On Monday evening I was reunited with my 550. It took 34 days to find its way from Munich to the dealer in Toledo. Unfortunately, it's rained for the last few days, so the car went from pristine to less than clean rapidly. I managed to get her snow tires on the first evening, and spend yesterday getting Bluetooth up and running, despite owning the much-maligned Treo 700p.

I've had a bit more time to fiddle with iDrive, Voice Command, Bluetooth, and the 6FL adapter than I did in Europe, as I was more concerned about driving in an unfamiliar environment. While I still need more practice, I can confidently say that I don't understand what all the negative press over iDrive is about. About 85% is completely intuitive, 10% is manageable with a little practice, while the remainder is nonsensical. (As an example, there used to be a little dial that lived between the vents to alter their temperature. Now, it is a 2 to 3 step process to change this each time the sun peeks out from behind the clouds.) Voice command works well when I remember to "wait for the beep," although its recognition of place names and phonebook entries are problematic at best.

While it does not feel as agile as my old 330, the performance gap is small. The biggest difference is that the 330 felt like an extension of your body, while you’re much more disconnected in the 5. On the upside, you’re also disconnected from potholes and expansion joints. This is a welcome change.

Even though I’m abiding by the 4000-rpm limit, there is plenty of power to be had. The throttle response is far crisper than the M54, and it is eager to rev, despite the heavy counterweights on the crankshaft. The exhaust note is, at the same time, both subdued and menacing.

The transmission is superb. The shifter feels fantastic, and the clutch take up point is predictable. Heel-toe shifts have been a bit frustrating, as the brake assist kicks in with reckless abandon, making the brake pedal very sensitive. Again, more practice is required.

I’m also quite pleased with Carbon Black and Natural Brown. Carbon Black seems to be a different color every time you look at it. While Natural Brown looks very odd in pictures, it has a richness that creates a warm and inviting interior.

Anyway, thanks for reading this rather-long discourse. As you can tell, I’m pleased with my purchase. Below are some pictures of my not-so-clean car, with the town of Amherstburg, Ontario in the background.

 

Very nice, I know you're excited to have her back! What are those wheel? I have not paid close attention to some of the new wheel options with the LCI cars. Beautiful!

 

Congrats ! , any damage in transit ??
Cheers

 

They're my new winter wheels. They're 18" Sport Edition A7s which appear to be identical to ASA JH3s. For an inexpensive alloy wheel, they are a very convincing stand in for a stock wheel. The The 172s will come out in the springtime.

 

Nope. It was a thankfully uneventful redelivery.

 

You got a very lovely car indeed

 

is it safe to assume you can keep the plates from Germany? Any interior pics? Awaiting the same color combo. Nice description of the colors inside and out.

All the best

 

For ED they should really offer you the car after it is driven in, so that you can have a real blast down the German autobahns, but no doubt you will find a few quite stretches of tarmac where you are!

Well done on surviving the 34 days, that must have been real tough, but certainly worth the wait.

Thanks for posting the pics -- I just ordered a Carbon Black with Natural Brown leather and had not found many pics of how it looks from the outside -- REALLY looking forward to getting mine after having seen these pics, love it!

Enjoy...


p.s. good choice of winter rims

 

Yes, you keep the plates. I'm sort of in legal limbo right now. I'm transferring my present plate to the car, and can't put it on until the paperwork arrives. My dealer assures me that I'm OK driving on these plates, without some sort of temporary plate.

I'm not sure I believe him, so I have enough paperwork to hopefully explain my way out of any "situations".

 

For those asking, here are some interior pictures I took at dropoff. Again, the seats look much richer in person. They just look beige in pictures.