Vehicle: 2010 BMW 550i GT with Technology Pkg, Sport Pkg, Dynamic Handling Pkg, Executive Pkg and Rear Comfort Seat
Price as tested: CDN$95750

Peformance: The 5-Series GT is currently only powered by one powertrain in Canadian market, until the turbocharged 3.0 liter straight-6 comes along as 535i with its sedan silibing. This is the same twin-turbocharged DOHC 32-valve 4.4 liter V8 as in the 750Li we drove last year. It comes a hosts of technologies like Double VANOS variable valve timing for both intake and exhaust valves. That comes to a healthy 400 horses and 450 lb/ft of torque at driver’s right foot. While its engine refinement and smoothness are right alongside with BMW’s usual high standards, the amount of turbo lag created by this twin-turbo V8 remains pretty annoying. Its not that its as annoying as those old-school Japanese turbo sports compact but certainly annoying considering this is a luxury car costing close to 100 grand. Even with the help of its advanced 8-speed Steptronic, which have proper gear ratios for all occassions. The only time you can get rid of those annoying turbo lag is to use the manumatic mode, which let the driver control whenever rpm they prefer to be in. Any driver can drop any gears on the paddle shifters are smart move on BMW’s regard, whenever they need to enter a corner.

Handling: Its very well-known that BMW has been producing exceptional chassis, the same goes for the latest 5-Series. But its not everyone know the latest 5-Series chassis is a revised 7-Series, which introduced last year. By using the larger chassis as underpinnings, it creates a larger interior which has always been 5-Series’s largest criticism since its early days. Even if the 550i GT has BMW’s hallmark 50/50 weight distribution with its rear-drive configuration, its still hard to compensate the fact that this is a jacked-up 5-Series or a lowered X6. Thankfully, our tester doesn’t come with BMW’s artifical Active Steering which changes steering ratio inconsistently. We are delightful that its steering precision and responsiveness are typical BMW, with right feel and feedback. That makes for a better compromise than the vague and numb steering on the X6. The slightly elevated driving position has exaggerated body rolls and understeer when pushed the GT hard into a corner. But as with driving experience goes, its as composed as any BMW we have ever driven. The sports suspension is firm and supple without feeling harsh. It absorbs all the bumps and roughness with ease.

Brakes: Even if we aren’t exactly fond of GT’s turbo lag or dynamic capabilites, its braking performance is certainly live up to BMW usual high standards. The 4-wheel discs with standard ABS have produced a firm and solid braking performance. The stopping distance is short, while the pedal always feels firm and solid. Even after a couple of hard stops, it doesn’t exhibit any fades. The icing on the cake is the ABS system which never steps in unnecessarily.

Interior: The biggest highlight of the whole 5-Series GT is the dual cargo area. Press one button, you can open the bottom half to stow in small items. Press the button on the right, you open up the whole hatch for maximum luggage capacity. That also means one huge drawback to the whole GT concept, that’s the huge blind spot when backing up. Without the help of a back-up camera and parking sensors, one can hardly live with the GT. In terms of cargo space, its amazing when opening up the whole hatchback. But the lower portion needs anyone to lower themselves to load small item is a pretty stupid design.

Thanks to revised 7-Series chassis, GT got the amount of leg and headroom unheard of in any of the previous 5-Series.

The biggest benefit of the revised 7-Series chassis is the amount of head and legroom at the back of GT. It got limo-like legroom which is unheard of in any previous 5-Series, its also luxurious enough with seperate rear climate control.

On the front, it got nice of plastic and leather materials on both dashboard and door panels. The latest version of i-Drive has been much improved with more initutive than the original version. The instumentation gauges are typical BMW, which means clear and analog.

But when it comes to fit-and-finish, it lives up to its billing “for the most parts”. While the use of materials are certainly up to the standards set by its price range, there are plenty of rattles on the wood trim panels. The same goes for the rear armrest, which have a loose hinge due to broken screws That explains why the rear armrest doesn’t close properly while front center armrest needs a huge slam for a soft closing. BMW quality is going downhill definitely, its going downhill fast and furious.

Conclusion: Just like the X6, 5-Series GT is another pointless vehicle created by BMW. Its not only it has a controversial looks, its cargo space isn’t as spacious as 5-Series Touring but lack the driving experience of a 5-Series sedan. Perhaps BMW is having so much fun on creating pointless segment, there are rumors that next 3-Series will be coming out with another GT.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 BMW 550i GT
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 2/5

Overall rating: 3/5