{"id":1944987,"date":"2026-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1944987"},"modified":"2026-05-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T21:00:00","slug":"bmw-550e-xdrive-m-sport-pro-long-term-review-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1944987","title":{"rendered":"BMW 550e xDrive M Sport Pro – long-term review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Say it ain\u2019t so, Joe. After six months, the 550e is departing the Top Gear Garage, and I am beyond bereft. It\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve adored a car more deeply.<\/p>\n

True, all other things being equal, it\u2019s easier to fall for a 90-grand super-saloon than for, say, a 12-grand city EV. The 550e\u2019s charm is not hindered by the fact it\u2019s a fast, luxurious, expensively appointed executive car. But there are plenty of fast, luxurious, expensively appointed cars out there that don\u2019t linger long in the memory. The 550e\u2019s greatest trick is that \u2013 for such a big, complex, heavy machine \u2013 how engaging, how engrossing, how damn analogue<\/em> it feels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is a car that\u2019ll spirit you across many countries in total comfort (and surprising economy: the range readout consistently underestimates how far you\u2019ll actually go on a tank, a trait that\u2019s probably ultimately unhelpful but I found utterly charming), then serve up a proper laugh on the mountain road at the other end. Ice, snow, sun: whatever the conditions, it\u2019s a blast.<\/p>\n

What a powertrain. Whether you\u2019re a fan of plug-in hybrids or not, there\u2019s an argument that \u2013 on a technical level \u2013 this is one of the great modern set-ups. The twin-turbo six is, we know, an all-timer, but to teach it to play so nicely with the gearbox-mounted e-motor is a serious feat. Electrification doesn\u2019t detract from the ICE\u2019s brilliance. If anything, it enhances it.<\/p>\n

Would I take a 550e over an M5? Honestly, yes. Sure, the M-car might offer an extra 250-odd horsepower, but trust me: the 550e has more power than you could ever realistically deploy on the public road. A circuit might be a different matter, but who\u2019s really taking their 5 Series on track? I\u2019m not sure the M5\u2019s (plug-in hybrid) V8 is any more epic than the 550e\u2019s (plug-in hybrid) straight-six. And, specced in a discreet colour at least, the 550e fulfils the Q-car brief better than the somewhat thrusting M5.<\/p>\n

550e gripes? That you can\u2019t directly control the hybrid set-up \u2013 ordering it to hold charge or run in pure EV mode, for example \u2013 remained a regular headache. The menus are a trifle baffling, though the iDrive wheel (sadly ditched for BMW\u2019s new Neue Klasse cars) helped mitigate the frustration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"BMW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And I\u2019ll admit, six months of salooning didn\u2019t see me significantly warm to the saloon bodystyle. Maybe that\u2019s just because I\u2019m in that boring phase of family life where I regularly need to fill the back of a car with children, and the boot of a car with all their worldly possessions and\/or flatpack furniture. But even those who don\u2019t regularly find themselves transporting large objects might still occasionally<\/em> find themselves transporting large objects, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you\u2019re investing in something on the sheer scale of a 550e, wouldn\u2019t you drop the extra three grand to upgrade from saloon to estate? True, some might prefer the saloon on aesthetic grounds. If looks are your main consideration, I suspect a 5 Series might not be top of your shopping list anyhow.<\/p>\n

Forget aesthetics. If you had a 550e Touring, in black, on your driveway, I\u2019m not sure you\u2019d want for another car in your life, ever again. Hardly a budget solution to the \u2018all the car you\u2019d ever need\u2019 brief, I admit, but at least it\u2019s a whole lot cheaper than that M5.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Say it ain\u2019t so, Joe. After six months, the 550e is departing the Top Gear Garage, and I am beyond bereft. It\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve adored a car more deeply. True, all other things being equal, it\u2019s easier to fall for a 90-grand super-saloon than for, say, a 12-grand city EV. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1944987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1944987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1944987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1944987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1944987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}