Matt

Yesterday I came back from school for the afternoon to get my braces off and when my dad picked me up he was driving the new 550i. Anyway when we pulled into our driveway at home my dad told me that he had to take care of some things at home and that I could drive the 550i into the orthodontist's office. So many of you know that I drove the M5 and im here to note some of the major differences. The 550i is fast but fast with a very smooth torque curve. It pulls 0-60 in like 5.5 seconds and will continue to 100 in about 12.5-13 seconds without throwing you back in your seat.

So having the opportunity to drive it I took it on the freeway to see the acceleration in action. The car handles great. It can take turns very well with little drama however not quite as well as the M5. There is a high speed corner on the freeway near my house that I enjoy throwing cars at very fast, (such as a cooper S at 110mph). In the M5 I was taking it easy and pulled 130mph without any worry or drama or body roll. However when i took the 550i around this same corner i was only capable of 115 mph without feeling the need to slow down. The car just isnt as sure footed as the M5 and the slimmer stance is sure noticable as the car leaned hard to the left as I made the turn.

I pulled out of the turn going 120mph and decided to test the brakes seeing that i was going onto a mainstreem traffic and getting quite a few dirty looks. The brakes are great but still not up to par with the M5. It pulled me down to speed in no time but still you notice its a big sedan.

Around town its awesome and gets great mileage. (i think highway 25 mpg). Its good looking luxurious and has an excellent stereo. Also i drove one with active steering which makes parking extremely easy. THe car is great to drive, easy to see out of and overall a superb vehicle and maybe BMW's most balanced package. However dont go into this car thinkning your going to get the M5 experience because you wont. The M5 is definitely in a league of its own, but if your not that into performance the 550i is a great option.

dOmInIX

Great review! I love these simple, shorter reviews with clear points and facts! 550i is a great car, I'd be happy to own one! Karma for you!

BMW_Dude

Thanks for the review, people don't pay much attention to the 550i, because of the M5, but is still a great car which caters for different people!

Did the car have a sports pack, or sports suspension, if not then maybe that's the reason why it didn't take the corner at any great speed!

BTW, did you take any pics??

Matt

thx guys!

I did take pics but there at home and it may be a while before i get them. The car did have sports package but remember 115mph around that corner is not a small feet for any car and I probably could have pushed it but just not with certainty which is always important especially when driving at high speeds. Many cars would not have been capable of doing that.

NarutoRamen

Great review matt...i didn't know that the 550i had such good gas mileage. Also...slow down LOL

GTA8.5

Nice review, you really make it seem that the difference is quit large in the driving experiences between the M5 and 550i..

I don`t know if this is a + or - on BMWs` part.

Just_me

defintiely a good thing. Thats what M cars are about, different from standard bimmers. Thats what the buyers want.

bmwownage

off topic, but i find my E46 330i's with standard suspension, not handling particularly well... we all know that the pre-facelift 330is has the 'light' steering problem, and i got used to it, but turning sharp corners fast just doesn't feel good, feels like losing it while not even going that fast...
i know i shoudln't expect too sporty characteristics from the comparably soft suspension, but it's quite disappointing... should i pump up the tyres more or what?

Anyway, lucky you for having chances to drive all these great cars !