[AP]

This is a 1 year review of my UK M550 bought in March 2023, one of the last M550s into the UK.



Current mileage 7500
Average fuel consumption since factory 30.1mpg (UK)
Best fuel consumption on a trip 45.2mpg (UK)

Summary

If you won’t want to read my text below, then the bottom line is that this continues to be a great car.
In fact so much this is the first car where I’ve had to increase my mileage on my car insurance!


The main feature of the car is undoubtedly the engine. It continues to impress.
The power it can produce is way more than adequate, arguable way too much for the public road but as a result, it makes it effortless.
I know that is a cliché, but an example is overtaking.
In my previous 540 , I would probably just flick the gear lever over to its sport mode to provide some extra performance.
With the 550, I’ve not even considered that as there is truckloads of torque available , wherever you look ahead and want to be, a press of the accelerator is all that’s required to be there , and you get there in a matter of seconds.
I’d suggest at least here in the UK that the torque is the highlight here rather than the horsepower.
So why do I say that, it because there is more than enough performance to be had with revs no more than 2500rpm. There is no need to have high revs in normal circumstances, which is where that high horspe power is going to occur.
This bring me on to one facet of having a powerful car, and that is exercising restraint with it. The power requires respect.
As I live in London, the opportunities for spirited driving are rare. Its simply just not appropriate to be doing so along with a multitude of speed cameras.
Whoever this highlights the other side of the engine in that it is very effortless in cruising. Its quiet as well. I’d suggest the B58 is a whisker quieter, but that’s splitting hairs. Really not much in it.
When driving sedately, it has also proved to be much more economical that I was ever expecting.
Having picked up the car, I was expecting MPGs to be in the twenties, and that certainly happens around town and more spirited country lane driving.
However on the motorway, low 30s are easily achieved and on a few occasions, I have tried to see what I could actually get out of the car.
The sweet spot for economy would appear to be around 50-55mph and on one occasion, I managed to get 45.2MPG on a long run.

This was far from typical ,I was travelling at a constant speed for a long distance. But it does just show efficient this engine can potentially be. It certainly doesn’t deserve the term gas guzzler.
For fuel, the manual states minimum is 91RON (we don’t have any of that in the UK), otherwise 95RON but recommends 98RON.
I have exclusively used ESSO 99 Supreme+ which is supposedly 99RON. It used to be ethanol free but that changed recently so all fuel now in the UK has ethanol in it to some extent.
The price isn’t cheap but I figure this engine deserves the best you can give it.


Service intervals in the UK are 2 years / 19000 miles, which ever comes first (or if the CBS decides it needs to be less).
This differs to other markets and after looking into this I just felt that as the car is a keeper, 2 years was just too long. So I got BMW to change the OIL at 7000 miles / 11 months and not reset the CBS.
So the next service will be “free” as I paid for a 5 year service plan.
I know it’s a hotly debated topic, but 2 years just feels too long to me.
I got a discount and was charged £255 for the oil and filter. The N64TU3 requires 10.5 litres of 0w30 oil!
Whilst it was serviced, the dealership always perform a quick cursory check on the car to make sure there’s nothing obviously amiss.
All was fine, tyres were showing 6.5mm +/- 0.2mm of tread all round so that looks good, nice and even.


Q Car
I like the way the car does not attract any attention.
On one occasion, I attended a BMW only meet . Car was parked up like everything else, and no one was paying it any attention whatsoever.
If you de-badged it, no one would be the wiser unless you were really up on your BMWs and recognised the M550 only style668 wheels on it.



IDrive 7

IDrive 7 has been a pleasure to use. Once all of the customisation has been undertaken, there has been no need to go back and change anything.
As per by original review, the only item that could be improved is managing file and folders on a USB drive.
I’m used to it now but it feels like too many selections to get to where I want to go.

Features of it that I like are the sports display. But not for what you might think of the power and torque figures, its actually for the oil temperature.
Why BMW give us a coolant gauge instead of oil temperature one is beyond me, but with this I can be sure of when the oil is up to temperature before doing anything spirited.
It takes about 15 mins to get the oil up to around 100C
You can ask the car for the oil temperature as well. In fact anything that can be displayed in idrive can be asked for.
For example, "Hey BMW, what is the oil temperature"

Tyre pressures, great to be able to keep an eye on the tyre pressures.

