[TomWinMD]

I took delivery of my 2021 M550xi on September 1st, and took the long way back home, putting 1,000 miles on the clock.

For anyone interested, I took delivery at the Performance Center in South Carolina, and you can read my thread on the Delivery Experience here: https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1746236

I ordered the car with the following options:

Nappa Leather
Dynamic Handling Pkg
Driving Assistance Plus Pkg
Parking Assistance Pkg
Executive Pkg
Heated Steering Wheel
Front Ventilated Seats
Front & Rear Heated Seats
Front Massaging Seats
20" M Y-spoke bi-color jet black wheels,style 846M with perf run-flat tires (the tires are Pirelli P Zero summer high performance tires)

I drove the car on a variety of roads (interstates, the Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive in the mountains/hills, state roads, and through a few roads being freshly paved), and in both Eco, and Comfort mode - I'm not using Sport until I pass the break-in point at 1,200 miles.

Here are my overall impressions, for whatever you may feel they are worth.

The car is fast, even restraining my right foot. Coming up to highway speed is never an issue, even if you keep the tachometer below 3,000 rpm and avoid any kind of kick-down shifts.

It's nimble - handling the twisty roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline drive was a piece of cake. The car always feels sure-footed and planted.

The ride is a bit stiff - the Pirelli run-flats are stiffer than the Continental DWS 06 tires I had on my F10 550i, and you notice it on rougher roads. On smooth pavement - they are great and the road noise is minimal. I also think the ride on the Pirellis is far better than the Goodyear Eagle run-flats I initially had on my F10 550i.

The LED headlights are very good in the dark, and the auto high beam function works as expected, as does the auto-leveling, which keeps the beams at or below the level of the license plate of the car in front of you.

The interior is in great shape, and well put together. The cabin is very quiet even at highway speeds (I could hear my wife talking to me and she didn't even raise her voice - I think that is good, right? ) The seats are very comfortable over the long-haul, and the massaging function is very helpful after a couple of hours in the driver's seat.

The gesture control is a bit of a gimmick - turning the radio volume up and down is neat, but for people who talk with their hands, it's a problem. I'll probably be disabling it in the near future.

I'd like to see tighter integration between Apple Car Play functionality and the BMW on-board apps. You can only play music off your iPhone playlists if you use Car Play. Also, although the delivery specialist's colleagues swear the Waze navigation instructions will appear in the HUD, I haven't seen them yet - it's possible I'm missing a setting.

On the upside, you can use the BMW navigation (which gives you all the cues in the HUD), and leave Waze running on your phone with Car Play active, and Waze will tell you verbally about obstacles in the roadway, vehicles on the shoulder, accidents, and law enforcement activity at the side of the road.

The coaching pop-ups on the Central Information Display (CID) for things like adjusting the seat, gestures, etc., are annoying - I turned them off this morning.

I like the size of the CID, but if I'm a BMW designer, it doesn't need to get bigger unless they are going to put in place of the climate control/media stack above the cup holders. I still need to work with the widgets and screen set ups to decide which displays I want for what purpose, but the CID touchscreen's similarity to an iPad makes it very intuitive.

One word of caution to iPhone users - if you have an iPhone 8+, or a phone of similar dimensions, the phone fits very snugly in the console charging pad. If your phone has a case or Mophie battery pack, you have to take the phone out of the case for it to charge.

Overall, I love the car, but I'm still configuring it to be the machine I want it to be when I'm behind the wheel.

Hope everyone finds this useful, and please ask any questions you may have.

[DBV1]

Nice review. Waze does not work on HUD, although I hope it is coming. It also does not work on CarPlay Dashboard and that should be coming, but that is up to Waze.

How do you like the autonomous driving? I have been using that a lot and it seems impressive.

Have you tried Apple CarKey? I like it, but wish it had proximity sensors, that will be next year, but still a nice option to have.

I do wish the key proximity sensor would know you in the garage and not lock the car, like Tesla’s do.

Overall, I like the LCI, but besides some tech improvements and somewhat improved body design changes, it is not too much different than my 2017 5.

[TomWinMD]

Originally Posted by DBV1

Nice review. Waze does not work on HUD, although I hope it is coming. It also does not work on CarPlay Dashboard and that should be coming, but that is up to Waze.

How do you like the autonomous driving? I have been using that a lot and it seems impressive.

Have you tried Apple CarKey? I like it, but wish it had proximity sensors, that will be next year, but still a nice option to have.

I do wish the key proximity sensor would know you in the garage and not lock the car, like Tesla’s do.

Overall, I like the LCI, but besides some tech improvements and somewhat improved body design changes, it is not too much different than my 2017 5.

I think that for medium/long distance cruising on interstates, the autonomous driving is pretty impressive. I also used it on some of the twisty bits of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it was good, but couldn't hold a corner greater than say, 65 degrees at 40-50 mph - it always asked for driver intervention/disengaged.

I haven't tried the CarKey yet. It's not going to be useful during my work days (can't take the cell phone into the office).

For me this car is a huge improvement over my 10 year old F10, so I'll take your word that it's not a huge departure from the 2017 MY, but I'm liking it alot.

[DBV1]

I bet it is. That would be a big difference. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great car, which is why I got another one. The improvements they made are very nice and improved.

[MikeElmendorf]

Tom -

Thanks for the great writeup.

I'm concerned about the run flats being too stiff; I ordered my 2018 without them, which was not an option this time, as least for all-season tires. I'll see what I think and possibly swap them out. My wife will be thrilled at another set of tires sitting in the basement!

As for Waze, my understanding is that BMW now makes it possible for apps running in CarPlay to communicate with the car for dash/HUD display. Apple Maps does it already in our X5 (on the latest software) and, although I haven't tried, I've read Google does too. So, that ball is in Waze's court and I would expect they will eventually add that capability via software update, particularly as more manufacturers enable that capability now that CarPlay has opened the door.

