[Greg-Bimmer550e]

I am 600 miles in to my awesome car. I will make a few posts to this thread as I use my care more and more.

I am very fortunate to find a fully loaded 550e on the lot over in my area.

Sapphire Black / Black perforated Venganza seats
Executive Package
Driving assistance professional package
M Sport professional package
Luxury Seating package
Bowers and Wilkins Sound system
21" Individual Aero Bicolor tires.

I previously had a BMW X7 m50i (hence my name) and then I had a very brief hiatus from BMW with a GMC Yukon Denali for a couple of years. After I was having issues with my Yukon I decided I wanted to return to BMW. I looked at the X5 xdrive50e and the 550e. It was a very difficult decision but I decided to go with the 550. I wanted to give a sedan a try after driving SUVs all my life. The 5 series was always my "first love". First time I stepped into a BMW dealership I sat in a 21 5 series and was blown away with how luxurious it was, but I wanted an SUV at the time. This time I went with the sedan.

Exterior: Absolutely love the look of this car. I have always loved how the 5 series looked and this one is no exception. It is aggressive up front without being over the top like the 4 series. I have the m sport package which is blacked out. The blacked out look with the Sapphire Black color is simply gorgeous and clean. And at night it goes perfect with the lit kidney beans. I am not sure why people have complained about the G60's looks. I think its simply a sharp looking vehicle. I protected it with full body PPF and ceramic to prevent swirls.

Interior: After having a 21' X7 with the old interior, I figure I would have to get used to the newer design. I have rented newer X5s with this interior. Over time, I have grown to love the interior. The materials are high quality. The ambient lighting is one of the reasons why I chose this over the X5. I liked how it looks better. I also like how the center console is arranged on the 550 better than the X5. Seating is very comfortable. I love the Black perforated Venganza seats with the black wood trim. It would be nice to have a few more physical buttons, but I have gotten used to the idrive interface.

Powertriain: This car is simply fun to drive, whether in electric or ICE mode. I just simply love that if I run out of charge, it switches to the awesome B58 engine which runs as smooth and powerful as ever. It is truly the best of both worlds and I don't lose anything. The BMW 8 speed transmission was and still is the best transmission of any car I have driven. From my limited experience the switch between electric and ICE is very seamless. I am getting 41mpg with electric mode on. I am getting like 30 on ICE only. It took 600 miles to finally fell my tank with gas. As far as electric, I am getting 35-36 miles of charge in the winter. I am looking forward to the warmer weather to see how much I can get. I got the Tesla Universal Charger at my house so I charge every day in the garage.

Drive/Ride: I love how luxurious, composed yet nimble this car is, especially for its size. I particularly love the IconicSounds. Its trivial but I like the futuristic feel. Some people says it "rides like a boat". I am assuming they are saying relative to other BMWs, because compared to a full size SUV it is nothing like that. The only package that was missing on my car is the Dynamic Handling package. Honestly, I have zero complaints with how the 5 series handles and rides. I test drove two of them, neither with DHP and I loved them both. I felt it was not worth the wait to order one just for that package.

Interface/Infotainment: My only complaint of this car is how cryptic the driving modes are and the lack of customizability. I obviously know what sport mode and efficient is but what exactly do the other drive modes (expressive, digital art, etc) do to the drive other than the cosmetic interior/lighting changes? As an aside, I think the digital art mode is gorgeous at night. Furthermore, the electric settings are a bit confusing. I would have loved to have a simple turn on and turn off hybrid/ICE/electric system instead of the vague prioritizing settings (Electric, Electric automatically, maintain charge, etc).

All in all I love this car so far and will write subsequent updates as I get to my first oil change.