Test: BMW 550e – Driving multimedia machine

The new BMW 5 Series comes in many different flavors. During the launch of the latest generation, BMW only emphasized the fully electric i5. It says something about the priorities of the Germans that it was only later in the Netherlands that we were introduced to the versions that also use petrol. Or diesel of course, because BMW is one of the few brands that still offers diesel versions in the Netherlands. These will also be in the minority at BMW. We previously tried the 520i, but in addition to pure petrol or pure electricity, there is also the plug-in variant. BMW offers two: the 530e and the 550e. Until the arrival of the M5, the 550e is the most powerful new 5 Series you can get and we were curious about the provisional top model. The car has a few interesting specifications. For example, where Mercedes opts for four-cylinders in combination with electric power in the E-class, BMW still sticks to a six-in-line for the 550e. That is the most important difference with the 530e, which has a four-cylinder. In addition, this is not just a plug-in with a little torque and enough power to just leave your home. No, the electric motor alone has just under 200 hp and the battery offers more than 20 kWh gross. This puts us at the level of the first electric cars, such as the Renault Zoe! On paper, the BMW can travel 90 kilometers before you start using petrol, which means you are well beyond the average commuter journey. The petrol engine produces 313 hp, together the engines peak at a pleasant 489 hp. And yes, drifting is fun, but in a large sloop like the new five, some traction is also nice, so the 550e comes standard with four-wheel drive. If you want, you can reach 100 km/h in less than 5 seconds, but what is more important is how smoothly everything goes. Even on electric power alone, the car feels fast enough and the smoothness with which petrol and electric power merge is silky smooth. If you want more power or you have (almost) run out of power, then there is of course the fabulous inline six with its flexibility and nice soundtrack. It would be almost a 10 for the drivetrain if it weren’t for the fact that if your battery is empty, you will notice that the engine sometimes lacks the electrical support to smoothly get the entire drivetrain going and that the car sometimes experiences a jolt. So a 9.5.

The appearance still takes some getting used to.

But does the BMW 550e still drive a bit like a BMW?

Of course, driving is traditionally a top priority for a 5-series, but over the years we have seen that the car has become more accessible to the average motorist with each generation; still with dynamics, but the car has certainly become more comfortable. For fans of sharp steering, there was the M5 or the 3-series. This is even more nuanced with this new generation. With a basic version you will notice that it is now a particularly large car that offers silence, luxury and comfort. At over 5 meters we are now at the size of 7-series from the past. And you can’t just let all that mass disappear. Or is it? Our 550 not only has an advanced adaptive chassis, but also standard four-wheel steering. That makes a big difference when fictionally shortening the wheelbase. In combination with the remarkably direct steering, this suddenly becomes a car in sports mode that handles exceptionally well: steer, apply gas/electricity and the BMW turns the corner as if it were on rails. This is a compliment and a note at the same time, because driving on rails may be fast, but it is not necessarily the BMW’s. No matter how capable the car is, the fluid or even playful that we know from BMW to the X5 M is somewhat gone. This leans slightly more towards the driving style that fast Audis have: fast but businesslike. A 340i offers noticeably more involvement to its driver than this modern driving computer. It is more of an observation than a real complaint, because there is the aforementioned 3-series for that more playful work. The 5 has become more mature and modern in areas. And more digitally. Because driving is also captured in BMW’s new multimedia extravaganza. We used to have comfort and sport, with or without a plus addition. Now, in addition to ‘sport’ and ‘efficient’, we also have ‘relax’, ‘expressive’ and ‘personal’. With the latter you can search until you weigh an ounce for personal settings, because BMW means ‘comfortable’. You can adjust things per stand, but sometimes not. For example, you can adjust the shock absorbers in sport, but not in other modes. And the consumption on your display is again not possible in the relax mode. No shortcuts, no knobs on the steering wheel. As a result, you find yourself searching to pieces in the many menus. We still have a touchscreen and an iDrive button, which is great. But it is not enough to compete with the total confusion of the many screens and options that the car has in store for you.

Very beautiful, that cockpit.

That doesn’t sound ideal

No, that immediately brings us to the biggest complaint about the multimedia system. Or, more strongly, about the car as a whole, if there is a distinction at all. Because is this a car with a multimedia system, or a multimedia system around which a BMW is built? BMW OS 8.5 is a dizzying array of options, menus and personal choices, which are sometimes filled in for you by the car. The seat heating turns on, the selected temperature increases and the roof opens if you choose a different driving mode and before you have decided which way of clocking you want to see in the screen in front of you and your head-up display, you are a week later. The system is designed in such a way that it offers third parties the opportunity to function within the system. From video games to a search system for charging locations: the car retrieves it via your smartphone if desired and of course works smoothly with the my BMW app, in which you can also indicate your own preferences. Sometimes the car itself is also confused by the many options. For example, you can sometimes easily give a navigation command to the voice-controlled computer, but sometimes the lady suddenly refuses because your smartphone is connected. Something that was already the case 5 minutes earlier. After a full week and 1,000 kilometers we notice that you slowly become more connected to the car and most annoyances disappear. But it is clear that BMW wants to have a technological edge in a world that is increasingly less about the actual driving.

Tighter than we expected.

Now that it’s so big, can you sit comfortably in the back?

A sedan as a body style is almost old-fashioned these days in a world full of SUVs and crossovers, but the 5 Series will be one of the last Spartans to defend the motherland. With a wheelbase of 3 meters and a length of 5.06 meters, it is now a strikingly elongated car. The greater surprise is that it is not even an extremely spacious car in the back. Naturally, a large part of the length goes to the nose, where the six-cylinder is of course neatly behind the front axle. But we expected a little more for the knees. Fortunately, the seat itself is fabulous with sufficient headroom and individual climate control controls. The finish is of high quality and the silence on board is impressive. If you aren’t already blown away by the audio system, of course. The trunk offers a remarkable amount of space in terms of liters, but it is a deep and relatively narrow unit. Yet slightly different from previous generations.

Fortunately, there is still an iDrive button.

Let me guess: it’s not cheap?

Anyone who wants to shop cheaply should never visit a BMW dealer. But we still dare to claim that the all-in price of the test model is still better than expected at €107,000. The plug-in is helped by its low CO2 emissions on paper, which makes a significant difference in bpm. Of course, practical consumption has nothing to do with the paper value, no matter how often you plug in. If you do that right, you can go a long way with electricity. We consistently scored more than 70 kilometers, which means you can do everything except long journeys on electricity. And hey, if you occasionally use that straight-six during a sprint or merging, there won’t be a man left over, right? Without power, the car scored quite nicely for a mastodon with this power. This car succeeds remarkably well as a PHEV. Especially in times when we see less and less of the usefulness of plug-in hybrids because EVs are getting better and you carry around an unnecessary amount of technology, this BMW shows what it would look like in an ideal world. Yes, it is heavy, but all chassis techniques manage to avoid the annoyance. And it goes seriously far on power instead of models that cut out after 20-30 kilometers. The strength of the 550e is how flawlessly everything works together and how widely the car can be used while still going bizarrely fast around the corner. You do need a training camp to get through all the menus, but maybe we’re just getting old.