[imyopusha]

So, I am selling my '12 300 SRT8 and am considering a 550i Xdrive. This I would bring with me to Germany (Nuremberg area). The advantage I see for the 550i is that I could fit 3 child seat in the back (as I easily did in my 300) and travel to Zurich, Venice, Munich, etc. VERY quickly with all my family.

Here are my questions:

- What kind of MPG do you all get when sustaining over 80 MPH?
- How comfortable are the seats on long trips? I had an F30 335i and the seats were incredible.
- Will I regret not getting an M-sport to save a few grand?
- I am looking at getting a 550i with the lane departure warning. Do people like it? Does it work well?
- How reliable are your 550i cars? I am looking at getting an 11 with just over 50k miles. Looking to keep for several years.

[twelve535i]

You will regret NOT getting the M Sport package, as I did.
If you decide that you want to buy OEM parts later, you'll spend more money than you would have just buying a M Sport equipped car.
If you decide to go aftermarket, you'll spend countless hours searching for good fitting parts.
Save yourself the hassle.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by imyopusha

So, I am selling my '12 300 SRT8 and am considering a 550i Xdrive. This I would bring with me to Germany (Nuremberg area). The advantage I see for the 550i is that I could fit 3 child seat in the back (as I easily did in my 300) and travel to Zurich, Venice, Munich, etc. VERY quickly with all my family.

Here are my questions:

- What kind of MPG do you all get when sustaining over 80 MPH?
- How comfortable are the seats on long trips? I had an F30 335i and the seats were incredible.
- Will I regret not getting an M-sport to save a few grand?
- I am looking at getting a 550i with the lane departure warning. Do people like it? Does it work well?
- How reliable are your 550i cars? I am looking at getting an 11 with just over 50k miles. Looking to keep for several years.

I do a good deal of highway driving, and my MPG has been around 22. The climate, tires, driving style, and other factors will obviously vary for you.

You should get the M Sport package - it's only a few extra bucks, and I think you'd regret not having it if you're even considering it.

I have the driver assistance plus package, which includes the lane departure warning. I keep it turned off. I DO, however, enjoy the other "nanny systems" and find them more useful. The blind spot detection is WONDERFUL, and the collision detection system is really very nice. The lane departure, at least here in the US (and where I live) is a bit useless. It's easy enough to slightly cross a lane line here and there, some highways aren't well marked, etc... so you can get false positives or just not warned at all. So, I find it the least useful of the bunch in the package. Overall, though, I'd get the package for the collision detection and blind spot detection options.

I find the seats plenty comfortable. I also got the luxury seating package, which includes the active seats and ventilation options - both heavily used now. I'd recommend them if you do long distance driving.

Good luck with the purchase.

[AVIMAX]

The seats in my F10 (MSport package) are amazing for long drives, the best of any car I've had. No discomfort at all after many hours of driving. The lane departure works well, but I keep it off unless I'm really tired. MSport package looks great, I've had an F10 without and one with, and for me I prefer the look with the package. I can't comment on the mileage and reliability because mine is not a 550.

If you are worried about mileage, how about a diesel? I just drove from Washinton DC to Toronto last week and only used half a tank of diesel. Average speed was 57mph and I averaged 39mpg. I think if I was on more freeways and averaged a bit higher speed I would have been easily over 40mpg, but my route took me on many country roads. 400+ lb-ft torque makes highway driving effortless. Seems you are looking for a nice used US car to save some money, otherwise I'd recommend looking for a real 535xd (not the 530 we get here) in Europe. I know you asked about the 550, just thought I'd throw the diesel idea out there.

[Grover432]

You are not going to be able to get 3 car seats in the rear of an F10, so if you need that capability, the rest of your questions are moot.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Grover432

You are not going to be able to get 3 car seats in the rear of an F10, so if you need that capability, the rest of your questions are moot.

It certainly depends on the seat(s). We have a Peg Perego rear-facing seat that's pretty compact. Although I've never tried it (as I don't have three of them), I'm pretty confident that you could fit three across the back of the F10 - it's less than 18" wide. Their seat for larger babies (and toddlers) is only 16" wide. The trick is avoiding seats that have a whole lot of excess garbage hanging off them. If you're going to only have one in the back seat, feel free to tack on the cup holders, iPad holder, and whatever else... but for more than one, slimmer is better.

