[mtossb01]

Title. Basically I leased a 550e without driving it.

To me the throttle response seems horrible. In whatever the personal mode is, it is so slow to accelerate and just uses the electric motor.

Finally, the battery died and when it switched over to ICE it finally felt like the b58 I thought it would be.

I have an X5 and I have driven a X5 50e, and it felt much more natural.

I assumed the 550e would feel the same as the X5 50e.

Is there anything I can do to make it feel more like a 540i? Other than just not charging it?

I am thinking I can turn off the regenerative breaking. Also, if I turn off maintain charge. I would want the car to use exclusively b58 unless I need more power, at that point the electric motors could kick in.

Is it possible?

[Allerum]

Originally Posted by mtossb01

Title. Basically I leased a 550e without driving it.

To me the throttle response seems horrible. In whatever the personal mode is, it is so slow to accelerate and just uses the electric motor.

Finally, the battery died and when it switched over to ICE it finally felt like the b58 I thought it would be.

I have an X5 and I have driven a X5 50e, and it felt much more natural.

I assumed the 550e would feel the same as the X5 50e.

Is there anything I can do to make it feel more like a 540i? Other than just not charging it?

I am thinking I can turn off the regenerative breaking. Also, if I turn off maintain charge. I would want the car to use exclusively b58 unless I need more power, at that point the electric motors could kick in.

Is it possible?

Car and Driver tested it to do 4.4 0-60. So there is a setting your missing somewhere. You should have several options. And Sport mode should be ICE forward.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Allerum

Car and Driver tested it to do 4.4 0-60. So there is a setting your missing somewhere. You should have several options. And Sport mode should be ICE forward.

Agree. I owned a 330e M Sport for a year & 1/2 and put 31k mi on it in that time. The 330e has a little more total power output & is lighter, but it accelerated pretty quickly. It handled well, and was very enjoyable to drive. I'm assuming the OP hasn't taken the time to get to understand all the settings & drive modes.

[mtossb01]

Originally Posted by Allerum

Car and Driver tested it to do 4.4 0-60. So there is a setting your missing somewhere. You should have several options. And Sport mode should be ICE forward.

My battery is flat now, so I'm not sure which settings I should change.

I DEACTIVATED Electric, so I am assuming that the care should not default primary to electric and be so reluctant to turn on the ICE.

If i turn off adaptive recuperation I assume that there is no regenerative breaking?

If I turn on maintain batter charge- how does that affect the driving? Mostly ICE?

I would prefer to be able to use "personal" drive mode and not have to switch into sport mode every time I get into the car.

I guess I was thinking the driving dynamics would be more similar to the X5 50e, where the electric motors are at very low speed and then can be used at highway speed cruising.

Can anyone help explain how each of these settings affect driving dynamics?

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by mtossb01

Can anyone help explain how each of these settings affect driving dynamics?

Have you opened up the owner's manual and looked at the various settings for My Modes? It's been over a year since I traded my 330e, but I do recall being able to choose either electric only, hybrid, or engine only modes.

[BXMW]

In my XM in my modes you’ll see hybrid, electric and econtrol. Hybrid is your standard driving affair, electric is pure electric only mode and econtrol saves the battery charge and uses just the engine.. although with the later I do think some battery is being used but the gas engine is always regenerating what’s been used back into the battery pack.

I understand the XM is a very different vehicle but I would think the BMW plug in hybrids all share some similarities within the driving dynamics.

[NSXR]

Maybe contact the dealer that allowed you to pay for a car that you didn't drive.

[mtossb01]

Originally Posted by BXMW

In my XM in my modes you’ll see hybrid, electric and econtrol. Hybrid is your standard driving affair, electric is pure electric only mode and econtrol saves the battery charge and uses just the engine.. although with the later I do think some battery is being used but the gas engine is always regenerating what’s been used back into the battery pack.

I understand the XM is a very different vehicle but I would think the BMW plug in hybrids all share some similarities within the driving dynamics.

It doesn’t appear to be that simple on the 550e. My drive modes are Personal, Sport, Expressive, efficient, artistic. Basically Sport I think drives in full hybrid mode, but also holds revs a bit higher than I would want for regular commuting. Then, I don’t see options for transmission timing, only option for drivetrain. I can set that to comfort, but then I feel more bias from the electric motors.

My main question is on this menu: do you have this on your XM?

[STi from DSM]

Get rid of it. Life is too short to be stuck in a car you don't like. Yes, you will lose money on it, but lesson learned. Unless you are 100% certain about a car always drive it first.
Just be prepared to pay more money to pay off the negative equity on the next one you choose.