studavis

A Skeptics Observations

This is a long post, so I beg your indulgence.

After 8 months of ownership, slightly more than 9k of the odo, three trips to the service department, and one semi long road trip, I'd like to share some thoughts about my 07 550i. First, the information and knowledge on this board, and the willingness to share reinforces my belief that Thomas Hobbs would not have driven a BMW. I think BMW should delete the owner?s manual, and replace it with a single sheet of paper listing this forum. Tips and tricks posted are incredibly useful, especially when dealing with the Sith Lords of the service department, and getting the most out of this wonderful car. That being said, it has been an interesting experience thus far.


The car broke new ground for me: First car I ever built and financed on line. Spent a total of 12 minutes in the dealership start to finish, with 10 of those showing me how the iDrive works. Selected all options by reading about them here, and input from a friend whom also owns a 550i, and another a M5. First car ever bought that I did not test drive. First car in 11 years of wedded bliss that the spousal unit actually likes to drive. Only car ever owned that is boring to drive at Vh.

Highs: Arguably one of the best overall road cars on the planet, both in performance, styling and comfort. This car is stunningly gorgeous to look at, and as an original Chris Bangel skeptic, I am won over. Apparently, the engineers at Toyota, Merc, and others find it attractive as well, because now everyone seems to sport a Bangle butt. The real gem here is the engine. The power of the car is deceptive; until you shut down the traction control. Then things get a little Western. Roll on power for passing is much more useful than straight line acceleration in my world, with just a mash to the floor, and the car responds like a raped ape. The only car I have ever owned that has more roll on power than the 550i is my 993, although, in reality, the M5 probably has more, it is just quieter, but this is conjecture, because no one will give me the keys to their M5 to test. The autobox takes some getting used to, but I have few complaints. I lack the coordination and patience to learn how to use the manual shifting aspect of the tranny, when I try to use it I resemble a 16 year old driving a Ford truck with 4:11's for the first time. I drove a clone of my 550 with the manual tranny, and found it to be akward as well. The strict attention to detail is also prevalent in this car, and much appreciated as I enter middle age. The headlights are unbelievable both low beam and high. The adaptive aspect of the lights requires a small learning curve, but comparing it to the iDrive, this is just a minor thing. It would be interesting to poll the membership and find out how many of you find yourself subconsciously looking around the corners following the lights. The seats are the benchmark for everyone else to strive for. They manage to be comfortable, supportive, and cool or hot, depending on need. The ability to select the heat location on each seat is probably one of the best examples of the usefulness of the iDrive. I only wish that the steering wheel heat could be adjusted as well, because that bad boy gets hot, and fast. I like the five on board 12 volt receptacles, and use three of them every day. Some of you might question the trunk mounted version, but if you have a self powered golf cart, the ability to charge that battery in the trunk is an idea worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. Other small things about the car continue to separate this car from mediocrity. The soft red/orange lights in the lower door panel compartments are well thought out, and useful. The ?O Sh*&t? handles that retract slowly, rather then slam against the roof is another example of some one spending some time thinking things out.

Driving the car is bliss. Took it to Portland on a quick 1200 mile three day juant, and marveled at how it does everything so well. Some complain about the stiffness of the ride, but having driven Porsches most of my life, anything more than an M1 Abrams tank is a welcome change. The car jumps from 70 to 130 like no mans business, and it just keeps climbing until the elctronic VNE kicks in. I did some calculations on the car with the frontal cross section and HP ratio, and think the car would probably top out at about 177 +/- 3 mph, and at that speed, it might get exciting, but at 155, things are pretty stable. If you shut the traction control off, you can get the rear end to come out in hard corning, with judicious use of the pedal and you can keep it in place.

There are a few things that keep this car from being a perfect car. Most of my complaints are diminutive in the overall scheme of thing of things, but sometimes find it annoying. Most of these are the 550?s programmed ability to default to factory settings, rather than keep what you so laboriously plug in. I refer to the inability for the auto rain sensor, traction control, and fog lights to remain in the selected position after ignition off. I would think if I take the trouble to activate/deactivate, then they should stay in that position until reset.

The iDrive. I hated it at first, but found that after I actually spent a couple of hours playing with it, I became some what adept at using it. I still think this is way too much control to have over the cars systems, but there are some useful things in it. I did the iPod upgrade, and for a while used it a great deal until the SAT radio won me over. The NAV system is the best of the three that I have in my other cars, however, I wish I could have the option of selecting different voices. My top choice would be a sultry female with a French accent that knows my name, but this could be too much to ask. The system is fast to calculate, and is almost as good as the Garmin GNS 530 I use in the 210. Anyone ever notice that the clouds on the screen move from right to left? Again, an attention to detail most would not recognize. The voice activation system provides no real usefull help, although it is fun to confuse it to the point I some times expect it to tell me to go f myself.

My biggest complaint; not getting an M5, a situation I am going to rectify. I can?t imagine this car with another 120 horsepower, 180 more if the spy reports are accurate for what is coming down the pike. My biggest gripe, is the service department. They had the car for four days to get an O2 sensor replaced, with four different stories about where the part was. Twice I had to take it in before they managed to get the wind noise out of the sun roof, and no matter how much I complain, I still think the jerky aspect of the cruise control coming down steep grades is faulty. I too am having a rough engine at start up when cold, and this started right after the last software update.

The only mods I have done to the car is add a hard wired V1, and I have the components sitting on my work bench to allow me to watch video on the screen, I just need golf season to end, and find the hours to install it.

I can?t say enough good things about this car, but just as many accolades belong to you guys, for giving us novice BMW owners the power of information and knowledge. I am in your debt, thanks.

sleeper

Fantastic reading. Very funny.

By the sound of it you sure tested the car out. Keep us updated.

Loved the raped ape description.

Ace90

Great review. Reading detailed, well thought out descriptions like yours continues to tide me over as I wait for my beemer to arrive. Good luck getting your M5!

E60BEEMER

nice very nice but long, however i enjoyed the read!!

So did you test it before??

tachyon

Great review ... thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My biggest complaint: the 550i is so feakin' good that any thoughts of getting an M5 vanish completely whenever I turn the key (errm, push the start button).
The best part, for you, is still ahead ... I don't think the engine and exhaust reach maturity until about 12,000-15,000 miles. After that, it just seems to jump quicker and run harder than before. And the exhaust tone seems to deepen a bit.
Enjoy.

yayankee

Great review, good luck with the car. Can you tell us where you are located and what was the dealer you refer too?

westcoast550

Thanks for your thoughts, I feel very similar about most points except your minor issues rain sensor etc.
Where are you located ?

Cheers

Pistol_Pete

Thanks for the great rundown of your 550i. However, just one point. If you get the chance to drive the m5 please do it before you actually buy if you decide to do so. The topic has been brought up many times about how the m5 does not have that much more torque than the 550i and in your daily drive unless you will be revving the engine high you wont really feel the hp gain that the m5 really offers. Dont get me wrong its a much faster car but as many have stated and as I believe for daily use the m5 will not really offer you that much more. Again, the tertiary factors such as suspension tranny etc etc are great I'm speaking strictly of the engine power.

Just my $.02. But whatever you decide you cant go wrong Enjoy!

1600

I totally agree with your comments on this vehicle. Still I would like to have read some in depth comments on its handing characteristics off the highway particularly after having owned the amazing 993.

IndianGoneMAD

wow, sounds like you really found your baby!