Teach me about BMW X5s

My wife's Cherokee seems to be getting close to the end of the road, or at least the patience of our wallet. It's a DD, she likes it but it's been getting to the point where she thinks it's time to replace it.

She doesn't suffer from AADD like us bunch here so she'd like to keep the replacement for a while. One of the options we're considering is a Range Rover or Discovery as she really likes them, but I figured if we are looking at medium size luxury SUVs, maybe we should include the X5 as well.

Anybody here has one, say, around the mid-2000s? Yay, nay or indifferent?

If it were me buying a Mid-Size Luxo SUV, I'd be looking at a Chrysler Aspen or a Lincoln Aviator. Not going to be quite as nice, but MUCH more reliable.

This is just based on my experience dealing with X5's at auctions. I feel like every one that comes across my inbox needs $3000 worth of maintenance.

My boss just picked up a 2013 with the V6 (boo) but with the sport package (yeah) that includes the GIGANTIC wheels (super yeah!). Can't say much about reliability, but for sex appeal it is awesome!

Oh wait, this is for your wife. Perhaps sex appeal is not what you want.

That's OK, if I wanted to help with getting divorced all I need to do is buy her a Minivan.

I would prefer something that is at least a little fun to drive as I tend to be the person who gets to drive the car on long distances, so while it generally has to appeal to my wife (ie, she wants an SUV, but this time with more frills and comfort) I would prefer something that I like to drive, too.

The one advantage of a BMW is that I've already done business with the local BMW & Porsche independent and generally have a pretty favourable impression of them.

My opine is that they are exactly as useful as a regular 5 series only less sporty, taller, more expensive, heavier and thirsty.

I'm gonna go the other way here. My parents have an '09 and it has been by a huge margin the most reliable BMW they've owned. It's no M3, but it's not bad, and gets decent mpg given it's size. Unlike their other BMW's, this has needed almost nothing.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: My opine is that they are exactly as useful as a regular 5 series only less sporty, taller, more expensive, heavier and thirsty.

Which I understand, but wifey wants another SUV. They're all taller, more expensive and thirstier .

I would say that the X5 has a more comfortable back seat (for five people) than the 5 series wagon. If you go for the X5, avoid the third row (it's useless) and make sure you get the Dynamic Handling Package.

Personally, I would go for a Mercedes R63/ ML63 AMG or a Porshce Cayenne Turbo. They have the residual value of spoiled milk and really aren't that much more expensive to repair than any other German car. However, they don't have the best track record for reliability.

More sensibly, I would check out the 2007+ Acura MDX. They have nice interiors (provided it's in the right color) and handle extremely well with the electromagnetic suspension which is a rare option, so you'll have to look around.

I would never buy a Land Rover Disco, Chrysler Aspen or Lincoln Navigator because of their poor interior quality, handling and appauling build quality.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: My opine is that they are exactly as useful as a regular 5 series only less sporty, taller, more expensive, heavier and thirsty.

Where Boxhead is, the ground clearance doesn't hurt. Also, wasn't the AWD system designed by (or with?) LandRover? So it should be pretty capable, if not reliable.

Mmadness wrote: I would never buy a Land Rover Disco, Chrysler Aspen or Lincoln Navigator because of their poor interior quality, handling and appauling build quality.

Have you ever sat in an Aspen?

In reply to mtn: Yes I have. I should note the Discovery was more of a matter of poor interior design than poor interior materials.

mtn wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: My opine is that they are exactly as useful as a regular 5 series only less sporty, taller, more expensive, heavier and thirsty.

Where Boxhead is, the ground clearance doesn't hurt. Also, wasn't the AWD system designed by (or with?) LandRover? So it should be pretty capable, if not reliable.

Ground clearance is one of the reasons a lot of my colleagues have SUVs, at least for the winter. If we'll end up with fewer but newer vehicles I'll probably end up taking the SUV to work on proper "snow days" when the ground clearance suddenly becomes a deciding factor as to who does and who doesn't get into the work parking lot.

Ideally I'd like to spend $12k or less, which rules out most of the vehicles made after 2005.

cdowd has one, a 2003 I believe. He likes it. It seems to be a good machine. Last weekend we put 3 men, a boy, a spaniel and hunting/camping gear in it. We were snug but comfortable. It did get stuck in knee deep snow,( operator error in my opinion). The window regulators and door handles seem finicky but easy to fix. The shifter is a bit vague when looking for 3rd gear, similar in feel to an old GTI.

Ah, I forgot to mention one important requirement - it has to have a slushbox.

Aren't these "sealed for life"?

The e53 equipped with a 6 cylinder is a decent vehicle, it's also expensive to maintain, I would place it squarely between the e39 5 series and the e38 7 series in terms of repair cost. Many X5's have been severely neglected, buy one and suffer huge expense. The e53 is pretty clunky to drive.

The second gen X5 is a huge leap forward in terms of driving experience, much less truck-ish.

The cars I recommended before were $20k.-$25k. so ignore that. The first-gen MDXs were good (my parents had one) and it was one of the better handlers in its class but still left a lot to be desired. It is surprisingly good off-road and in the snow, it had a center locking diff and off-road tires as OE! You could also look at a Nissan Pathfinder or Lexus GX, which are more rugged, but they handle worse.

My first pick is a late model Toyota Rav4 V6 Limited. It has a lot of power for a car that size and surprisingly good handling, heck Car and Driver likened it to the 3-series of crossovers. The interior is a bit utilitarian, but the seats are leather (on some cars, it was an option) and it is fairly new compared to the other cars discussed so far.

We're long-time BMW owners, so we briefly looked at X5's and X3's when shopping for an SUV last fall. The X5, particularly models after the mid-cycle refresh, were very nice - but expensive to purchase and maintain. Certainly more than the E39 we intended it to replace. The X3's were okay, but after driving everything in the segment we liked the Volvo XC90 best (which really surprised me).

For what it's worth - we shopped used XC90's for a while but then ended up buying a new Kia Sorento. YMMV ;)

Ah, XC90 - I guess I should look at those as well, earlier ones seem to show up close to our budget occasionally.

For what it's worth, the cost of ownership estimates for used Range Rovers are as much as double that of the other vehicles mentioned in this thread.

Extreme left-field suggestion: SAAB 9-7x Aero?

I also vote MDX or Volvo.

mtn wrote: Extreme left-field suggestion: SAAB 9-7x Aero?

I've only heard good things about them. I've not sat in one, but judging from pics Saab really didn't tart up the interior as much as I think they could have over the normal Blazer interior. Definitely worth a look IMO.

mtn wrote: Extreme left-field suggestion: SAAB 9-7x Aero?

seconded

mtn wrote: Extreme left-field suggestion: SAAB 9-7x Aero?

Ooooh, good dark-horse candidate. My in-laws have an ML320 that they bought new - approaching 200k miles and generally reliable. Not too much fun, but seems pretty useful.