Picked up a 550xi (Impressions and pics)

[RezF]

Today I picked up a MY11 550xi in Dark Graphite/Black Dakota with Anthracite wood.
The car has the regular 8 speed transmission and ALL options except rear entetainment and Nappa leather. I am really excited about active cruise and night vision.
FWIW, my car did not have the 6VC combox labeled in the window sticker or in the build order. However, I do believe I have it because:
1) I get album cover art
2) I can stream audio through my phone's bluetooth (iphone 4)
3) Mobile office is an option in the iDrive
4) My CA said the old "BMW forgot to put the iPod cable in the car so instead I put one in for you" LOL

First on the iDrive. It is much more detailed than my previous iDrive X5 with nested folders within options. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the hang of it, it is quite easy to use. For example, I just found out that within each feature (Radio, Nav, Telephone, etc) if you hit the OPTION button you gain entry into various customizable features. I had to play around to get the BT audio streaming to work using the OPTION button within Bluetooth
NAV is great with automatic adjusting between day sky and night sky as the outside lighting changes. I have yet to see 3D buildings, but the perspective map is a much improvement over my 2008 X5

Ride: Very comfortable for everyday driving. I had it on normal at first then in comfort mode. Steering is a bit more numb than I had been used to in BMWs but still more direct than anything else out there. When I pressed the SPORT button, the car instantly transformed into a beast. Steering tightened up, gears changed much later and I swear it felt like it gained 50hp

Ambience lighting is AWESOMe and quite soothing at night

I hooked up the iphone through my iPOD adapter and sound quality is awesome, although I am no audiophile. Cover art is cool! BT streaming in audio worked fine for my 20 minute drive with no hickups. HOWEVER, cover art and song titles and genre, albums, are not available on iDrive using BT streaming. You can only change tracks and adjust volume using the car

Exterior: The daytime running lights are much brighter than the older urine yellow ones. So they are LEDs...however, not the round little ones like Range or Audis. M Sport fascia makes the car look mean and aggressive....a very nice visual cue

Interior: My only gripe is the instrument cluster is not all LCD, like in the 7 series. They are full analog gauges; however, elements within the cluster are LCD (i.e. brake regenration monitor and the redline in the RPM. So when you sit in the car without the keyfob inserted, you can still see the speedo gauages, whereas in the 7 series, the entire display is black until the key is inserted. The instrument cluster has an additional LCD display which shows the current audio mode and track name
Steering wheel (M) is fantastic. The steerig controls are a bit different than in my X5, so it will get a little getting used to. I did order the heated steering wheel, but on quick glance could not locate it on the steering weel. The advance button to go to next track is now in a thumb ball format like in Audis. My previous BMW had arrow up and down on the steering wheel to change tracks or FM stations

Technology

LOVE LOVE LOVE the active cruise control. I set it to 70mph in the rush hour in the beltway in washington DC and never had to press the gas or the brake pedals

I also love the night vision. I understand when most folks say it is a gadget that will lose its usefulness after the first month. But I actually look forward to constantly using it as we have a major deer problem in our area. When I played with it tonight, it did a fantastic job picking up pedestrians (highlighted in yellow) on the black and white crystal clear display

Cameras: Side and rear and TOP.....What else can I say....very neat!!!

now some pictures

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/side.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/front.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/daytime.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/daytime1.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/anthracite.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/navnightview.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/coverart.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/steeringwheel.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/nnightvision.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/f10%20550xi/sidecam.jpg

I will, hopefully be asking some questions and I didn't want to appear as a leach and not contribute. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have
Thanks
RezF

[markl53]

Congrats! Oh, the picture quality doesn't do it justice -- maybe you can try again when you have time. I have a pretty basic 535i but all in all, the F10 is one fine automobile! I'm in Gaithersburg, driving the "bad" commute to Va, maybe I'll see you on 270. I've been taking Metro twice a week to keep mileage down. Good luck with the car and enjoy!

[Needsdecaf]

You DC metro guys have to set up a GTG so I can drool over your cars and decide how I'm going to order mine. LOL.

VERY nice.

[bfv]

Congratulations!

Your joy (should I say...pure joy) is expressed as subtle shaking in the pictures !:bigpimp:

How do you see navigation panel when night vision is on?

[RezF]

Congratulations!

Your joy (should I say...pure joy) is expressed as subtle shaking in the pictures !:bigpimp:

How do you see navigation panel when night vision is on?

