eilig

I need to buy a second car with a reasonably generous back seat for hauling family, business associates, etc. At first I was going to just get a Jeep Cherokee Limited with the Hemi and be done with it. Then I started looking at the 550i, and after driving one yesterday, find myself sort of liking the thing. And for a slushbox, the Steptronic ain't bad.

Wondering if anyone else here has a 550i, and if so, could share their thoughts, experience, and likes/dislikes of the car.

After my short amount of seat time in a sport option equipped car, I found myself not too crazy about the seats. I've found with other cars that sometimes seat comfort gets better over time, and sometimes it gets worse.

Of course, the Porsche has the BEST seats of ANY car, so that's a tough benchmark.

Let me know, thanks!

Vancouver83LTD

ugly *** car.
but, that's personal choiuce
hate the iDrive

Eggplant Cab

I had a 2004 545i for 2 years until I decided to go for the M5 this year.
Dynamically, it's a sporty sedan (with sport package and ARS) which can comfortably take 3 adults of 5'11'' at the back. Trunk space is good and I like the wide rear entry into the trunk.
Pros:
Very sporty driving, ride around town is great, spacious trunk, Nav is good (but will not beat the lexus Nav which to me is the industry standard), SMG(not as smooth as steptronic but alot faster shifts), sport seat is comfy.
Cons:
Active steering (I think it's gone in the new cars), run flat tires (hard ride and crappy grip, esp the Dunlops SP9000 which had a defect but factory replaces it with...more dunlop!), HUD (Need non-polarized sunglasses to view it properly), cupholders too far from driver, radio is too complicated to run without concentration.
3 options are a must if you do consider this car. Sports Package+SMG (ARS really works well, 12 way sport seat is very good), Heads Up Display(great for Nav and keeping eyes on road, wife loves it).
The sport seats need quite a bit of adjustment to get it right since there are 12 controls. Comfortable for long hauls (800 miles+ in a day and not too many aches). The maintenance program is great since everything is included.

texas911

You already have a sports car, how about an E55 as a compliment to your 997?

caf

I've driven the E60's, but haven't owned one.

I think the car's ugly.
I think the cockpit is a step backward from the previous 5, the E39, which I did own. The "driver orientation" of the cockpit is gone.
The car has virtually no instrumentation. No oil pressure gauge, no engine temperature gauge, nothing. If something begins to go wrong with the car, you simply get a message:
"You're SOL, buddy. Call a flat-bed truck".
It does drive well, though, for a four door sedan.

ohsixx

Take a look at the MB S Class.

kocsis

It is very comfortable (for 4 - rear seats have a center console); drives amazingly well, not only on highway but on twisties. It's the same chassis as E class, just more sporty looking. The alternative is the E55. I have an M5 (E39), and would not buy a new one due to some of the reasons mentioned above. For time being, I'm keeping the M5 though.

MHC2S

I own a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Hemi power. It sucks on gas, but I see you are up in Chicago area. Your first snow storm you will wish you bought the Jeep. My friend has a BMW 540i with Dunlop performance tires. I had to go and pick him up from work in a snow storm because he could NOT get out of his parking lot I love my new Jeep and I have not had a single issue with it. It has plenty of room in the back and if you put the back seats down you can haul lots of stuff. I bought the Jeep since I would never drive my 997S or E55 in snow ever.

MHC2S

I own both, in his first snow storm up in Chicago he is going to wish he bought the Jeep Grand Cherokee. My Jeep just eats the snow and keeps on going. My E55 would just sit in the snow and spin the rear wheels all day. I would much rather get to my destination than sit in snow!!!

Truble10

I don't understand why people had the iDrive. Very easy to use and after few weeks it's second nature. Got one on my 7 series and unless your a computer idiot it's no problem. Just like having a mouse. Unless the mouse for your computer is too hard to use.

Targa Tim

I own a 530xi and it is a good sport sedan. I don't think it looks ugly, but different. I actually feel that a traditional looking Mercedes E class is boring (but not ugly).

I-drive is no problem at all. Look at the new S-class and Audi A6 and 8, they all have something similar to I-drive. I have never met any I-drive owners who complain, it is usually the ones that don't own the cars who complaint.

Need to order the comfort seat option as the seat is so comfortable.

Haven't test drove a 550 and don't plan to (997S is faster and more fun). The new inline six in the 530 produces more than adequate power for city driving and return reasonable gas mileage.

BC

It was all the hype early on from the media on the i-drive. It is more complex then turning a *** for the radio station, but not much.

Eggplant Cab

Exactly, a bunch of guys who can't program VCRs and just like buttons to press bitch and moan about it. It's actually quite intuitive but I do wish the screen was angled towards the driver a bit more. I do agree that the radio requires 2 too many steps to search for stations.
The styling is another issue. I think it's a gorgeous car and my wife insisted on it when she saw it. So much so she doesn't mind me getting the M5 this fall, although she's been hinting at the M6 we saw in Europe last year.
As for the recommendation of the 530i, I would actually agree. We were given a loaner 530i when our 545i was in service. The car was surprisingly powerful and the steptronic was smooth. Best of all, it was returning 30mpg for 75mph driving. Only thing is by the time you deck out the 530i with SMG, HUD and other 545i standards, the price difference isn't as pronounced. If I don't follow through with the M5 as planned, I'll definitely get the 530i.

eilig

Thats for the feedback everyone. One thing I didn't mention is that I work with a bunch of conservative bankers, and like to keep it sort of low key with my daily driver. None of them know about the Porsche, and I intend to keep it that way. The Jeep wouldn't raise any brows, and the Hemi has decent power for a SUV. I do like the E55 and 550i, but they'd draw a little more attention that I prefer not to have. Not to mention the fact that this is a vehicle that will frequently sit at O'Hare for 7 days in a row. I just know that if I have a nice German car sitting there, I'm going to worry about it. The Jeep will be something I don't have to worry about, and peace of mind will be nice...

Hmmm, seems I'm making up my own mind!

Eggplant Cab

Oh that's easy enough to fix... buy the 550i and remove the model numbers. Or put in the 525i. Nobody will know the difference. I did that with my E39 M5. Removed all the M badges and if you didn't know about the front spoiler and mirrors, it's pretty innocuous.