BMW 550e xDrive M Sport Pro - long-term review

Say it ain’t so, Joe. After six months, the 550e is departing the Top Gear Garage, and I am beyond bereft. It’s been a long time since I’ve adored a car more deeply.

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

This is a car that’ll spirit you across many countries in total comfort (and surprising economy: the range readout consistently underestimates how far you’ll actually go on a tank, a trait that’s 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’s a blast.

What a powertrain. Whether you’re a fan of plug-in hybrids or not, there’s an argument that – on a technical level – 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’t detract from the ICE’s brilliance. If anything, it enhances it.

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’s really taking their 5 Series on track? I’m not sure the M5’s (plug-in hybrid) V8 is any more epic than the 550e’s (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.

550e gripes? That you can’t directly control the hybrid set-up – ordering it to hold charge or run in pure EV mode, for example – remained a regular headache. The menus are a trifle baffling, though the iDrive wheel (sadly ditched for BMW’s new Neue Klasse cars) helped mitigate the frustration.

And I’ll admit, six months of salooning didn’t see me significantly warm to the saloon bodystyle. Maybe that’s just because I’m 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’t regularly find themselves transporting large objects might still occasionally find themselves transporting large objects, right?

If you’re investing in something on the sheer scale of a 550e, wouldn’t 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.

Forget aesthetics. If you had a 550e Touring, in black, on your driveway, I’m not sure you’d want for another car in your life, ever again. Hardly a budget solution to the ‘all the car you’d ever need’ brief, I admit, but at least it’s a whole lot cheaper than that M5.