I have shortcuts for these

I also don’t use the touchscreen. I can manage idrive 7 exclusively via these or the idrive controller and buttons. That keeps by OCD in check by not having finger prints all over the display!


The car came with software version 2022/11 . I didn’t elect to install the 2023/3 update as the release notes didn’t suggest there was anything of note there. For this update I was prompted via the BMW app on my phone.
However , the 2023/11 update was sent OTA to the car so I didn’t get a choice on this one. (I’ve since learned I can disable this in idrive , so will do that going forward)
The release notes for this didn’t suggest anything of note and this proved to be the case once it was updated. The update was easy, no issues at all.
There were a few settings that I had to set back to my own preference, but other than that, I’ve not noticed anything otehr than the RINTGO parking being removed.
I do wish the release notes would include more detail, they are so vague that you really don’t know what it has changed.
I don’t expect BMW to make any functional changes to idrive 7 going forward, I just can’t see them devoting any time to any potential improvements or enhancements.

Climate control
Perfectly usable, the only criticism is that as the car gets 4 zone climate control by default, the controls are touchscreen. I still on occasion accidently knock the seat heating, but other than that, I have no complaints.

Comfort access.
This was not a feature I would have selected due to security concerns, but now having had it for a year, it’s a nice feature. I have configured the car to no unlock when the key is near as a security precaution , but I have set it to lock when the key is away.
The key is in a faraday pouch as a precaution even though the key should turn off broadcasting after a few minutes of inactivity.
The boot (trunk) release using your foot, took a while to get the hang on, but now that I have it, ive used it quite a lot. Asin not something I would have specified, but actually think its quite useful if you have your hands full.

Adaptive lights
I’ve not used their adaptive features much but noted that I was flashed a couple of times on a recent journey on winding country roads.
They were maybe just slightly too slow in responding to oncoming traffic.
I assumed that functionality wise they would be the same as the icon headlights I have previously on my 2017 540, I don’t recall being flashed using that car.

Suspension
Still impressed.
It’s not floating on a carpet of air. You are aware of road imperfections but it remains comfortable. Put the suspension into sport mode and the road is noticeably firmer. Any ridges in roads or any other small abrupt imperfections such as road joints , are very noticeable. General bumps are fine, it just seems any abrupt changes in road surface are the ones that get noticed.
Most of the noise in the cabin is from the tyres. On those rare occasions when you get a newly resurfaced road, the noise diminishes considerable and the car can be incredibly quiet.


HK Audio
I'd say this is acceptable but could be better. he HK in my previous 540 was better. bass is a bit muddled and lacks definition. Seems sensitive to configuring it to give it its best.


Driving assistant
I have made extensive use of the Driving assistant.
I use it most of the time on motorways. It improves on the pre lCI version by not taking exit lanes which the pre lci had a habit of doing sometimes.
It’s for the most part, smooth. I do miss change lane assist which was disabled on this car. I had it on the pre lci and whilst not strictly necessary, it’s a nice fun feature.
Traffic jam assist I use a lot in , well traffic. The improvement over the pre lci is that you do not get prompted to put your hands on the steering wheel as often.
In fact at single digit speeds, the prompts are not that often and sometime the prompt will appear and then go green again (not sure why?).
The LCI has the camera in the instrument cluster so if you are looking away, you will get an auditble beep to remind you to continue looking forward. If you don’t it will disengage.
In the UK we don’t get the driving assistant plus mode which I understand allow more hands off driving at lower speed, ie in the traffic jam assist mode on motorways.

We also don’t get traffic light assist, although it is enabled. I’m sure if I were to drive in Germany , it would be active,

Comfort seats.
They took a while to get into the right position, but once set, I really appreciate these.



BMW app.
I like the BMW app. I mainly use it to send sat nav destinations to. You can search for anything and it’ll find the address. Once you get in the car, its ready to be picked up as a destination and off you go.
I've not felt compelled to use apple carplay as i din't see it offering that the inbuilt system offers. I don't like the apple interface which doesn't match the other BMW displays . It also drains the phones battery (unless you have it plugged in)
So more than happy with the inbuilt sat nav in combination with the speed camera alerts. £25 per year well spent!
The other obvious benefits are simply letting you know how much fuel you have and estimated range, lock status and tyre pressures.

