly but maybe 10%?).

I found out now that battery recharging is quite fast. In about 10 minutes I get 7 extra electric km's in M/S, but then it stops. So we're talking about 20%.

[huggy509]

Originally Posted by TX3M

Moving the shifter to the left does the following:
1. Manual shifting mode
2. It keeps the car in a lower gear longer before upshifting (resulting in higher revs) and the throttle is more responsive
3. More aggressive engine braking
4. It does not allow the car to shift into 8th gear

and prevents you selecting reverse, I hate the fact I have to move lever right to select reverse, it’s daft,

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by huggy509

and prevents you selecting reverse, I hate the fact I have to move lever right to select reverse, it’s daft,

Think about it... when the shifter is in M/S position, you can use the shifter to manually change gears. How can it be 'daft' to require coming out of manual shift position to get reverse? Logical design and the safe way to get all functions, from when steptronic was introduced over 25 years ago.