[tsbrown]

Mattl0806 Dragonfly Trumpeter
Thanks for your responses. I’m definitely not an i5 customer for multiple reasons and pretty much decided the G60 540i was going to replace my G30. Was just leaving the door open for the 550e. But I think it’s charging requirements for my use case probably aren’t worth the hassle. If someone offers a tune for the B58 in the 540i to push it up near 420bhp that would be the route I’d go. If my situation was different the 550e might be the primary option. I did like it.

[PeterC4]

The thing that stands out for the 540 and 550e is the acceleration and driving performance. Drove a Mercedes E 450 today. Certainly didn't feel comparable to the 550e in terms of torque and acceleration. Nicely appointed though, but the 5 series feels noticeably bigger.

BMW tends to downplay HP so the 550e in real life performance tests may surprise. I haven't seen a detailed one for the 550e. A key test is rolling acceleration from say 30 mph to 50 mph.

Since we don't have the 540 here in Canada, we are left with the 530 or 550e if all electric is not desirable at this time. I am sure there will be some who drive the 550e without too much emphasis on charging. The ultimate all electric range is disappointing unfortunately.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by PeterC4

The thing that stands out for the 540 and 550e is the acceleration and driving performance. Drove a Mercedes E 450 today. Certainly didn't feel comparable to the 550e in terms of torque and acceleration. Nicely appointed though, but the 5 series feels noticeably bigger.

BMW tends to downplay HP so the 550e in real life performance tests may surprise. I haven't seen a detailed one for the 550e. A key test is rolling acceleration from say 30 mph to 50 mph.

Since we don't have the 540 here in Canada, we are left with the 530 or 550e if all electric is not desirable at this time. I am sure there will be some who drive the 550e without too much emphasis on charging. The ultimate all electric range is disappointing unfortunately.

Yea good pt. if no 540 available, I’d pick the 550e over a 530 even if I couldn’t charge it.

[1987illini]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

Mattl0806 Dragonfly Trumpeter
Thanks for your responses. I’m definitely not an i5 customer for multiple reasons and pretty much decided the G60 540i was going to replace my G30. Was just leaving the door open for the 550e. But I think it’s charging requirements for my use case probably aren’t worth the hassle. If someone offers a tune for the B58 in the 540i to push it up near 420bhp that would be the route I’d go. If my situation was different the 550e might be the primary option. I did like it.

Here's a plug in tune that supposedly adds 135 hp. I'm waiting to see if anyone uses it and can confirm the claim.

https://burgertuning.com/collections/7-series-f01-f02/products/bmw-b58-gen3-jb4-tuner

[Dragonfly Trumpeter]

Originally Posted by 1987illini

Here's a plug in tune that supposedly adds 135 hp. I'm waiting to see if anyone uses it and can confirm the claim.

https://burgertuning.com/collections...gen3-jb4-tuner

Like the 540i, obviously the 550e will also have many options for this. Not sure about other areas but not something I will consider with a BMW warranty in place. Even the B48 in my G20 hybrid had a decent tune option but I was past caring once my warranty expired.

BMW UK are very strict with that stuff, always looking for an excuse to void any claim even without being as blatant as that.

[PeterC4]

Originally Posted by nacs

I’ll add my thoughts in the coming days as I pickup my 550e on Friday.

Nacs, did you get your car? Any preliminary feedback?

[nacs]

Updated to correct some typos/grammar.

Apologies in the delay I wanted to actually sit down at the computer w/ a full keyboard vs. thumb type.

Here are my thoughts:

The 550e definitely appears to be a sought after model as there were other dealers trying to transfer it to their dealership while we were doing our paperwork.

Dealership experience:

Overall it was what I expected. Despite providing copies of insurance and DL details in advance it still took longer than what my wife and I had hoped. I can only chalk this up to deciding to take advantage of their additional rebate by financing the car through them. I then secured a set of CDs with my financial advisor that are laddered to pay off at key points for the loan so I saved a bit on the purchase and make a bit on the interest arbitrage. The dealership won’t be happy when I prepay as I’m not making payments for 60 months but that’s on them and they didn’t realize they could have avoided the pain and just lowered the price.

