Winter tests passed with flying colors for BMW i5, which was put through its paces in the bitter cold of the German group’s winter testing center at Arjeplog in northern Sweden ahead of its world debut. The images of camouflaged prototypes of the electric sedan released by BMW itself are only the latest step of the ice and snow test program, which lasted about a year in all.
Tests of all kinds
Through extensive testing on country roads, motorways and specially prepared test tracks, the BMW engineers were able to ascertain the car’s ability to drive at low temperatures and on surfaces with poor adhesion, ranging from the Arctic Circle to the Alps. Endurance tests for the BMW eDrive technology, which operates in extreme sub-zero temperatures, and daily driving tests and tests on winter roads mainly ended up under the magnifying glass. Tests that the new i5 has passed brilliantly thanks also to the DSC systemi.e. the wheel slip limitation function and the drive torque control system interconnected so that they can interact and complement each other flexibly in every driving situation.
A journey of 3,000 km
In the first phase of the program, a prototype of the i5 fully camouflaged with a special casing, plastic inserts, grilles and provisional headlights and taillights, he undertook a five-day test drive from the foothills of the Bavarian Alps to Denmark and then to the edge of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland: a route of approx 3,000km, which allowed BMW to analyze the behavior of engines, electronics, high voltage battery and integrated heating and cooling system of the passenger compartment and battery pack.
Appointment in October
But the importance of the BMW Group’s winter testing center in Arjeplog was like no other: the German carmaker itself spoke of it as “The ideal place to enable the development and test engineering team to develop their test program”especially thanks to the snowy roads and frozen lakes of northern Sweden that “they create the perfect setting to understand how chassis components, steering and braking systems and driving dynamics and stability systems interact with each other in extreme external conditions”. The debut of the new i5 is expected in October.
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