RNBRAD

You like the engine now, wait till you get around 1000 miles on it. On the open highway it should get 24mpg pretty steady. It is a gas guzzler though if you can't keep off the throttle and I know, it is hard. The 550 is very impressive!!

Tjdehya

"Horrible turbo lag" is obviously in comparrison to the "ZERO tubo lag" that I currently have on my E550.

BenzE350

Spin Control.

Tjdehya

I am not quite positive what you mean by that but let me quote myself to help you out.I said this before and I will say it again... I didn’t but my car for the 384hp at the top I bought it for the HP available at the bottom.

IMO
E550 HP/torque low rpm > BMW HP/torque low rpm
E550 HP/torque high rpm < BMW HP/torque high rpm

Also I didn’t dive the V6, and I was talking about the V8. I have no idea how the BMW TT V6 stocks up to the BMW V8 or the V8 that I currently drive. I have never driven any other car with turbo. So yes the BMW TT V8 that I drove is pathetic/horrible when compared to the V8 that I currently drive. The V6 TT that you drove might be comparable to the V6 that you currently drive, but I have no Idea how you can chime in on what I experienced with the V8 when you have never driven the V8.

BenzE350

Spin Control.

mbfoup

As Tjdehya stated, my experience with the BMW was disappointing. Turbo lag may be a factor but I suspect there is more. A 4.4L V8, even with a turbo, should take off from 3500 RPM when you floor it. It's almost like if the TT was actually impairing the car at "low" revs (by low I mean 3..4K). Or perhaps there is some dummy electronic/drive-by-wire/firmware/EPA-limiter crap in between that tempers the driver actions.

It's really too bad because the 550i has a better gear box and, with only 18HP more, accelerates faster (o-60) than the 250-lbs lighter E550.

But for everyday driving when one wants to floor the car at random times or even at "prepared" times (by first downshifting to hover at 3..4K RPM), the BMW reaction is very disappointing during the first 1 or 2 seconds: you hear lots of noise, the beast is revving to 6K but it seems the engine is "decoupled" from the transmission because you feel no kick. Power will come but, to me, too late.

I can only hope MB will nail this better. I would understand a 2-Litter TT to feel "empty" at low revs but a 4+ Litter V8 should never feel that way.

kingofire

^^ I get this feeling that it has a lot to do with their drive by wire throttle setup. It usually is the culprit, turbo or no turbo. Turbo lag + DBW is an accident waiting to happen especially if turbo lag is awful. With that said, BMW makes some of the best turbo engines so I doubt it is the turbo.