The rubber trunk mat wasn’t installed it was just folded over in the trunk so I didn’t notice that issue until the next day (more below).

The Genius folks were helpful for both myself and my wife. Wife’s car has always been the family hauler and thus has had more technology etc. then mine which is now becoming the kid car as we have 16 year old driver and my car is 17 years old w/ 50K in miles (I told you I don’t drive much, so I offer this as context in my review). They knew their stuff but I still was able to figure out some things they didn’t know which surprised me.

Having the car in its own delivery bay was nice for 1:1 attention and questions answered. We found various smudges on glass and paint and those were all quickly taken care of. They also did not install the front plate bracket which is was nice as I don’t want it destroying the look.

Car

Interior

Floor mats/trunk mat. The stock floor mats are utter garbage very cheap I’m glad I went w/ the all weather liners especially given delivery day was rainy and all the weather in the Pacific Northwest.

The spare in the trunk as a number of us have commented on is totally an afterthought. Friends and family have all owned BMWs and all of them are like WTF! Even our non BMW friends (e.g. Audi, Cadillac, Jag, Tesla. Toyota/Lexus) are like ohh wow I didn’t know BMW did something like that how odd….

The trunk mat part number doesn’t work for the layout of the 550. Clearly someone in BMW forgot re-design it. It is actually so large it blocks the hooks on 1 side that the spare tire is tied down to. I suspect it will sadly be months until this is resolved.

The interior center console after market tray from Amazon fit perfectly. BMW could learn a few things here and include one.

The glove box is a little smaller as I like to keep a first aid kit there as in the event of an accident the odds are better I’ll be able to access that then the trunk. Worst case it may end up going under the passenger seat.

The interior leather (I went with black) is nice and the gray contrast isn’t as bad as I thought it would have been but I still would have liked to have seen a full leather option or had the extended leather be more extended.

My youngest child is in booster seat for just another ½ in of growth and they have to scoot their seat over just a touch to lock in the belt and then they can pull down the armrest. Slight annoyance but not bad. Both kids as expected commented on the lack of map pockets for their sun glasses and for their phone to sit in.

We called family from the car phone (apple carplay) and they could hear their grandchild talking from the back seat so the microphones I’d say are well placed.

I do wish there were door sill protectors on the front and back. And the comfort exit feature for the front seats which shifts seat position when entering/exiting will help w/ minimizing damage but it is just so odd not to have them.

The interior panoramic roof the rear passengers love and it is tinted sufficiently given the brief sun we had between storms my kids didn’t ask me to close it so that’s a plus.

Exterior

I went w/ individual paint and am very happy in the quality and how it looks.
I too also wish there were exhaust ports. I’m not sure whether I want the M emblems on the side or not but was surprised in a good way to see M displayed in the puddle lamps.

That said this car is big. Nearly the size of a Lexus TX in length to put it in perspective and that has a third row.

Ride quality/Performance

I have the mixed size 20 in rims w/ all season Pirelli tires and w/ ~100 of nearly all rain driving I’m happy w/ them so far. This includes a bit of freeway, city, and rural country roads.

Steering is agile again for the size and width and you don’t feel all the bumps, but you feel enough to enjoy the drive experience.

The break in period to get the RPMs over 4.5K is 1200 miles so I’m on a mission to see what I can do to get to the number faster to really experience more of the performance.

The battery only feature is nice and works well for the short trips I tried. Will definitely be using that w/ the pre-condition feature when doing bus stop runs in the morning.

The drivetrain seems to be good and I briefly played w/ paddle shifters but again w/ the break in period I’m taking it easier e.g. letting it shift at 3.5K or there abouts.

Technology

The menus are deep w/ options sum needlessly so but after sitting in the car for an hr. solo w/ a cup of coffee in the garage you get to understand it more. I’d also encourage folks to go drive and identify spots you can pull over 15 mins or so to fine tune seat position heads up display etc. I’m hoping to have seat position and lighting dialed in by next weekend after several morning day and evening and late night drives.