Driving modes
I’ve used the same modes that I did on my previous 2017 540.
ECO Pro individual
Sport individual
Sport


ECO pro individual is my starting mode when the car I cold. I have it configured to use sport steering which I prefer, and use it also for motorway, gives me the option of coasting, I don’t use the car in town much but I generally us it here.
It might seem like sacrilege to be using this mode in a M550! Well where I live, opportunities for spirited driving can be limited so I see now sense in racing from one traffic light to another. There is also an enjoyment to be had from this car without racing around. The low revs make this feel more effortless.

Sport individual, has everything set up as comfort except steering which is set as sport. This is main mode when the car has warmed up and I want more progress.
Sport I use when I want to have fun. The suspension in this mode is of course firmer and the throttle response is more aggressive. The downside of that is that you only need small amounts of throttle to make progress so can be less smooth. Because of the performance of the car, you really have to be careful as speeds increase rather quickly.


Issues to date
Shortly after delivery, there was a buzzing noise coming from what seemed like the rear door area.
Car was booked in to be investigated and this has been addressed. (Don’t know what was done)

Damaged tyre due to a pothole
High chance of this occurring with a 2 ton car, 20 inch wheels and low profile run flat tyres, goes with the territory.

Bonnet scratched due to a fox climbing on the car on the one occasion it didn’t have a cover on it. The scratches look to be clear coat only so I will have to get that sorted. Was really annoyed about that to say the least.


Any regrets having now seen the new G60?

In a word, no.

I put my money where my mouth was and bought the M550 as everything I had seen for the at the time upcoming G60 did not impress me.
The reasons for not waiting for the G60 were :-
No V8 unless it was a M5 (which is not what I wanted)
Limited choice of ICE engines in the UK
Flat bottom steering wheel (I really just don’t get why this is supposed to be better??) How can that be smooth to feed through your hands?
Idrive 8.5, with LCD panels . Touch control (which I hate)

So when the G60 was released. This just confirmed that I had made the right decision , at least for me.

Looks, that’s subjective of course, but I didn’t like it. Proportions looked a bit awkward to me.
The hofmeister kink, with the 5 on it. Yuk. The Chinese version is illuminated, (I bet that’s a customisation that people will adopt on non Chinese models at some point in the future….)
The headlights, again , they’re ok but don’t do anything for me.

The steering wheel turned out to be as per the spy shots. Flat bottomed. I really don’t see how that can be better. Looks like form before function.
Idrive 8. The curved screen on the dashboard just doesn’t look integrated. That along with the fact that just about everything is a touch control is really not for me.
I know I’m, not the only person, but Ergonomics do matter and buttons I strongly feel are a better method of interfacing with the car.

An example of a recent car where they look like they have got this right is the Aston Martin DB12.
They have made a conscious decision to put all the sort of things you need to choose with buttons in the car. The screen is nicely integrated.
This really is one of the (in my opinion) best dashboard designs I’ve seen. Very modern but not putting in appropriate technology in there just for the sake of it.

The G30 is not 100% perfect in that regard with some tech that crept in . Gesture control which is never going to work as well as a button. I disabled that day 1 . The 4 zone controls as previously mentioned, the pre lci 2 zone controls were better in my opinion.

Although I’ve not driven a G60 yet, I did have the opportunity to sit in one soon after launch at the Munich IAA. I didn’t come away impressed with the interior appearing to be cheaper . That might be down to the use of different materials , but there was certainly more of a “plasticy” appearance about it.
I have alcantara headlining in my 550, and this at least yet, is not offered on the G60. The headlining thus also looks cheaper as a result. At least its black which helps to disguise it somewhat. (This is probably only something you’d pick up on if you’ve had alcantara headling before)
I also got to sit in a i5 M60 at my dealership recently. Now whilst an EV is not for me (that’s a whole other discussion), this model is arguably the successor to the M550 , at least if you are comparing on performance terms. It get to 60 in the same time.
Again wasn’t impressed with it. The particular car I sat in had options on it, didn’t note them , but the retail price was an eye watering £114000.
I just couldn’t reason why this would be so much more but with no obvious upgrade.
Why has it got bigger again?
That is whichever way you look at it, a huge jump up from the m550 even with a load of options on it.
It just doesn’t stack up to me.
Now whilst there are no doubt some good features about it, its ride is supposed to be good (no runflats presumably a major contribution towards that) and quiet, the items I’ve mentioned just outweigh those for me.
What does the G60 have that I would want?
Well some enhancements to the semi autonomous driving would be welcome, but that’s is really it.
There is nothing else.
Its simply not a car I have any interest in.
It saddens me that at present, there is really isn’t a new BMW I now like. Anything with Idrive 8 or later, is a put off.
I don’t want an EV
And don’t mention the legislation that is coming to cars at least here in the EU.
2024 models have speed limit warnings (which can be turned off each time you start the car but stll). For 2025, apparently they are looking to make the speed limited mandatory so cars will not be able to exceed the speed limit. (Speed limit being derived by sat nav database and cameras being read)
We all know that the cameras can be fooled by signs on parallel roads, or not read at all.
Lane departure warning is also supposedly going to be mandatory with no option to switch off.
It’ll be a sad day indeed if that actually happens.(how companies like Aston Martin, Ferrari etc will cope with that, is to be seen)