[DBV1]

Originally Posted by MikeElmendorf

Tom -

Thanks for the great writeup.

I'm concerned about the run flats being too stiff; I ordered my 2018 without them, which was not an option this time, as least for all-season tires. I'll see what I think and possibly swap them out. My wife will be thrilled at another set of tires sitting in the basement!

As for Waze, my understanding is that BMW now makes it possible for apps running in CarPlay to communicate with the car for dash/HUD display. Apple Maps does it already in our X5 (on the latest software) and, although I haven't tried, I've read Google does too. So, that ball is in Waze's court and I would expect they will eventually add that capability via software update, particularly as more manufacturers enable that capability now that CarPlay has opened the door.

Apple Maps is the only one that displays in HUD right now. Google Maps displays in Apple Dashboard, but does not display in HUD yet. Hope that will be coming soon.

[TomWinMD]

I noticed when I test drove the MY 2020 M550i that with cruise control on (and lane keeping active) the software required you have two hands on the wheel.

My new MY 2021 however does NOT require that. I can activate cruise control with lane keeping active, and the system will remain on with only one hand on the wheel.

Not sure if this is part of the 820 iDrive 7 software update, or not, but that's how it works.

Anyone else experiencing this in their LCI 5 series?

[DBV1]

Originally Posted by TomWinMD

I noticed when I test drove the MY 2020 M550i that with cruise control on (and lane keeping active) the software required you have two hands on the wheel.

My new MY 2021 however does NOT require that. I can activate cruise control with lane keeping active, and the system will remain on with only one hand on the wheel.

Not sure if this is part of the 820 iDrive 7 software update, or not, but that's how it works.

Anyone else experiencing this in their LCI 5 series?

Mine 2021 5 is that way as well. I wish it gave longer than 8 seconds to keep both hands of the steering wheel. Hopefully, that will be a software change that is coming some day. Will be curious if BMW will add new features with software upgrades like Tesla does.

I do mostly highway/freeway driving and have put about 1300 miles on in the last two weeks. I use the ACC system most of the time and it works very well at keeping the car centered and changing lanes. I usually set it for the speed limit and then drive faster if needed, but have the car do the steering and lane changing. Once you get used to it, it makes it seem weird when not using it.

[TomWinMD]

Originally Posted by DBV1

Mine 2021 5 is that way as well. I wish it gave longer than 8 seconds to keep both hands of the steering wheel. Hopefully, that will be a software change that is coming some day. Will be curious if BMW will add new features with software upgrades like Tesla does.

I do mostly highway/freeway driving and have put about 1300 miles on in the last two weeks. I use the ACC system most of the time and it works very well at keeping the car centered and changing lanes. I usually set it for the speed limit and then drive faster if needed, but have the car do the steering and lane changing. Once you get used to it, it makes it seem weird when not using it.

Unless I'm mis-understanding you, there is no 8 second limit on mine. I've driven with ACC on, and only one hand on the wheel for extended periods of time without the system disengaging.

[MikeElmendorf]

Tom - My experience in both my 2018 540 and 2019 X5 is that you just have to have some kind of contact with the wheel. It could just be a finger slung over it. Neither of my cars requires both hands.

[Wivenhoe]

Originally Posted by TomWinMD

Unless I'm mis-understanding you, there is no 8 second limit on mine. I've driven with ACC on, and only one hand on the wheel for extended periods of time without the system disengaging.

As your car is new I am sure you will have Driver Assistant Professional. That has an eye sensor and it ensures you are looking ahead when ACC is on. Try looking to the side and see if you get a warning to grip the wheel.

[DBV1]

Originally Posted by TomWinMD

Unless I'm mis-understanding you, there is no 8 second limit on mine. I've driven with ACC on, and only one hand on the wheel for extended periods of time without the system disengaging.

Sorry - I meant about 8 seconds with no hands. Wish it was a little longer like Tesla has.

[1newbmwowner]

I took delivery of my 2021 M550i two weeks ago. Mine is configured almost exactly ad yours except I chose Bluestone Metallic and left off the rear window shades. I only have about 300 miles on mine so far. After 6 Audis, the last 2 being S6s, I love the smoothness of the BMW transmission, the increased power, and the less nose-heaviness of the Audi. I love age look of red brake calipers on my S6, so I was glad that this became an option on the 2021 M550i. They look great.

This Friday, I'm getting a 30% ceramic tint applied to the side windows and rear windscreen.
I had this on my last car and it really looks great.

Here are a few pics of my new ride.

Regards,
Bud

[TomWinMD]

Originally Posted by 1newbmwowner

I took delivery of my 2021 M550i two weeks ago. Mine is configured almost exactly ad yours except I chose Bluestone Metallic and left off the rear window shades. I only have about 300 miles on mine so far. After 6 Audis, the last 2 being S6s, I love the smoothness of the BMW transmission, the increased power, and the less nose-heaviness of the Audi. I love age look of red brake calipers on my S6, so I was glad that this became an option on the 2021 M550i. They look great.

This Friday, I'm getting a 30% ceramic tint applied to the side windows and rear windscreen.
I had this on my last car and it really looks great.

Here are a few pics of my new ride.

Regards,
Bud

Nice. I'm working to schedule the tinting and paint protective film, but I'm going to need to wait on the tinting. The Performance Center delivery guru found three tiny scratches on one of the passenger side windows. BMW will be replacing the window and trim pieces, but I'm waiting for the parts to come in. Once the window replacement is done, it will be time to tint.

Enjoy the car. I'm really liking mine. My next test is downloading a couple of test videos from the drive recorder to a USB stick.