Rudy's full review of the 2008 550i Sport Automatic
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From: Southern California
My Ride: 2006 550i SMG
Great review so far. 
You write a good book...I'm looking forward to the movie!!!! I completely understand the rolling forward at a stop sign/light if you take your foot off the brake...no more rolling backwards for you either!
You write a good book...I'm looking forward to the movie!!!! I completely understand the rolling forward at a stop sign/light if you take your foot off the brake...no more rolling backwards for you either!
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Joined: May 2007
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From: Riverdale, New York
My Ride: 2008 535xi / Platinum Grey / Black leather / Step Auto / Sport / Premium / Cold weather / 18" wheels / Logic 7 / Comfort / ipod / Navigation / Fold Down Rear Seats / Rear Airbags / Sirius SAT / Spoiler / Extended Clear bra / Bluetooth. (Previously owned a 2002 sport 525I Loaded).
On order: 535xi Platnium Grey with Black interior, Step Auto, Sports package, Premium package, Cold weather package, 18" wheels, Logic 7, Comfort access, ipod adapt, Navigation, Sat radio, Rear spoiler, Extended Clear coat bra.
Excellent write up Rudy, enjoy the car... 
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 243
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From: San Francisco, CA
Thanks for the excellent write up Rudy. You do indeed learn something new everyday. I didn't know the LCI comes with cornering lights. Looking forward to further updates and findings from you. Thanks again.
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From: North Carolina, USA
My Ride: 2008 BMW 550i
2006 BMW X3
Originally Posted by 1994_RX-7_Tour' post='449826' date='Jul 19 2007, 02:50 PM
Great writeup Rudy!! Of course I can't wait to get mine in Munich on Sep 4th!
SAT: I test drove one. even though it was brief, I really liked the tranny. I've never owned SMG but have had many 6MTs including my current 650i. I'd be quite happy with the characteristics of the SAT. Plus the 550i now has the sport button which I love in the 650i and '02 M5 previously.
ACC: Does it still have a tendancy to slow down and match the speed of a truck in another lane, especially on a curve? I followed a 6er with ACC and wondered why it seemed he was scared to pass trucks. The car would slow down and then speed up again to pass. Can the active part be disabled?
Night Vision: Might it be able to pick out deer on the side of the road? I visit WV frequently and love the active Xenons in the 650i for spotting deer. Night vision should make it even easier to spot them.
Ventilated seats: I'm still on the fence of this option due to its total cost of Nasca leather plus ventilation. But I want the anthracite liner for sure.
USB adapter: Gotta have it. I've become an iPod addict in the 650i. I currently have an 8GB Nano with 1200 songs on it. It can hold 1800+.
HD Radio: Where can I find if local stations broadcast it to make it worth having?
Same with RTTI but I've heard Charlotte has it. It would come in handy on my commutes. Would it tell you the interstate is blocked before getting on the interstate? I assume if you set the destination, it will avoid bad routes. Does it let you know this is an alternate route?
Center Vent setting: Is this accessible through A/C controls now (like the air distribution) or do you still have to navigate 4 menus to get there?
Thanks in advance....
PS: I just got 25.02 in my '06 650i. The new nav features are nice and there are noticable improvements. It seemed the same as the '08 550i I drove. However, scrolling long lists still sucks due to the force feedback.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Pittsburgh, PA USA
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Richard, I've attempted to answer your questions below in red...
Originally Posted by Richard in NC' post='449944' date='Jul 19 2007, 07:36 PM
Thanks for the write up. I have a few comments and questions:
SAT: I test drove one. even though it was brief, I really liked the tranny. I've never owned SMG but have had many 6MTs including my current 650i. I'd be quite happy with the characteristics of the SAT. Plus the 550i now has the sport button which I love in the 650i and '02 M5 previously.
ACC: Does it still have a tendancy to slow down and match the speed of a truck in another lane, especially on a curve? I followed a 6er with ACC and wondered why it seemed he was scared to pass trucks. The car would slow down and then speed up again to pass. Can the active part be disabled?