BMW's specs show 56.2" across the back seats - that would provide for about 18.7" per seat. Assuming two of the children are older (16" seats a piece) and one is a smaller baby (18" seat), you'd be using about 50" of that available 56.2". While leaving only about a half a foot to spare, it still seems workable.

If I had to haul around 3 kids, I'd probably look at a larger vehicle (an SUV); but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's impossible with the F10. Luggage space may actually be the real problem - strollers, etc.

[AVIMAX]

Just FYI, booster seats don't fit well because of the location of the seat belt buckles. The position of the buckles forces the booster to be on a bit of an angle (not facing straight forward) and also makes it very difficult for my son to buckle up without my help. If you position the booster straight, it will sit on top of the buckle. A bit hard to explain, but you'll notice it the first time you but a booster in. It was a problem with my last F10 and a still a problem with my new one. Wish BMW would have noticed this, it is annoying to always have to buckle my son in, he has been able to do it on his own in my wife's car for a year now. You could get 3 boosters back there. 3 full child seats? Maybe.

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

It certainly depends on the seat(s). We have a Peg Perego rear-facing seat that's pretty compact. Although I've never tried it (as I don't have three of them), I'm pretty confident that you could fit three across the back of the F10 - it's less than 18" wide. Their seat for larger babies (and toddlers) is only 16" wide. The trick is avoiding seats that have a whole lot of excess garbage hanging off them. If you're going to only have one in the back seat, feel free to tack on the cup holders, iPad holder, and whatever else... but for more than one, slimmer is better.

BMW's specs show 56.2" across the back seats - that would provide for about 18.7" per seat. Assuming two of the children are older (16" seats a piece) and one is a smaller baby (18" seat), you'd be using about 50" of that available 56.2". While leaving only about a half a foot to spare, it still seems workable.

If I had to haul around 3 kids, I'd probably look at a larger vehicle (an SUV); but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's impossible with the F10. Luggage space may actually be the real problem - strollers, etc.

Everyone has their opinion and maybe it is possible to get a rear facing seat in the middle with two forward facing seats in the outbound positions - depending on the seat.

Keep in mind, this decision isn't all about you, it is more about your kids. If you pack 3 kids across and you have aside impact accident it won't be pretty. That is why we put good quality (and somewhat bulky) seats in my F10. I look for the seat that has the best crash test ratings (Consumer Reports or other).

I really wanted a Porsche 911. I took my 4 and 7 year olds to the dealership and sat them in the back and without car seats, it could work. With a slim pair of car seats, it might work too.

I gave up on the idea though. It is tough to get in and out of the rear, the space is very limited and in the event of an accident, you have to wonder how secure the kids would be. So I got an F10 instead and will buy a used Boxster for summer time fun and take one kid at a time for a spin.

If you want 3 car sats across the middle, I suggest a Honda Odyssey. I don't care for the design and build quality, but in everyday life it makes things easy and safe.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Grover432

Everyone has their opinion and maybe it is possible to get a rear facing seat in the middle with two forward facing seats in the outbound positions - depending on the seat.

Keep in mind, this decision isn't all about you, it is more about your kids. If you pack 3 kids across and you have aside impact accident it won't be pretty. That is why we put good quality (and somewhat bulky) seats in my F10. I look for the seat that has the best crash test ratings (Consumer Reports or other).

I really wanted a Porsche 911. I took my 4 and 7 year olds to the dealership and sat them in the back and without car seats, it could work. With a slim pair of car seats, it might work too.

I gave up on the idea though. It is tough to get in and out of the rear, the space is very limited and in the event of an accident, you have to wonder how secure the kids would be. So I got an F10 instead and will buy a used Boxster for summer time fun and take one kid at a time for a spin.

If you want 3 car sats across the middle, I suggest a Honda Odyssey. I don't care for the design and build quality, but in everyday life it makes things easy and safe.

I fail to see what three car seats in the back would mean to a side impact and not being "pretty"? That's to say, the OP is going to need to carry 3 seats regardless of the vehicle. These seats are held in by the LATCH system - they're not going anywhere unless the crash is hard enough to rip the belts from the car or the car seat... in which case, 3 or 1, it doesn't matter - the seat is now airborne.

