550i driven 1700 miles in Europe

I will be getting USA delivery of the 550i w/Sport Pkg in 2 weeks - but had 10 days of great driving around Europe.

Context: Living in RI, I also am leasing an '07 328xi on which my wife and I have put over 14K miles in about 6 months. These are our 2 first BMWs. The 550i is my retirement gift to myself and I have it really loaded up w/options.

The other extensive 550i review here is excellent. I'll try to add only what doesn't seem to be covered. That comparison between 535 and 550 is pretty on the spot I think. I test drove a 535 also(after buying my 550i).

Handling & ride: Only thing I'd modify from the other review is that my opinion of 550i ride is it's very smooth & not as harsh as I expected (with sport package and 19" wheels). We'll see how it rides on New England rough roads but I was impressed - not as "bouncy" or rough as I'd feared. I will be putting on snow tires for winter however. Rock solid at 120+ mph in Europe.

Engine Power: Just as other review stated. On demand, superior torque to the 535 (I've seen the graphs - 535 only has equal torque to 550 at very low RPMs... while the 535 hits the max 300 ft-lbs around 1700 rpm and keeps that almost up to redline, the 550i torque continues to increase until about 4500 rpms and remains higher than 535 at all RPMs). In France I had it up to 133 mph and it was very willing to go faster.

Transmission: I have the optional "Sport Automatic" with shift paddles.... for more detailed discussion of how this works please search on bimmerfest or e60 forums online... others have great write-ups on it. It is simply fantastic! Pushing the "sport button" behind the shift lever really transforms the car's performance (steering more responsive, shifts even FASTER and RPMs kept in optimum range for torque). About 4-5 different modes available when considering the shift lever position (left or right) and sport button (pushed or not) and shift paddles (used or not).

Interior / Ergonomics / Electronics:
- Can't say enough good things about the 20-way "comfort" seats that come standard with the 550i sport package - simply the best seats in an automobile I've ever seen / felt! I got the optional nasca leather / ventilated seats which can be used with or without seat heating too.
- iDrive and wheel buttons / voice commands have improved quite a bit and are very intuitive to use once you own the car for about a week or 2.
- HUD is terrific, especially with active cruise control and navigation (see your NAV directions on the HUD!). But it would be nice to see graph of RPMs on HUD -- BMW make this improvement!
- Night Vision. This is the infra-red image of what's ahead, displayed on iDrive screen. Somewhat of a gimmick but will try to use it more once I have it in the States. Need to keep the scan moving & not fixate on the display but use it with quick glances for safety.
- Active Cruise Control. Amazed how well this works - radar measures distance & closure of car in front & modulates throttle & brake to keep a pre-set distance... even in stop&go traffic!
- Bluetooth works great with most phones, certainly w/my Blackberry 8300 world edition.
- iPOD adaptor (a $400 or so option (6FL) is highly worth it - with MY08 you can now see your iPOD playlists on the iDrive screen & control it with the car's iDrive knob) - plus it charges the iPOD too!

LOOKS: Judge for yourself, but I think the sport pkg is awesome, and I love the type 172 wheels (19" low profile, non runflat tires).