LONG-TERMERS

It’s an M-badged 5-series, but it isn’t an M5. Yet first impressions of our newest Fast Fleet arrival suggest it may not leave you hankering for more

This month we welcome a BMW M550i xdrive, a Cupra Formentor 310 and a Volkswagen T-roc R to the Fast Fleet, while Adam Towler says hello to better handling for his Porsche 996 Carrera

SOMEWHERE IN THE HMI OF THE M550i there’s probably a tutorial to help you work through its many systems so you can ‘unleash the full potential of your new BMW’. The amount of tech crammed into today’s high-end cars is staggering, and that’s before options, and our new long-term-test BMW has an awful lot of options, including the Technology Plus Pack (£5k). Altogether they add just short of £20k to the list price of just over £70k, which makes our M550i about £10k shy of ‘the real thing’, an M5 Competition (before options, obviously!).

You can just get in and drive though, which allows you to get a feel for the character of a car that shares a lot with the M5 but is positioned between the icon and the rest of the range. The M550i is new to the UK but has existed in other markets for

a few years, and it looks like a compelling package. You get a less potent version of the 4.4-litre twinturbo V8, the same tune used in the 850i, but that still means a thumping 523bhp. The M5 has almost 100bhp more but, heck, first time I got my toe in, the M550i felt epically accelerative, probably because its engine matches the monster torque of the M5’s with 553lb ft available from 1800rpm.

It seems to have more traditional V8 rumble, too, which I thoroughly approve of, even if it is confected character that’s piped in through the speakers. The tell is the moment after start-up, when it sounds more Ferrari 488 than big-block Chevy. Thereafter, what sound there is – just a very muted pulse on a light throttle – suggests a traditional V8 rather than the flat-plane-crank type it actually is.

What you can’t do with the M550i that you can do in the M5 is configure the xdrive for rear-wheel drive only. I’m not sure I’m going to crave that feature because I’m not sure I’d ever use it much in the M5 either, at least not on the road. This is because, as it appears in pictures, the current 5-series is a big car, and a heavy one too; both the M550i and M5 are almost 2000kg before you add passengers. That’s a lot of car to be teasing.

The other reason is that I’m not yet at one with the steering. It feels connected and there’s some feedback but, just a few hundred miles in, steering input and output don’t seem to quite tally up. This may be because another of our car’s options is ‘Adaptive M Suspension Professional’. The M550i comes with adaptive M dampers as standard; the ‘Professional’ bit adds active roll control and rear steer, either or both of which could be responsible for the slightly out-of-register feel. They both sound like useful features, containing roll and adding some agility/stability, but can create a slightly artificial feel.

Generally, the M550i feels confident and poised, and rides calmly and comfortably too. There are tweaking opportunities via the centre console mode switch: Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Adaptive. I still need to delve into those to see what tailoring opportunities there are. One bit of the HMI I have used (because it’s at the top of a menu) shows average mpg for the miles covered that day, and so far this hasn’t dipped below 20mpg, which I think is good.

One option that I’m in love with already is the Bowers & Wilkins ‘Diamond’ surround sound system. The sound quality is stunning. It costs £2500 and replaces a Harman Kardon set-up that I’m sure isn’t too shoddy. It features 16 speakers, including tweeters in the A-pillars that use synthetic diamonds – hence the system’s name. Listening to 6Music on DAB, the DJS sound like they are in the car with you or, rather, that the car is their studio. This is another feature that I’ll be digging into because I want to know how the optional soundscapes compare: Studio, Concert, Onstage, Cinema and Lounge. And speaking of cinema,

at night there’s a wonderful cinema-like feel to the cabin, the door speakers lit in pale blue while thin light strips in the door rolls and facia bathe the rest of the interior with a diffuse, red light. It feels like a special place to be, and sounds like it too.

It might not be ‘the real thing’, but I think the M550i might prove to be just as compelling in its own way, blending everyday comfort with huge performance. There’s lots still to discover, but I’ve always been a sucker for a big car with big performance, always enjoyed the unique, epic feel of lots of power moving lots of mass. For me, the fact that it’s more discreet than an M5 only adds to its appeal.

John Barker (@evojb)

Date acquired January 2021 Total mileage 3480 Mileage this month 501 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 20.8