I will be taking a 600 mile highway trip tomorrow so I can better answer this question soon. I do know that you can't disable the active part and make it act like a normal cruise. It's all or nothing but so far, I'm not too annoyed by it.
Night Vision: Might it be able to pick out deer on the side of the road? I visit WV frequently and love the active Xenons in the 650i for spotting deer. Night vision should make it even easier to spot them.
I'm pretty sure that night vision will help with deer spotting -- that's probably more in line with what they designed it for, I imagine...
Ventilated seats: I'm still on the fence of this option due to its total cost of Nasca leather plus ventilation. But I want the anthracite liner for sure.
Yes, the ventilated seats can be an expensive option -- even more so if you have to upgrade to the comfort seats...
USB adapter: Gotta have it. I've become an iPod addict in the 650i. I currently have an 8GB Nano with 1200 songs on it. It can hold 1800+.
I have two 4GB USB sticks (and can easily and inexpensively get some more) and for now, they're working very well -- I don't use iTunes or download music at all. I just rip songs from my CD collection so for now, I'm not sure what feature I'm missing that an iPod provides...
HD Radio: Where can I find if local stations broadcast it to make it worth having?
You can see HD stations by clicking here: http://www.hdradio.com/
Same with RTTI but I've heard Charlotte has it. It would come in handy on my commutes. Would it tell you the interstate is blocked before getting on the interstate? I assume if you set the destination, it will avoid bad routes. Does it let you know this is an alternate route?
To see where Clear Channel Communications is broadcasting RTTI data, click here: http://www.realtimetraffic.net/
When data is received, you can pull up a list of all the information sorted by distance from your current location. The navigation system has a routing preference that's called "dynamic routing" (I think) which I believe will reroute you based on the traffic situation and hopefully avoids the bad routes. Again, I may get a chance to test this out tomorrow as I'm headed to the Eastern part of Pennsylvania where traffic is much worse than it is in the Western part.
Center Vent setting: Is this accessible through A/C controls now (like the air distribution) or do you still have to navigate 4 menus to get there?
Yes! This is one of those screens I was talking about that "pops up" when you press the new buttons in the center of the individual temperature dials. Once the screen is up, you can adjust the center vent temp using the controller knob.
Thanks in advance....
PS: I just got 25.02 in my '06 650i. The new nav features are nice and there are noticable improvements. It seemed the same as the '08 550i I drove. However, scrolling long lists still sucks due to the force feedback.
You're welcome. I have not heard anything but I'm guessing it would be easy for them to eliminate the code in the software that causes the force feedback. If they can't eliminate the code entirely, then they could code everything as if there were no hard "stops"...right?
SAT: I test drove one. even though it was brief, I really liked the tranny. I've never owned SMG but have had many 6MTs including my current 650i. I'd be quite happy with the characteristics of the SAT. Plus the 550i now has the sport button which I love in the 650i and '02 M5 previously.
ACC: Does it still have a tendancy to slow down and match the speed of a truck in another lane, especially on a curve? I followed a 6er with ACC and wondered why it seemed he was scared to pass trucks. The car would slow down and then speed up again to pass. Can the active part be disabled?
I will be taking a 600 mile highway trip tomorrow so I can better answer this question soon. I do know that you can't disable the active part and make it act like a normal cruise. It's all or nothing but so far, I'm not too annoyed by it.
Night Vision: Might it be able to pick out deer on the side of the road? I visit WV frequently and love the active Xenons in the 650i for spotting deer. Night vision should make it even easier to spot them.
I'm pretty sure that night vision will help with deer spotting -- that's probably more in line with what they designed it for, I imagine...
Ventilated seats: I'm still on the fence of this option due to its total cost of Nasca leather plus ventilation. But I want the anthracite liner for sure.
Yes, the ventilated seats can be an expensive option -- even more so if you have to upgrade to the comfort seats...
USB adapter: Gotta have it. I've become an iPod addict in the 650i. I currently have an 8GB Nano with 1200 songs on it. It can hold 1800+.
I have two 4GB USB sticks (and can easily and inexpensively get some more) and for now, they're working very well -- I don't use iTunes or download music at all. I just rip songs from my CD collection so for now, I'm not sure what feature I'm missing that an iPod provides...