A 1960's Cadillac is also "bulky" - but that doesn't equate to safety. The Peg Perego seat we have, and those I mentioned, are some of the highest quality (and expensive) seats on the market. Here in the US, the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) evaluates safety of all things road-going, including safety/crash testing those consumer goods. They have a list of all of the seats they've evaluated and have met the crash standard (it's either pass or fail). But they also do rate how the seat "secures" the child, in which the seats I've mentioned provide 5/5 stars (despite not being massive in size).

So - "bulk" doesn't necessarily equate to safety. And unless I'm missing something here, I also don't see how 3 seats in an F10 is somehow less safe than 3 seats in another vehicle. I think if there was any ounce of truth to that statement, you'd have warnings and disclaimers all over both the car manual AND the car seat manual explicitly telling you to avoid it - nobody would want the liability of not disclosing this information if there was evidence to support it was unsafe.

The ONLY better option is not to have 3 car seats - period. The safest place for a car seat is in the center of the back seat (reported by many studies). But clearly that's not an option when you need to carry 3 at a time no matter the vehicle.

The issue here isn't one of safety but size and practicality. If the OP can fit 3 seats in the F10, as he did in his 300, and they're secured per the manufacturer's instructions, I don't see any safety concern. The only concern I'd have, if I were in the OP's shoes, would be practicality of hauling all of the necessary "baby equipment" along with them.

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

I fail to see what three car seats in the back would mean to a side impact and not being "pretty"? That's to say, the OP is going to need to carry 3 seats regardless of the vehicle. These seats are held in by the LATCH system - they're not going anywhere unless the crash is hard enough to rip the belts from the car or the car seat... in which case, 3 or 1, it doesn't matter - the seat is now airborne.

A 1960's Cadillac is also "bulky" - but that doesn't equate to safety. The Peg Perego seat we have, and those I mentioned, are some of the highest quality (and expensive) seats on the market. Here in the US, the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) evaluates safety of all things road-going, including safety/crash testing those consumer goods. They have a list of all of the seats they've evaluated and have met the crash standard (it's either pass or fail). But they also do rate how the seat "secures" the child, in which the seats I've mentioned provide 5/5 stars (despite not being massive in size).

So - "bulk" doesn't necessarily equate to safety. And unless I'm missing something here, I also don't see how 3 seats in an F10 is somehow less safe than 3 seats in another vehicle. I think if there was any ounce of truth to that statement, you'd have warnings and disclaimers all over both the car manual AND the car seat manual explicitly telling you to avoid it - nobody would want the liability of not disclosing this information if there was evidence to support it was unsafe.

The ONLY better option is not to have 3 car seats - period. The safest place for a car seat is in the center of the back seat (reported by many studies). But clearly that's not an option when you need to carry 3 at a time no matter the vehicle.

The issue here isn't one of safety but size and practicality. If the OP can fit 3 seats in the F10, as he did in his 300, and they're secured per the manufacturer's instructions, I don't see any safety concern. The only concern I'd have, if I were in the OP's shoes, would be practicality of hauling all of the necessary "baby equipment" along with them.

I'll explain it to you. When the car gets hit from the side and deforms, the car seat gets pushed towards the centre. If there is a seat in the middle, that seat gets hit as well. Have you ever seen crash test dummies in a crash test? Their heads and arms are flying all over the place. With three car seats in a row, some of those heads might be hitting the heads beside them.

If you cram kids in the back like sardines, you can expect mush in a serious side impact accident. You (and the OP) can do what you like with your kids, but I choose to do the best I can to protect mine - no car choice even makes the selection list unless it can fit everyone safely and is suitable.

The discussion is moot though. As soon as the OP heads down to the dealership with his 3 kids, 3 car seats and wife in tow, sets everything up in the showroom and sees where the front seats will have to be to accommodate a 4 year old's legs and how tight the 3 car seats fit all in a row, the decision will be obvious.

The F10 is a great car. Unfortunately, rear seat packaging (and the interior in general) is not very generous given the overall size of the car. A 2014 Honda Accord has more interior space than an F10, including read seat leg room and shoulder room.

PS

We place our kids seats in the outboard positions in our Odyssey. When we had one child we placed the seat in the second row in the centre position. We have put the seats in the rear row from time to time when carrying additional adults, but I don't like to do so. I'm concerned about being rear ended with the kids in that position as the back of these vans look strong when parked, but in an accident, I'm sure the crumple quickly and hopefully not into the seating area (but it depends on how hard you are hit, of course). Given that there are many more rear end accidents than side impact, we feel the second row is safer overall than the third row.