So would I recommend a M550 ? particulary to those in the UK?

Well yes. There are not many of these around. I’ve only seen 2 out in the wild.
If you want a Q car, this is perfect. If you debadge it, no one would know. That’s very appealing.
Its refined, and if youre not using for driving it around town (which I don;’t think is its forte) then its not too thirsty.
Running costs are ok at the moment but I’m under no illusion that as the years progress, it will be quite an expensive car to work on.
I’m not a mechanic, but looking inside the engine compartment, it looks to be be quite a nightmare to work on anything connected with the engine.


So thee you go, my take on the M550. No regrets and especially no regrets now that its replacement (arguably the i5 M60) is now out.

[Storrm]

THIS is the post that sums up all the reasons why I was looking for a used 550i. Ended up buuing one of the last 540i's with hardly any mileage on it for an absolute steel. Its got the toys that I wanted, all except the V8 ;-) I'm sure the alure of the 550 will grab me at some point, especially reading your review. Thanks for taking the time to report and keep us updated with how it all goes, especially with servicing costs (if any as I see you bought a package).

[eliphil]

Nice review, I share similar feelings on my 22 m550. Have you taken your car on the autobahn. I would go nuts being so restricted in England and based on your comments there is more big brother bs coming. If your ever in the states I would be happy to let u drive mine in some great spots.

[AP]

No not yet but it’s an idea I’ve been giving some thought to…..

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by AP

No not yet but it’s an idea I’ve been giving some thought to…..

Nice write up and a great car.

I'm off there in the summer with the G31 540i be a nice treat for it.

[AP]

Yeh nice , some freedom to get it to stretch its legs, what it was designed for

[Grumpy Brit]

A really great review to read, comprehensive, detailed and honest.
I was close to buying the 550 but needed extra cargo capacity so ended up with the 550’s cousin in the form of an Alpina B5 Touring. There’s a lot of 550 mechanical parts used in the B5 the main item being the engine which Alpina fettle to extract a bit more power and torque. The suspension gets tweaked and the gearbox (from the 550) is beefed up and reprogramed with 90% power going to the rear. The steering (always left in comfort) gets a camber change from bespoke control arms resulting in a love for fast sweeping bends. With the DTC off balancing the tail on the power is a proper chuckle, the downside being it eats the rears. (not sure if turning it off disables the rear steer)
Essentially though they are the same car and I agree with every word you’ve written.
I’m surprised by the economy you achieve. Over 60k miles my best is 38, typically 22-28 in mixed motoring with low/mid 30s on the motorway. Yes, it’s hard to enjoy the performance of these cars on UK roads but luckily, it’s fairly rural around me so I have more opportunity. (Hence the lower numbers perhaps?) I think your decision to run 98/98 is a good one, the B5 doesn’t like 95 at all with Alpina suggesting it’s for emergency use only. With 97 octane the power drop is noticeable compared to V Power, Momentum or Supreme plus.
Regarding the G60, I actually like it. Sitting behind the wheel I’m instantly at home and externally it says “Big 5er”. The interior finish and quality are good but a little down on that found in range topping G30s imho. Plenty of glass screens, which grew on me, and the new idrive iteration I loved. The big downer for me was price, £96k for the one I looked at. Despite rapid acceleration and reasonable handling nothing beats quite beats a big V8.
Should I win the lottery though I’ll definitely be buying the new M5 touring!