HD Radio: Where can I find if local stations broadcast it to make it worth having?
You can see HD stations by clicking here: http://www.hdradio.com/
Same with RTTI but I've heard Charlotte has it. It would come in handy on my commutes. Would it tell you the interstate is blocked before getting on the interstate? I assume if you set the destination, it will avoid bad routes. Does it let you know this is an alternate route?
To see where Clear Channel Communications is broadcasting RTTI data, click here: http://www.realtimetraffic.net/
When data is received, you can pull up a list of all the information sorted by distance from your current location. The navigation system has a routing preference that's called "dynamic routing" (I think) which I believe will reroute you based on the traffic situation and hopefully avoids the bad routes. Again, I may get a chance to test this out tomorrow as I'm headed to the Eastern part of Pennsylvania where traffic is much worse than it is in the Western part.
Center Vent setting: Is this accessible through A/C controls now (like the air distribution) or do you still have to navigate 4 menus to get there?
Yes!
This is one of those screens I was talking about that "pops up" when you press the new buttons in the center of the individual temperature dials. Once the screen is up, you can adjust the center vent temp using the controller knob.Thanks in advance....
PS: I just got 25.02 in my '06 650i. The new nav features are nice and there are noticable improvements. It seemed the same as the '08 550i I drove. However, scrolling long lists still sucks due to the force feedback.
You're welcome. I have not heard anything but I'm guessing it would be easy for them to eliminate the code in the software that causes the force feedback. If they can't eliminate the code entirely, then they could code everything as if there were no hard "stops"...right?
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: San Mateo, CA
Excellent review.
I'm glad to hear that the SAT in your opinion is better (or as good) as the SMG. I won't be purchasing a new car for a while, but I appreciate the excellent write up. Please keep them coming!
I'm glad to hear that the SAT in your opinion is better (or as good) as the SMG. I won't be purchasing a new car for a while, but I appreciate the excellent write up. Please keep them coming!
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,517
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From: North Carolina, USA
My Ride: 2008 BMW 550i
2006 BMW X3
Originally Posted by Rudy' post='449958' date='Jul 19 2007, 08:50 PM
Richard, I've attempted to answer your questions below in red...
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From: Pittsburgh, PA USA
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by Richard in NC' post='449977' date='Jul 19 2007, 09:24 PM
Unfortunately you may have cost me $1000s if I trade for a 550i since I didn't think a lot of the new options would be worth it.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: New Jersey
Nice Job - Rudy!
I took delivery of my '08 550i Sport with SAT on July 3rd and have 520 miles on it. If I get to 1200 miles before you do, I will let you know how well SAT performs.
Last, you are 100% correct about the difference between 545 and 550 (even the blueness of the lights). I also noticed that the rings around the lights are brighter and you now have the option to disable Daytime running lights via IDrive.
I took delivery of my '08 550i Sport with SAT on July 3rd and have 520 miles on it. If I get to 1200 miles before you do, I will let you know how well SAT performs.
Last, you are 100% correct about the difference between 545 and 550 (even the blueness of the lights). I also noticed that the rings around the lights are brighter and you now have the option to disable Daytime running lights via IDrive.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 54
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From: Rhode Island, USA
My Ride: 1994 Mazda RX-7
2007 BMW 328xi
2008 BMW 550i (Sep 4 Munich delivery)
Rudy, one issue remains unanswered in my mind regarding the SAT. I have the electronic version of the LCI 5-series owners manual too, but that hasn't cleared it up for me.
Question 1) Does the SAT gear lever have a function to engage "DS" by moving the lever to the left (like the Step auto lever)?
(If the answer to above is "YES" as I think it is..... then
Question 2) How does the "DS" mode (selected by moving lever left) differ / compare to simply leaving the lever in "D" and pushing the "sport" button?
Question 1) Does the SAT gear lever have a function to engage "DS" by moving the lever to the left (like the Step auto lever)?
(If the answer to above is "YES" as I think it is..... then
Question 2) How does the "DS" mode (selected by moving lever left) differ / compare to simply leaving the lever in "D" and pushing the "sport" button?