BMW's hot 5-Series can't decide if it wants to be a luxury or sport sedan
The BMW 5-Series built its reputation on being a jack-of-all-trades, an understated, European midsize sedan highly adept at completing everyday mundane tasks, yet engaging enough when piloted spiritedly to persuade enthusiast drivers to take the long way home.
It’s fair to assume that if anyone can execute such a vehicle, it would be BMW. After all, this is the company that introduced the E28 M5 back in 1985, which many believe invented the sports sedan segment. For decades, BMW was particularly guarded about that M badge, reserving it for models of a specific pedigree that represented the brand’s most capable, performance-focused road-going hardware.
But consumer tastes have changed over the years, so BMW’s overall mission with that venerable M badge is trying to change with it. More and more, buyers want the look and feel of a sport sedan without compromising any of the comforts of a luxury sedan.
That leads us to the seventh generation 5-Series and the 2018 M550i xDrive. While it wears an M badge, it’s not the next M5. We still have to wait a few months for that car. Instead, the M550i seeks to split the difference between the M5 and the 540i. In the M550i, buyers can expect more power under the hood and more capability from the chassis than any other 5-Series model currently sold. Just know the overall package will yield a softer touch than the coming full-blooded M entry.
The Execution
The M550i certainly looks the part of a legitimate sports sedan. Outfitted with M Sport brakes, M-specific 19-inch wheels, a handful of subtle aero bits, and an M Sport suspension setup that drops the car 0.4 inch versus the standard sedan, this Bavarian machine appears ready to run.
And it will run. Under the hood is a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 dishing out 456 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. Mated up with the eight-speed ZF automatic -- the only transmission offered – the M550i will sprint to 60 mph from rest in 3.9 seconds. BMW claims the M550i is the quickest 5-Series they’ve ever produced, despite being significantly down on power versus the previous generation M5. Chalk that up to all-wheel drive as standard equipment.
It’s fast, but also heavy -- this sedan weighs nearly 4,400 pounds. Clearly the M550i was built more for coddling its occupants in comfort and a vast array of technologies than in nailing apexes.
A handful of laps around the big course at Willow Springs International Raceway reinforces the notion. While the M550i is supremely quick in a straight line and the gargling eight-cylinder mill sounds right at home flying down Big Willow’s main straight, both the brakes and the suspension seem to be a step or two behind that boosted mill.
Already burdened with a few three-lap sessions before my time on the track was enough to make the brake pedal get soft. While the big M Sport brakes still offered a reasonable amount of stopping power, the lengthy travel wasn’t particularly confidence-inspiring. The suspension was a similar story, tuned to be more grand tourer than track weapon. I noticed a fair amount of body roll and brake dive when muscling the car around a fast course like Big Willow. All of it is compounded by steering that feels vague and disconnected.
Getting the M550i out on the open road improves the situation, though. Here you can sink into the 20-way adjustable leather sports seats, fire up some tunes using the gesture controls and admire the brightwork around the cabin while the car effortlessly soaks up the miles.
Encountering some twisty back roads at an enthusiastic pace seems more in tune with the hardware on hand, too. This M550i included the optional Dynamic Handling Package, which adds adaptive dampers and active roll stabilization, and I kept the dampers set to sport-plus for any of the curvy bits. But as the road straightens out, dropping back down to the comfort drive mode softens the suspension, lessens the steering weight and relaxes the transmission, turning the M550i into a high-speed isolation chamber. I wager that’s the setting most M550i models will spend the vast majority of their time in.
The Takeaway
Starting at $73,095, this example came with six option packages as well as a $3,400 Bowers and Wilkins audio system, bringing the as-tested price to $86,685. The M550i finds its closest competition in the similarly priced Mercedes-AMG E43. Like the BMW, the E43 is a model that was designed to provide a middle ground between a garden-variety E-Class and the hardcore performance of the E63 S. And, like the BMW, the E43 is much happier on your favorite back road or slogging through the daily commute than it is being pushed to 10/10ths out on a road course.
But the M550i’s eight-cylinder party piece under the hood provides the kind of authoritative grunt that the AMG’s V6 simply cannot match. For those who are looking for a fast, luxurious mile-eater, the M550i certainly delivers on that promise. But folks who’ve been waiting for a return to the kind of driver-focused engineering that put the 5-Series on enthusiasts’ radars more than 30 years ago might want to look elsewhere to find their kicks –- or perhaps just hold out for next M5.
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