Long-Term Car Review Introduction: 2011 BMW 550i xDrive Sedan - AutoWeek
If there's a midsize sports sedan standing above the rest, one could argue that it is BMW's 5-series. That there was a new 5-series last year would also give us a chance to see how all of the changes BMW made would hold up over the long haul. Because rather than snap up one of the first cars off the boat, we waited several months so we could take delivery of one of the first all-wheel-drive models to come to the United States, the main market for the AWD version. We started with a 550i xDrive sedan with a base price of $62,875. It comes with oodles of standard equipment, including adaptive headlamps, a moonroof, automatic climate control, navigation system and rain-sensing wipers. To that we added a bunch of options we simply could not live without, such as the Dynamic Handling package (including adaptive drive, dynamic suspension control, active roll stabilization). Premium 2 package, including rearview camera, power rear sunshade, heated front seats, iPod and USB adapter, satellite radio and premium audio. the Sport package, with 19-inch W-spoke alloy wheels, leather steering wheel and multicontour seats. a cold-weather package, including a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats. The BMW will hit 60 mph in 4. 5 seconds, and the quarter-mile takes 12. 8 seconds at 111 mph, so no one on staff is complaining about it being slow. Source: autoweek.com
