Is the negative camber an 'issue'? All X5s I've been stuck behind in traffic have had camber on the rears (bottom of tyre sticking out more than top). I think that's pretty normal on a lot of cars (my Boxster has it for sure) and I wouldn't have it taken out as it will effect handling in corners. It ensures that a maximum amount of tyre surface is in contact with the road while cornering. I wouldn't want to risk unexpectedly losing grip on a winding country road and ending up in a ditch.

I imagine sway bars, bushes and even rear shocks can all be changed at home pretty much so I'm not too bothered about that kind of thing. Vital components like the tranny, turbo and the main block are the things that worry me as we would be talking a few grand to replace them.

I had a 2001 3-Series Coupe a few years back (2.2 petrol), it had 100k on the clock and rapidly started to fall apart. In about 6 months I needed a new clutch (£1600 from BMW), Power Steering pump (£450 parts), Radiator (£180 parts), Thermostat (£50 parts), PCV and pipes (£100+). After all that I couldn't drive it without worrying about something else blowing up of dropping off. Fuel consumption was fine but the thing was drinking oil (1L every 1000-1500 miles) and even with a new clutch the gear change often felt a bit rough so I got rid of it before the gearbox disintegrated!

Do you remember when German engineering used to be rock solid and reliable? Doesn't seem to be the case with MB and BMW anymore although Audi and VW are still pretty good. I'm very happy with the Porsche in terms of reliability but I need something more practical and cheaper to run.

I've test driven a new style ML320, Toureg and RR Sport TD6 (TD8 is way over budget). The ML was way too soft and wobbly, the Toureg was gutless and the RR felt underpowered and was a little over my budget (tho the interior is lovely). Most of the Asian 4x4's look gay and also have ridiculously small engines and poor performance. I suppose I could consider a Land Cruiser or something like that but in that case I may as well consider a Discovery which in my opinion is just way too big for my needs.

Overall I like the X5 look and a 3.0D is perfect, I think after my previous BMW experience I'm just worried that it's going to fall apart after a year or two!