Hope that helps and let me know if folks have more specific questions.

[PeterC4]

Originally Posted by nacs

Apologies in the delay I wanted to actually sit down at the computer w/ a full keyboard vs. thumb type.

Here are my thoughts:

The 550e definitely appears to be a sought after model as there were other dealers trying to transfer it to their dealership while we were doing our paperwork.

Dealership experience:

Overall it was what I expected. Despite providing copies of insurance and DL details in advance it still took longer than what my wife and I had hoped. I can only chalk this up to deciding to take advantage of their additional rebate by financing the car through them. I then secured a set of CDs with my financial advisor that are laddered to pay off at key points for the loan so I saved a bit on the purchase and make a bit on the interest arbitrage. The dealership won’t be happy when I prepay as I’m not making payments for 60 months but that’s on them and they didn’t realize they could have avoided the pain and just lowered the price.

The rubber trunk mat wasn’t installed it was just folded over in the trunk so I didn’t notice that issue until the next day (more below).

The Genius folks were helpful for both myself and my wife. Wife’s car has always been the family hauler and thus has had more technology etc. then mine which is now becoming the kid car as we have 16 year old driver and my car is 17 years old w/ 50K in miles (I told you I don’t drive much, so I offer this as context in my review). They knew there stuff but I still was able to figure out some things they didn’t know which surprised me.

Having the car in its own delivery bay was nice for 1:1 attention and questions answered. We found various smudges on glass and paint and those were all quickly taken care of. They also did not install the front plate bracket which is was nice as I don’t want it destroying the look.

Car

Interior

Floor mats/trunk mat. The stock floor mats are utter garbage very cheap I’m glad I went w/ the all weather liners especially given delivery day was rainy all the weather in the Pacific Northwest.

The spare in the trunk as a number of us have commented on is totally an afterthought. Friends and family have all owned BMWs and all of them are like WTF! Even our non BMW friends (e.g. Audi, Cadillac, Jag, Tesla. Toyota/Lexus) are like ohh wow I didn’t know BMW did something like that how odd….

The trunk mat part number doesn’t work for the layout of the 550. Clearly someone in BMW forgot re-design it. It is actually so large it blocks the hooks on 1 side that the spare tire is tied down to. I suspect it will sadly be months until this is resolved.

The interior center console after market tray from Amazon fit perfectly. BMW could learn a few things here and include one.

The glove box is a little smaller as I like to keep a first aid kit there as in the event of an accident the odds are better I’ll be able to access that then the trunk. Worst case it may end up going under the passenger seat.

The interior leather is nice and the gray contrast isn’t as bad as I thought it would have been but I still would have liked to have seen a full leather option or had the extended leather we more extended.

My youngest child is booster seat for just another ½ in of growth and they have to scoot their seat over just a touch to lock in the belt and then they can pull down the armrest. Slight annoyance but not bad. Both kids as expected commented on the lack of map pockets for their sun glasses and for their phone to sit in.

We called family from the car phone (apple carplay) and they could hear their grandchild talking from the back seat so the microphones I’d say are well placed.

I do wish there were door sill protectors on the front and back. And the comfort exit feature for the front seats which shifts seat position when entering/exiting will help w/ minimizing damage but it is just so odd not to have them.

The interior panoramic roof the rear passengers love and it is tinted sufficiently given the brief sun we had between storms my kids didn’t ask me to close it so that’s a plus.

Exterior

I went w/ individual paint and am very happy in the quality and how it looks.
I too also wish there were exhaust ports. I’m not sure whether I want the M emblems on the side or not but was surprised in a good way to see M displayed in the puddle lamps.

That said this car is big. Nearly the size of a Lexus TX in length to put it in perspective and that has a third row.

Ride quality/Performance

I have the mixed size 20 in rims w/ all season Pirelli tires and w/ ~100 of nearly all rain driving I’m happy w/ them so far. This includes a bit of freeway, city, and rural country roads.

