2007 BMW 550i vs. Infiniti M45, Lexus GS450h, MB E550 - Comparison Tests - Car and Driver
In 1976, country bard Tom T. Hall summarized the fundamental needs of men advancing into what is politely called middle age. The song was "Faster Horses," and Hall's refrain boiled life down to the four essentials of the slightly older guy:. "It's faster horses,. The contestants in this comparison seem the equivalent of the faster horses in Hall's hedonistic lament. In this context, we're talking faster than the rest of the herd, or at least most of it. The guys who pop for rides such as these aren't necessarily interested in going faster down twisty lanes less traveled. High lateral g and brisk transient response are all very well, but what really matters is a herd of thoroughbred ponies — faster ponies — under the hood of an upscale sedan that looks like an upscale sedan. None of that Benz S-class or BMW 7-series stuff, rides that make the stockholders nervous. Just a little hedonism — with enough juice under that right-foot faucet to make it interesting. We found four horses that seem to answer this set of needs very well. They're not sports sedans in the sense of the real tigers in this size class: the BMW M5, the Mercedes E63 AMG. And three of them really are faster. The BMW 550i, for example, got a new and more potent 4. 8-liter V-8 for 2006. Shared with the 7-series sedan, it replaced the previously employed 4. 4-liter in the 545i and bumps output. Source: www.caranddriver.com
