BMW 550i Sport Touring Auto

Great looks, fantastic performance, indifferent ride - not quite the sum of the parts

Having had 2 previous generations 5-series, a 535i and a 530i Sport, I was excited by my new one. I chose the Touring as I preferred the shape to the saloon. I couldn't find a 530i Sport Touring and bought the 550i as it had everything I wanted on it and as I don't do a huge mileage each year - 6,000 - I wasn't too bothered about the fuel consumption.

The car looks great and it's performance is blistering. It's relaxed on a motorway and very quiet with the sunroof shade shut - with it open there's a fair bit of wind noise which spoils the rest of the relaxed nature of the car. But it's difficult and jerky in slow-moving traffic - not ideal for London where I live - out on the motorway it's a different car and it's handling is better on country roads to my previous one. I couldn't believe that that jerkiness of the transmission was normal but up until the latest service no garage (I've tried 3) has been able to solve it. Following an engine management warning light problem (of which I had several last year) the air mass meter has been replaced and that seems to have solved the problem - after 24,000 miles of ownership - and the car is now what I had hoped it would be. Fuel consumption has averaged 21.2mpg with the best figure of 27.2 being on a run from Cherbourg to Morlaix in Brittany.
Would I buy another - no, not a 550i but I have tried the new shape 535i over several days and am very tempted. The 8-speed sport transmission was faultless and the car just seemed better in various ways.

Report as offensive