Steering is agile again for the size and width and you don’t feel all the bumps, but you feel enough to enjoy the drive experience.

The break in period to get the RPMs over 4.5K is 1200 miles so I’m on a mission to see what I can do to get the number faster to really experience more of the performance.

The battery only feature is nice and works well for the short trips I tried. Will definitely be using that w/ the pre-condition feature when doing bus stop runs in the morning.

The drivetrain seems to be good and I briefly played w/ paddle shifters but again w/ the break in period I’m taking it easier e.g. letting it shift at 3.5K or there abouts.

Technology

The menus are deep w/ options sum needlessly so but after sitting in the car for an hr. solo w/ a cup of coffee in the garage you get to understand it more. I’d also encourage folks to go drive and identify spots you can pull over 15 mins or so to fine tune seat position heads up display etc. I’m hoping to have seat position and lighting dialed in by next weekend after several morning day and evening and late night drives.

Hope that helps and let me know if folks have more specific questions.

Thanks for this. I also found the steering agile for a car this big and heavy. Did you have a chance to understand how the car transitions from electric to gas when driving leisurely? Is there a lot of "tip-in" or throttle lag?

[nacs]

Originally Posted by PeterC4

Thanks for this. I also found the steering agile for a car this big and heavy. Did you have a chance to understand how the car transitions from electric to gas when driving leisurely? Is there a lot of "tip-in" or throttle lag?

I’m still trying to figure this out as well… When I was driving leisurely around town and exhausted the battery I did not detect any noticeable change when the engine turned on I say “change” in the sense of how the car responded. I was listening to the stereo at the time so Sound would’ve been drowned out to actually tell me the specific time when the engine turned on as I didn’t notice it, I just realized a mile later that my battery was exhausted. I’ve got some blue skies today so I’m planning on taking it out for more errands running and we’ll see what I can learn.

[PeterC4]

Thank very much for your thoughts. BMW has been too guarded with this car with only some on-line video reviews.

My question is specifically this, (because it did notice it when I drove a 750e) which is a much bulkier drive.

Driving in normal or comfort mode, or however its referred to (but not sports mode) when you have to accelerate briskly and you "step on it", do you get the - one, one-thousand, two one....., lag before you get the response you want. I don't know how pronounced it is in the 550e.

This is most annoying when you are trying to make some brisk manoeuvre or a quick left turn in anticipation of a changing traffic light.

The M550's hot vee design has done wonderful job of eliminating lag. In sports mode, I found the 550e felt like it had an abundance of torque, but like you, I was gentle.

[nacs]

Based on some experimentation today w/o going wide open throttle I didn't seem to notice a lag. Admittedly more time will tell but also today was becoming more comfortable with using the idrive controls vs. the menu touch screen for selections while driving, which gave me a better seat postion..

[PeterC4]

Was in my M550 tonight for a brief trip and was relating back to my test drive of the 550e a few days ago. That M550 is one tough act to follow...even with a team of horses. I guess it's the M60 that BMW intended as the comparator of sorts. The M5 is just one more notch ahead of course.

I feel like I'm driving a modern day legend like the Chevrolet Impala SS 409 with 400 hp in my Father's Day. LOL..... oh it's hard to let go!

[BMW5151]

Originally Posted by PeterC4

Was in my M550 tonight for a brief trip and was relating back to my test drive of the 550e a few days ago. That M550 is one tough act to follow...even with a team of horses. I guess it's the M60 that BMW intended as the comparator of sorts. The M5 is just one more notch ahead of course.

I feel like I'm driving a modern day legend like the Chevrolet Impala SS 409 with 400 hp in my Father's Day. LOL..... oh it's hard to let go!

I understand perfectly. Had my 550e since Friday evening, turned in my leased M550ix. The amount of tech on the screen and overall numbness (even in sport) is quite disappointing. BMW really blew it by not offering a ICE replacement, even as a PHEV for the M550ix - the M tuning is so obviously missing on the 550e. Apparently the M560e was planned, but abandoned. BMW really pushing the i5 M60, but it just isn't the same. The 550e has really lost the special BMW-ness, it could be any car now. Very, very sad.

