Road and Track 550i
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My Ride: 2006 550i Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Anthracite Maple Wood Trim, Cold Weather Package, Premium Sound Package, Sport Package, Steptronic, Navigation, Electric Rear Sunshades, Heated Rear Seats, Sirius Radio
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Finally, a car magazine reviews the 550i. I just read the article and it compares the 550i to the new Lexus Hybrid "Sport" sedan. The 0-60 for the 550 was 5.0, lateral acceleration was .92g, and the slalom was 64.8mph. Needless to say, the handling of the 550 was superior to the Lexus, as were all the objective performance numbers. The Lexus was judged superior on controls, i.e. no i-drive, was marginally quieter, and was less expensive. Gas mileage was 18+ for the Lexus, and 15+ for the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
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Originally Posted by darkside' post='291785' date='Jun 2 2006, 07:57 PM
Finally, a car magazine reviews the 550i. I just read the article and it compares the 550i to the new Lexus Hybrid "Sport" sedan. The 0-60 for the 550 was 5.0, lateral acceleration was .92g, and the slalom was 64.8mph. Needless to say, the handling of the 550 was superior to the Lexus, as were all the objective performance numbers. The Lexus was judged superior on controls, i.e. no i-drive, was marginally quieter, and was less expensive. Gas mileage was 18+ for the Lexus, and 15+ for the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
I haven't seen that article yet. Another article I read on the 2007 550i had gripes about the lack of steering feel with the active steering and the artificial feeling of the active roll stabilization. I'm looking to purchase a 550i but have not driven one with those features. Does yours have them or have you an opinion on them ?
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My Ride: 2007 Titanium Gray 550i, with sport, nav, HUD, Logic7, sat radio, cold weather, rear side airbags, rear seat heaters, and it goes like a bat outta hell!
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Originally Posted by BMWP' post='291793' date='Jun 2 2006, 06:30 PM
I haven't seen that article yet. Another article I read on the 2007 550i had gripes about the lack of steering feel with the active steering and the artificial feeling of the active roll stabilization. I'm looking to purchase a 550i but have not driven one with those features. Does yours have them or have you an opinion on them ?
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
Model Year: 2008
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Originally Posted by darkside' post='291785' date='Jun 2 2006, 05:57 PM
Finally, a car magazine reviews the 550i. I just read the article and it compares the 550i to the new Lexus Hybrid "Sport" sedan. The 0-60 for the 550 was 5.0, lateral acceleration was .92g, and the slalom was 64.8mph. Needless to say, the handling of the 550 was superior to the Lexus, as were all the objective performance numbers. The Lexus was judged superior on controls, i.e. no i-drive, was marginally quieter, and was less expensive. Gas mileage was 18+ for the Lexus, and 15+ for the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
I'm glad I own the BMW.
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Originally Posted by BMWP' post='291793' date='Jun 2 2006, 08:30 PM
I haven't seen that article yet. Another article I read on the 2007 550i had gripes about the lack of steering feel with the active steering and the artificial feeling of the active roll stabilization. I'm looking to purchase a 550i but have not driven one with those features. Does yours have them or have you an opinion on them ?
I will think hard about getting AS next time, but will not surprise myself if I opt for it again. I suppose if I drove over 50% of the time pushing the car on my curvey road I would not get it. But since I probably drive this road 1% of the time it makes more sense for the comfort and convenience of AS. Hope I helped.
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My Ride: 2005 BMW 545i, Silver Grey, Sport Package, R. Shades, Cold Pkg, Sat. Rad., Prem. Sound.
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Originally Posted by swajames' post='291820' date='Jun 2 2006, 10:21 PM
Thanks for the heads up on this Darkside. One potentially important point is that this test (unusually but nice to see) featured the 6 speed and the tester fell into the trap of assuming that the step would probably be a few ticks slower than their 5.0 recorded with the manual. Based on the evidence of the 545 testing here the step seems to be the one that's may be a few ticks quicker most of the time. Some of the 545 owners here have already recorded (just) sub 5 second 0-60 times and matched these test numbers so it's probably fair to assume that a 550 in the hands of the dedicated straight line acceleration guys here is, if anything, likely to be perhaps a shade quicker. Otherwise based on a very quick read the 550 as Darkside noted walks all the performance categories - and whilst this wasn't a real test per se (two duelling editors, one like the lexus, one liked the bimmer) the numbers speak for themselves and the editor who liked the lexus seemed to be swayed more by the wow factor of the hybrid. Only reasonable conclusion is a win for the 550 but that Lexus does look like a top drawer piece of kit.
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
Model Year: 2008
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Originally Posted by Bimmer32' post='291831' date='Jun 2 2006, 09:45 PM
Nice mpg for that performance too, the Lexus I mean . . . for 15 mpg, I was hoping for a Lambo or a Ferrari or maybe just an M5. 550i doesn't seem so efficient, but maybe some 550i could tell me their average mpg with normal driving.
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Originally Posted by Bimmer32' post='291831' date='Jun 2 2006, 11:45 PM
Nice mpg for that performance too, the Lexus I mean . . . for 15 mpg, I was hoping for a Lambo or a Ferrari or maybe just an M5. 550i doesn't seem so efficient, but maybe some 550i could tell me their average mpg with normal driving.
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My Ride: 2005 545i (SMG)
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We have a button which can disable DSC & DTC.
How cool would it be if we also had a button to defeat Active Steering? That way you could turn it off when driving aggressively, and leave it on when your just cruising around town.
It couldn't be THAT hard for BMW to engineer that, could it?
How cool would it be if we also had a button to defeat Active Steering? That way you could turn it off when driving aggressively, and leave it on when your just cruising around town.
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It couldn't be THAT hard for BMW to engineer that, could it?