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Brit

A really great review to read, comprehensive, detailed and honest.
I was close to buying the 550 but needed extra cargo capacity so ended up with the 550’s cousin in the form of an Alpina B5 Touring. There’s a lot of 550 mechanical parts used in the B5 the main item being the engine which Alpina fettle to extract a bit more power and torque. The suspension gets tweaked and the gearbox (from the 550) is beefed up and reprogramed with 90% power going to the rear. The steering (always left in comfort) gets a camber change from bespoke control arms resulting in a love for fast sweeping bends. With the DTC off balancing the tail on the power is a proper chuckle, the downside being it eats the rears. (not sure if turning it off disables the rear steer)
Essentially though they are the same car and I agree with every word you’ve written.
I’m surprised by the economy you achieve. Over 60k miles my best is 38, typically 22-28 in mixed motoring with low/mid 30s on the motorway. Yes, it’s hard to enjoy the performance of these cars on UK roads but luckily, it’s fairly rural around me so I have more opportunity. (Hence the lower numbers perhaps?) I think your decision to run 98/98 is a good one, the B5 doesn’t like 95 at all with Alpina suggesting it’s for emergency use only. With 97 octane the power drop is noticeable compared to V Power, Momentum or Supreme plus.
Regarding the G60, I actually like it. Sitting behind the wheel I’m instantly at home and externally it says “Big 5er”. The interior finish and quality are good but a little down on that found in range topping G30s imho. Plenty of glass screens, which grew on me, and the new idrive iteration I loved. The big downer for me was price, £96k for the one I looked at. Despite rapid acceleration and reasonable handling nothing beats quite beats a big V8.
Should I win the lottery though I’ll definitely be buying the new M5 touring!

Let’s see some pics! Even on the internet the B5 is a unicorn.

[AP]

+1
Yeh alpinas are rare to see and we don’t seem to hear about them on these forums much

People ask about m5 estates but forget alpina effectively produced one more geared for the road than the track for many years

[Grumpy Brit]

Originally Posted by Gautam

Let’s see some pics! Even on the internet the B5 is a unicorn.

The G30/31 chassis is a superb piece of engineering, be it in M5 or 550 guise all the way down to the humble 520d. A looker with real road presence that delivers in all departments whatever the engine.

The Alpina derivative possess the most sublime ride and handling combined with M5 power and unrestricted top end. (Not that you can use it, but hey Ho!) Mind bendingly fast when provoked yet indescribably civilised. An M5 will scream “Lets lock & load dude” whilst the B5 quietly asks “Would sir prefer tea or coffee?” Built to effortlessly cross continents on all roads, in all weathers is about the only way I can describe it.

For 2250kg sofa shifting tank the B5 sure as heck can handle too. Barrelling out of corners early at full throttle exploiting the 90% rear drive bias is it’s party trick. Lacking the M5’s extra up-front rubber and suspension rigidity entering corners does require some line planning and early braking for best effect however.

Surprisingly agile, plenty of predictable understeer at the limit despite the tendency to lean. Rock steady at obscene speeds she would sit at 170+ all day (or till the fuel ran out) on an autobahn. From a standing start an F90 being some 400kg lighter will grab a car length or maybe two dashing to 60. From a 50mph rolling start though the B5 absolutely doesn’t go away and by 110 the extra torque is really beginning to show. At 155 an M5’s limiter will cut in and bye bye.

All well and good driving it like its stolen I suppose but like the 550 it’s a sophisticated limo that doesn’t encourage hooliganism.

Because of our overcrowded, speed camera infested UK roads I like to get a few car club track days in each year so I can unleash and enjoy her safely. I also find myself going the long way round to places or making frequent unnecessary journeys because I love the thing so much.

In fact, my B5 is not actually a car, she’s my mistress.

They didn’t sell them stateside, no idea why, I think you only get the B8 and the SUV Alpina flavours?
41 Pre LCI, 31 Post LCI, 20 GT Touring’s in the UK with a handful of saloon versions, so unicorns over here as well!

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Brit

The G30/31 chassis is a superb piece of engineering, be it in M5 or 550 guise all the way down to the humble 520d. A looker with real road presence that delivers in all departments whatever the engine.

They didn’t sell them stateside, no idea why, I think you only get the B8 and the SUV Alpina flavours?
41 Pre LCI, 31 Post LCI, 20 GT Touring’s in the UK with a handful of saloon versions, so unicorns over here as well!

Love it, very special vehicle. Looks like you’re putting it to use exactly as intended as well.

Yes, currently we only get the b8 and the xb7. For a few years we got the b7 as well. No g31’s altogether of course.