[mjr24]

Originally Posted by limeypride

Faster from a dig, yes, agreed--but that's xDrive and nothing more, though.

Is the 550 as fun to drive or as fast in every other respect? No, no way... that's not (mostly) subjective... it simply isn't. I understand that folks tend to bias their own choices but I feel I'm speaking from experience; here are my choices/cars over the past 7 years or so: 2 x F10 550i xDrives, 3 x F10 M5s, 2 x F06 M6 GCs, 1 x X5M, an RS7P and an E63S for good measure and 1 x F90 M5.

I disagree. It's more likely you're not in the target market for these cars. I've test-driven the G-series M550 a few times and it's very nice... and certainly surprisingly quick. But to compare it to the M5 is absurd; they're not remotely the same car nor are they intended for the same audience.

Correct, faster from a dig.....but I'm not racing the car from 60-120 or taking it up to 170. The M5 added power just isn't as big of a selling point to me as it was, in say, some of the older models when the second fastest model was way underpowered compared to the M variant. That being said, BMW's second fastest model in a series has also never been anywhere near as fast as the M variant until now.

I love that the new M5 is AWD. You just couldn't put that type of power down in the M6 effectively with RWD. Again, my posts are not an indictment of the M5. It's a great car. It's just more of a compliment to BMW setting the M550 up so nicely. Remember, a stock M550 was dyno'ed by Dinan and they said the stock engine really has something like 540 HP and 575 torque with 0-60 times at like 3.6 or so (and now it's already getting the M850 engine for 2020).

No doubt I miss the handling of the M car. It handles 10 times better and makes you feel much more secure. I also enjoyed the exclusivity the higher model M's brought (M5 and higher). I like the M550, but trust me, I'm not one who could ever consider it a real M car. There is definitely a difference and I almost want to pull the damn M badge off the trunk.

I'm not sure I fit in any particular target audience. I get rid of cars every 2 years and have don't really have a set need for a particular type. I drive what I think will be fun for two years. It might first be a M6 and then a convertible after that and an SUV after that. The M5's leased really poorly at first.....and to me, the exclusivity of the M5 was not worth almost double the price of the M550 in a lease when the M550 is 85 percent of the car the M5 is. My lease on my M6 was up at a bad time for cars......not much new was out.

My lease on my 550 is up in a few months and I've had issues deciding what to do. It seems all the other competitors are slow. The 2020 S7 is like 0-60 in 4.4. The CLS53 is the same.....I mean these cars cost more than the M550 and are ridiculously slower.