LOL...it is my iphone camera in low lighting
Nav will def be displayed in HUD
As for iDrive and Night Vision, I would assume in the split screen it would show NAV if you set it

On another note, I definitely do NOT see a heat button on the steering wheel, even though the build order has it as part of CWP. I will look more into it. I hope it isn't buried somewhere in the climate section of idrive. That would be very inconvenient to get to

[NewbimmerMD]

LOL...it is my iphone camera in low lighting
Nav will def be displayed in HUD
As for iDrive and Night Vision, I would assume in the split screen it would show NAV if you set it

On another note, I definitely do NOT see a heat button on the steering wheel, even though the build order has it as part of CWP. I will look more into it. I hope it isn't buried somewhere in the climate section of idrive. That would be very inconvenient to get to

Your heated steering button should be on the L hand side of the steering column in front of the electric adjustment button. Push to turn it on. BTW great looking car. Sophisto Grey is the best !

[johnbmw6]

Really nice car.
Nice write -up poor pictures, get some good ones posted up.
Whats the performance like please?, mines on order( M-Sport 550i ):thumbup:

[RNarang]

Looks great! I cant wait for mine to arrive. I did the European Delivery program and expect to take redelivery within the next 1.5 weeks. Can anyone confirm which grill this car has? See these grill pictures for reference. Picture 1 has chrome slats with silver sides. Picture 2 has chrome slats with black sides.

[RezF]

First one is def M-Sport grill

[markl53]

Sophisto Grey is the best !

Well, some of us say Black Sapphire is best, LOL. :thumbup:

[markl53]

Looks great! I cant wait for mine to arrive. I did the European Delivery program and expect to take redelivery within the next 1.5 weeks. Can anyone confirm which grill this car has? Picture 1 has chrome slats with silver sides. Picture 2 has chrome slats with black sides.

Two different cars. It would appear from your pics that the M Sport version has silver-sided slats while the non-M's have the black sides (like my non-M 535i).

[Needsdecaf]

Two different cars. It would appear from your pics that the M Sport version has silver-sided slats while the non-M's have the black sides (like my non-M 535i).

It would appear, though, that the OP's car (M-Sport) has the chrome / black slats, though. :eeps:

[RNarang]

It would appear, though, that the OP's car (M-Sport) has the chrome / black slats, though. :eeps:

That what I was thinking. :dunno: BTW, the first picture is my car. 550xi M Sport.

[Needsdecaf]

That what I was thinking. :dunno: BTW, the first picture is my car. 550xi M Sport.

That's what I thought. I remember the pics you posted a while back.

Looks like the grilles are different from your car to the OP's car. :dunno:

[RNarang]

Maybe the OP will chime in on this

[Raarco]

Can you tell if you used the y cable or the standard iPod cable for your hookup ?


Sent from my iPhone using BimmerApp

[vortexx]

Two different cars. It would appear from your pics that the M Sport version has silver-sided slats while the non-M's have the black sides (like my non-M 535i).

The grill color has nothing to do with M-Sport. Grill color is related to the engine designation. 550's have silver slats in the grill, 535's have black. This is also true on several other BMW models, including the X5.

[markl53]

The grill color has nothing to do with M-Sport. Grill color is related to the engine designation. 550's have silver slats in the grill, 535's have black. This is also true on several other BMW models, including the X5.

Thanks for clearing that up, I had forgotten about the different color slats.

[pharding]

The perspective view map in the night time mode is different than my July build 550i. The maps have better colors on the September 2010 builds and beyond in comparison to the original maps.

The M-Sport wheels are quite beautiful.

[MooseF10]

Here are the different slats on the grill. Car on the left is a 550 and right is a 535.

[markl53]

Here are the different slats on the grill. Car on the left is a 550 and right is a 535.

According to the wheels, the one on the right actually looks like a 528i. The grill is probably the same used on the 535i.

[eyesight1]

Congrats on the beautiful car. The pictures don't do it justice. Take it into the bright but overcast light and get a real camera on a tripod to do it right!

[RezF]

Maybe the OP will chime in on this

I looked at mine and I don't believe my slats are as wide as in the other person's picture. It appears to me that his is much wider chrome slats. It could be because I have active cruise control on mine...
It's hard to tell from his picture

[RNarang]

The grill color has nothing to do with M-Sport. Grill color is related to the engine designation. 550's have silver slats in the grill, 535's have black. This is also true on several other BMW models, including the X5.

I am aware the grill is different on a 550 vs. 535. The OP's car is a 550i M Sport so why does it have a 535 grill with black slats?

[RezF]

I am aware the grill is different on a 550 vs. 535. The OP's car is a 550i M Sport so why does it have a 535 grill with black slats?

As I said, it is likely due to the fact that I have active cruise control

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u76/rezf_photo/photo-14.jpg

[e90eric]

Night vision camera is behind the grill, you can see it on the right in this picture. Active cruise control uses a flat square looking sensor on the lower part of the front bumper in the center.

[RNarang]

Does the grill with black slats (instead of silver) looks better on sophisto?

[RezF]

Does the grill with black slats (instead of silver) looks better on sophisto?

I think so...especially with the M-Sport front dam

[e60lover]

Looks great! Hope you're loving this color as much as I am.