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by nacs

Updated to correct some typos/grammar.

Apologies in the delay I wanted to actually sit down at the computer w/ a full keyboard vs. thumb type.

Here are my thoughts:

Thanks for your detailed thoughts nacs! Enjoy learning more about the car and getting to the end of the break in period.

[PeterC4]

Originally Posted by BMW5151

I understand perfectly. Had my 550e since Friday evening, turned in my leased M550ix. The amount of tech on the screen and overall numbness (even in sport) is quite disappointing. BMW really blew it by not offering a ICE replacement, even as a PHEV for the M550ix - the M tuning is so obviously missing on the 550e. Apparently the M560e was planned, but abandoned. BMW really pushing the i5 M60, but it just isn't the same. The 550e has really lost the special BMW-ness, it could be any car now. Very, very sad.

The M550 engine is hard to replace. The current N63 engine, which is in its fourth iteration. is excellent in my view and still forms the basis for the M5. The N63 can be found in a few other current BMW models. Range Rover has also adopted the N63.

The engine was introduced in 2008 and had its issues initially with oil consumption and heat. But it has undone substantial tecnhical updates since then. Mine has been absolutely trouble free and it is well used. My lease expires in January. Purchasing it outright is a viable option. Particularly since it is equipped with Active Roll Stabilization combined with IAS. The 550e can't compete. But I think BMW will tell purchasers they didn't build it with that intent. It does feel like a smart phone on wheels, but many new cars are like that.

The M550 was special. No doubt about it.

[AiredaleDad]

Maybe since BMW does make the M340i, and the M440i, they will, due to popular demand, come out with an M550i for 2026 or 2027. However I do think they were expecting for the I5 M60 to fill that Niche with the 550e for those demanding an ICE engine, but the M5 is still out of their price range? Will see.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

Maybe since BMW does make the M340i, and the M440i, they will, due to popular demand, come out with an M550i for 2026 or 2027. However I do think they were expecting for the I5 M60 to fill that Niche with the 550e for those demanding an ICE engine, but the M5 is still out of their price range? Will see.

Having had an m550 and now the i5 m60, unfortunately the i5 m60 is no replacement for the m550. It’s crazy fast and has effortless power, but so are all electric cars. Bmw has a great job masking the weight and it drives great for what it is. They deserve a lot of credit it making it as good as it is to drive….But “for what it is” is a key part of my previous statement. There is no comparison to the m550. It weighs 1000 lbs more than the m550 and it does not inspire me to drive it aggressively. It has much more body roll. It’s much larger and while the turn in when parking feels nimble, when you’re on the road it feels like a big car. i don’t feel as if I would ever want to whip this car around turns, taking speed into a right 90degree corner is never something I want to do. The breaks are not inspiring bc of the regen layer in between. There are times I’m aggressively breaking it feels as if the car is preventing me from doing so. It’s numb and does not have a special factor to it. It’s a great commuter car and it’s cooler than my previous IX or an i5 40, that’s about it.

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by Mattl0806

Having had an m550 and now the i5 m60, unfortunately the i5 m60 is no replacement for the m550. It’s crazy fast and has effortless power, but so are all electric cars. Bmw has a great job masking the weight and it drives great for what it is. They deserve a lot of credit it making it as good as it is to drive….But “for what it is” is a key part of my previous statement. There is no comparison to the m550. It weighs 1000 lbs more than the m550 and it does not inspire me to drive it aggressively. It has much more body roll. It’s much larger and while the turn in when parking feels nimble, when you’re on the road it feels like a big car. i don’t feel as if I would ever want to whip this car around turns, taking speed into a right 90degree corner is never something I want to do. The breaks are not inspiring bc of the regen layer in between. There are times I’m aggressively breaking it feels as if the car is preventing me from doing so. It’s numb and does not have a special factor to it. It’s a great commuter car and it’s cooler than my previous IX or an i5 40, that’s about it.

