There was a time in my life when an SUV meant a Chevy Blazer, an International Scout or, more often than not, a Ford Bronco. They lived on farms, construction sites or in the high school parking lot where the shop teacher somehow always managed to own the coolest vehicle on campus.
Today? They’re everywhere.
They’re called SUVs, crossovers, CUVs, “utes” if you’ve spent too much time drinking skinny lattes, or simply “cars.” They’re what fill suburban driveways, Costco parking lots and every soccer field in America on Saturday morning.
I’ll admit it. I’ve been swept along with everyone else.
Once upon a time, a car meant exactly that. Four wheels. Four doors if you had kids. Two if you were having a midlife crisis. A trunk big enough for groceries. Or, if you were a movie mob boss, a Cadillac with room for “unfinished business.”
Somewhere along the way we stopped buying sedans and convinced ourselves we needed something taller, heavier and capable of climbing Mount Everest despite spending 99.8 percent of its life commuting to Target.
I’d almost forgotten what a proper sedan felt like.
Then BMW dropped off a 2026 550e xDrive for me.
An honest-to-goodness sedan.
And within about three miles I remembered exactly why these things ruled the automotive world for decades.
The BMW 5 Series has been the middle child of Munich’s luxury family for nearly half a century. Not as youthful as the 3 Series. Not as stately as the 7 Series. Instead, it’s always been the Goldilocks BMW. Big enough to be comfortable. Small enough to enjoy. Expensive enough to impress the neighbors without making them think you won the lottery.
This particular version happens to be a plug-in hybrid, although calling attention to that almost feels unnecessary.
Sure, it’ll travel roughly 30 miles on electricity alone, enough for the average commute if you’re diligent about plugging it in every night. But let’s be honest. That feels less like BMW suddenly hugging trees and more like the Germans giving regulators a polite nod before getting back to building something that can embarrass sports cars.
Combined, the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and electric motor produce 483 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque.
Those are numbers that would have belonged exclusively to exotic machinery not all that long ago.
Plant your right foot and the 550e doesn’t accelerate so much as relocate.
BMW says it’ll reach 60 mph in around four seconds. In the real world it feels even quicker because electric torque arrives instantly while the silky inline-six joins the party without any awkward introductions. The eight-speed automatic disappears into the background doing exactly what every good transmission should do: absolutely nothing noticeable.
The result is effortless speed.
Need to pass someone?
Done.
Merge onto the interstate?
Done before you’ve even finished checking your mirrors.
Yet what’s remarkable isn’t just how quick the 550e is.
It’s how civilized it remains while doing it.
The cabin is whisper quiet. Road imperfections disappear beneath the suspension with an almost arrogant confidence. The optional Dynamic Handling Package keeps nearly two-and-a-half tons of luxury sedan feeling improbably composed when the road starts twisting.
No, it isn’t as playful as the legendary E39 5 Series that enthusiasts still talk about with misty eyes. Physics eventually catches up with everyone, and the modern 5 Series has gained enough size and weight over the years that you occasionally notice it. The steering, while accurate, lacks some of the rich communication older BMWs practically invented.
But compared to almost everything else on the road today, it still feels wonderfully alive. And that’s something becoming increasingly rare.
Inside, BMW continues its obsession with technology.
The sweeping curved display dominates the dashboard and the graphics are among the best in the business. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work flawlessly, the available head-up display is outstanding, and every imaginable driver assistance feature seems to be included.
Unfortunately, someone in Munich also decided glossy black plastic was a luxury material.
It isn’t.
It’s a fingerprint collector that looks fantastic for approximately seven seconds after you’ve cleaned it. Then it resembles the touchscreen on a five-year-old iPad in an elementary school classroom.
There are also far too many functions buried inside menus.
Want to adjust something simple? Better start swiping.
BMW has made great strides with its latest iDrive system, but sometimes a knob is still just a better idea than another submenu.
My tester started at $73,400.
Once BMW sprinkled on Merino leather, the M Sport Package, Dynamic Handling Package, Executive Package, Driving Assistance features, heated and ventilated seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel and the illuminated Iconic Glow kidney grille, the window sticker climbed to $82,600.
That’s serious money.
Then again, serious luxury sedans have never been bargain purchases.
Fuel economy is another pleasant surprise. Keep the battery charged and short trips may never require gasoline at all. Forget to plug it in and you’re essentially hauling around several hundred pounds of battery that become little more than expensive luggage.
That’s one of the unavoidable compromises with plug-in hybrids.
They’re brilliant if you actually plug them in.
If you don’t, you’re carrying technology you paid dearly for but rarely use.
Which brings me to perhaps the biggest irony surrounding the 550e.
Plug-in hybrids suddenly feel like yesterday’s future.
A few years ago they were being hailed as the perfect bridge between gasoline and full electric vehicles. Now, with governments changing priorities and consumer enthusiasm cooling, the market has become far less certain.
None of that changes one simple fact.
This is still an outstanding automobile.
More importantly, it reminded me why sedans became the benchmark in the first place.
You sit lower.
You feel connected to the road instead of towering above it.
You carve through corners instead of leaning over them.
You don’t need oversized tires, a ladder to climb aboard or a suspension designed to survive crossing the Serengeti.
You simply drive.
Maybe America has fallen hopelessly in love with SUVs.
Maybe the sedan’s glory days are behind it. But after spending a week with BMW’s 550e xDrive, I’m beginning to think we didn’t move on because SUVs became better.
We moved on because we forgot just how good a proper sedan could be.
And that’s a shame.
Because this BMW is very, very good indeed.
The 2026 BMW 550e xDrive
MSRP: $73,400
MSRP (as tested): $ 82,600
Engine: 3.0-liter hybrid 483 horsepower, 516 lb. ft torque
Transmission: 8-speed shiftable automatic
Fuel Mileage: (EPA): 68 MPGe, 25 MPG gas only
Base Curb weight: 4,894 lbs.
Exterior Dimensions
Length: 199.2 in.
Overall width with mirrors: 84.9 in.
Overall width without mirrors: 74.8 in.
Ground clearance: 5.7 in.
Height: 59.6 in.
Wheelbase: 117.9 in.
Interior Dimensions
Front head room: 38.8 in.
Front leg room: 41.3 in.
Front shoulder room: 59.2 in
Rear head room: 37.5 in.
Rear leg room: 36.5 in.
Rear shoulder room: 56.9 in.
Cargo capacity, all seats in place: 18.4 cu.ft.
Warranty
4 Basic Years / 50,000 Basic Miles
4 Drivetrain Years / 50,000 Drivetrain Miles
12 Corrosion Years / Unlimited Corrosion Miles
8 Hybrid/Electric Components Years / 80,000 Hybrid/Electric Components Miles
4 Roadside Assistance Years / Unlimited Roadside Assistance Miles
3 Maintenance Years / 36,000 Maintenance Miles
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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Greg Engle
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