What’s the price of luxury green driving? 

If you’re BMW, and that luxury is the all-new 2013 ActiveHybrid 7 full hybrid, the answer is $84,895. 

With pricing just announced, the luxury hybrid is powered by 3.0-liter, twin-scroll turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine and a 40-kilowatt electric motor.

Interestingly, the 2013 ActiveHybrid7 shares its drivetrain with BMW’s other ActiveHybrid sedans, including the 5-series and 3-series variants. 

It also shares the same 8-speed automatic gearbox as its smaller ActiveHybrid siblings.

Unlike the outgoing 2012 ActiveHybrid 7, the 2013 ActiveHybrid 7 is a full hybrid, meaning it can move under electric power alone in certain conditions. 

2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

That also means its engine will switch off when the car comes to a stop, using the electric motor to convert the car’s kinetic energy into electrical energy in the battery. 

Unlike some other hybrids -- Toyota’s Prius family, for example -- the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 only has one electric motor, however. 

Mounted where the torque converter would normally be found in a car with an automatic gearbox, the single electric motor means the ActiveHybrid 7 can charge its lithium-ion battery OR power the car. It can’t do both simultaneously. 

We haven’t driven the ActiveHybrid 7 yet, although we expect the ActiveHybrid 7 to feel very similar to the AcitveHybrid 5 we drove earlier this year, albeit substantially larger. 

It’s worth noting too, that BMW’s hybrid system isn’t as powerful as those developed by Toyota, meaning that it is more eager to enter into gasoline mode than we’d like. 

BMW hasn’t released any EPA-ratings for the 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 yet, but with the official unveiling of the cross-shopping 2013 Lexus LS600h L due in less than a week, we’d hope BMW can make those figures available sooner rather than later.

+++++++++++

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.