Teach me about BMW X5s

BoxheadTim wrote: Ah, I forgot to mention one important requirement - it has to have a slushbox. Aren't these "sealed for life"?

Newer BMWs have a "lifetime fill" but they are not sealed for life. You just change it from underneath, manual transmission style.

I would not give the Asspen a second thought, nor anything with a Land Rover or Mercedes badge. The Mercedes ML, in particular, is a giant steaming pile of crap that is renowned for its lack of build quality. The 9-7X is a very underrated machine, some great depreciation to take advantage of too. XC90 is nice. No experience with the MDX but I hear they're nice. I know Infiniti and Lexus also have a few players in this segment but I really have zero knowledge of those.

Well, actually it appears I just have agreed to buy the Range Rover we looked at yesterday.

My wife always wanted one, she's aware of the reliability concerns but if it makes her happy, that's OK in my book.

was going to throw this one out there - boring, but solid - 4runner.

It might be worth your time and money to get a pre- purchase inspection done on the Range Rover. Lord knows I loved mine and Lord knows it didn't love me.

With that being said, If I had to do it over again I would spend the money on a bbs "server", testbook, or one of the other options.

While house shopping a couple years ago, we were dragged all over the county (good and bad roads) in our realtor's X5. There are only two things I specifically recall:

1. The ride was firm...like sportscar firm. Speedbumps were extremely jarring at any speed and rough roads were uncomfortable. My WRX on Racecomp Yellows is a more comforatble ride, in my opinion.

2. My realtor complained constantly about the trunk space. She had a set of golf clubs and a few yard signs back there and that's about all that would fit. The new ones may be bigger, but I remember thinking looking at the cargo area that it was about the size of a small hatchback, and couldn't fit anything real tall because of the rake of the hatch forward.

Other than that, the rest of the interior felt like a typical BMW. Firmish seats, controls and surfaces were nice quality, and the car moved pretty good when she got on it in traffic.

I personally wouldn't want one, though. A 3-series wagon seems just as practical without all the heft and need for 20" tires $$

Oh, and I second the earlier suggestion for the MDX. Just as nice inside, better ride, just as quick, handles just as well, probably a bit cheaper, and almost certainly more reliable/cheaper to repair. I very much enjoyed borrowing a co-worker's 2011 MDX a few months ago to run some gear to a site.

oldtin wrote: was going to throw this one out there - boring, but solid - 4runner.

We have an 08 4Runner. It's not cushy, but the interior is nice and the driving position is more "sports sedan" than "SUV". The SportEdition handles great with the XREAS stock suspension. Gets 25+mpg on the highway with a cargo box on top at 70mph (V6). Seats are good. Backseat has a high floor due to the truck chassis. Cargo area is decent but not huge. I personally think they look great.

It's my wife's daily driver and she likes it. And it hasn't had the slightest problem since we bought it in early 2008, almost 5 years ago. I mean, not even a burned out lightbulb. And it's seen a bit of light off-road, deep snow, and beach duty as well.

Only downside is terrible stock tires (Dunlop AT20). We got rid of those at 10k miles for some Dueller Revo2's and it made the truck close to perfect for our needs.

25mpg from a 4-runner? Our Highlander was less truckish and never beat 18mpg, most rural. You're doing something right, or live somewhere incredibly flat.

We just got a CX-5 and are getting 28.5.

Tyler H wrote: 25mpg from a 4-runner? Our Highlander was less truckish and never beat 18mpg, most rural. You're doing something right, or live somewhere incredibly flat. We just got a CX-5 and are getting 28.5.

Yeah, it surprised me as well. This was going I-95 south (south is downhill, right? ) from DC to NC Outer banks. No backups, cruise at about 70 the whole way, 2 kids+dog+a weeks' worth of stuff in the back and on the roof in the aero box. A few small hills up and down, but generally fairly flat.

On seperate trips without the family I tend to do more like 80 on the same stretch, and the mileage was more like 22-23 at best. Around town my wife averages about 17mpg in almost all shortish trips.

Then again, I've been known to get very close to 30mpg on a full tank on a stage 1 2009 WRX by keeping the cruise at 62mph on rural highways. Bump it up to 70 and lose 5mpg easy....

Not for nuthin' but.... While to me a Cherokee that's old enough to be replaced is something I'd love to own, it seems to me that any of the relatively upscale SUV's would be a step up in interior appointments/luxury. I'd buy the nicest Toyota or Acura or even Nissan I could afford.