Quote:
Originally Posted by WISluggo
Quote:
Originally Posted by snowbimmer
So much to unpack here. I've been through the full run: F10 550, G30 M550, F90 M5, F90 LCI M5Comp, M850. Part was from the natural progression of ownership, part from searching for the elusive unicorn car.
M550 is a nice riding car. The M5 is faster and better handling, but you give up some comfort in the suspension.
I loved my G30 M550. Until the F90 M5 came out. Then I got it bad and had to have one. Within 6 months I was in a 2019 Base M5. Major step up. And the price difference of a full M car is worth every dollar. But the ride drove me to turn it in for the LCI M5 Comp with the new suspension upgrades. Big improvement.
When I went from my M550 to the M5, my friend went from a 540 to an LCI M550. Then I went to the LCI M5C. I finally drove his M550 - and at 523 hp you can still leave most people behind. It also got me thinking about an M850. I still eventually wanted an M8, but now all you can get is MSRP, there was a nice price increase and the cost of money is going thru the roof. I didn't want to even try to order one now, so when an M850 popped up at my dealer, I snagged it. Got a good deal, I'm in an 8, it has 523 hp, locked in long term cheap money, is fabulous around town and spectacular on long trips. It's just a fancier version of an M550 - maybe.
Hopefully you would be lucky enough to drive both. But, even though it may cost a bit more, I would only look at the LCI M550 (get that extra hp, less M5 envy) or an LCI M5 Comp ( because the suspension is so much better.
I ran across this thread on the 5 forum. I totally get where he's coming from. Its a good read. https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1935309
Good luck.
 |
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write this up and sharing your thoughts. Because I live in WI with awful roads, it has me second guessing the pre LCI M5 comp that caught my eye. I'm not going to track the car, so maybe a base M5 would be the better alignment of my use, my environment, and my budget.
I also caught myself looking at a newer m550. I probably can't make a wrong choice, but I can make a more better one.  |
Some excellent guidance by snowbimmer here, covering all the bases, to be honest. I'd only add--as a former M Performance model owner, who has great respect for that entire line--that stepping into an M really is stepping into a different realm in terms of handling, composure, precision, and (more emotionally) outright charisma. The romance of ploughing down a twisty back road and feeling a 2-tonne saloon shrink around you, with all the chassis-level encouragement that you could ever want, might not matter to you. But if there's a chance--however slim--that it might, and if you're not financially overburdening yourself, then take a look at a pre-LCI M5 comp. Drive one for yourself before you absorb too many of the complaints about the supposedly harsh ride, many of which seemed overstated as soon as I drove mine (and I'm in the UK with potholed roads everywhere!). It all depends, of course, on what counts as firm/pliant to you; and it depends too on how much mixed daily driving at low/residential speeds you expect to be doing. But the combination of composure and capability (to say nothing of the engine note) immediately made any worries about ride quality dissolve for me. For you guys in the US, I don't think the engine note changed so drastically with the LCI as it did for us in Europe; and again, the difference between the V8 registers across the 550i/M5/pre vs post-LCI range mightn't be a concern for you. But it's worth checking out, if you can see examples in person.
Good luck, anyway, with your decision: as folks have already said here, both options are terrific, each having their own unique advantages. I suppose that, ultimately, it's worth bearing in mind that the leap from M Performance to M isn't just a cliched assertion belonging to aficionados alone; rather, it really is tangible--and transformative. None of that detracts from how superb M Performance variants are, particularly in this latest generation of offerings, which is perhaps a testament to how good something like the 550 is in its own right.