I see. Maybe it is the weight that makes it feel so different. Because I definitely don't feel like that in my 540iX. It feels nimble as a cat, with plenty of power to boost. It's more nimble than my Mercedes CLC 200 was and it was, while not a powerhouse, very nimble on the turns. Now, I never feel like it's about to lose it.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

I see. Maybe it is the weight that makes it feel so different. Because I definitely don't feel like that in my 540iX. It feels nimble as a cat, with plenty of power to boost. It's more nimble than my Mercedes CLC 200 was and it was, while not a powerhouse, very nimble on the turns. Now, I never feel like it's about to lose it.

Yea that would make sense. Quick Google search - Listed weight difference is 877lbs. It is 20% heavier than the 540.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

I see. Maybe it is the weight that makes it feel so different. Because I definitely don't feel like that in my 540iX. It feels nimble as a cat, with plenty of power to boost. It's more nimble than my Mercedes CLC 200 was and it was, while not a powerhouse, very nimble on the turns. Now, I never feel like it's about to lose it.

Also my prior post was in comparison to the m550. The i5 m60 is 10x more nimble and “small” to drive compared to the IX.
Removing the instantaneous insane acceleration in the i5 m60, the m550 is just a much better sports sedan.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by nacs

Updated to correct some typos/grammar.

Apologies in the delay I wanted to actually sit down at the computer w/ a full keyboard vs. thumb type.

Here are my thoughts:

The 550e definitely appears to be a sought after model as there were other dealers trying to transfer it to their dealership while we were doing our paperwork.

Dealership experience:

Overall it was what I expected. Despite providing copies of insurance and DL details in advance it still took longer than what my wife and I had hoped. I can only chalk this up to deciding to take advantage of their additional rebate by financing the car through them. I then secured a set of CDs with my financial advisor that are laddered to pay off at key points for the loan so I saved a bit on the purchase and make a bit on the interest arbitrage. The dealership won’t be happy when I prepay as I’m not making payments for 60 months but that’s on them and they didn’t realize they could have avoided the pain and just lowered the price.

The rubber trunk mat wasn’t installed it was just folded over in the trunk so I didn’t notice that issue until the next day (more below).

The Genius folks were helpful for both myself and my wife. Wife’s car has always been the family hauler and thus has had more technology etc. then mine which is now becoming the kid car as we have 16 year old driver and my car is 17 years old w/ 50K in miles (I told you I don’t drive much, so I offer this as context in my review). They knew their stuff but I still was able to figure out some things they didn’t know which surprised me.

Having the [...]

I assume you did your financing through BMWFS. As long as you don’t pay off the full amount until after the 3rd or 4th month, the dealership will still get its full fee from the financing. I’ve done this several times and my dealer finance manager usually brings this up when signing the paperwork.

[Blue Sky]

Originally Posted by Mattl0806

Having had an m550 and now the i5 m60, unfortunately the i5 m60 is no replacement for the m550. It’s crazy fast and has effortless power, but so are all electric cars. Bmw has a great job masking the weight and it drives great for what it is. They deserve a lot of credit it making it as good as it is to drive….But “for what it is” is a key part of my previous statement. There is no comparison to the m550. It weighs 1000 lbs more than the m550 and it does not inspire me to drive it aggressively. It has much more body roll. It’s much larger and while the turn in when parking feels nimble, when you’re on the road it feels like a big car. i don’t feel as if I would ever want to whip this car around turns, taking speed into a right 90degree corner is never something I want to do. The breaks are not inspiring bc of the regen layer in between. There are times I’m aggressively breaking it feels as if the car is preventing me from doing so. It’s numb and does not have a special factor to it. It’s a great commuter car and it’s cooler than my previous IX or an i5 40, that’s about it.

Do you have or did you drive an M60 with the Dynamic Handling Package suspension and active roll bars? I didn’t notice much body roll on a test drive in with one so equipped. I think actually my M5 has more lean in the corners, although admittedly I didn’t drive the M60 as fast.