Not going to rant. Want an honest answer

[bnw]

Just by sitting into that Jeep,you probably feel like at home,aren't you?
Not sure what you're implying here??

... being 6'3",it's not a choice for me.
Fair enough.

That crumpled interior with small windows and awkward sitting position doesn't even come close to my X
Less glass, true. However bigger rear quarters do provide better over the shoulder passing and lane changes, and there aren't three headrests on the back seat to cut the rear visibility in half. I don't find the seats awkward at all. I find that I don't have to make excuses for a sore back anymore. For me, the standard seating in my X sucked.


the rear bench is just terrible,so the leg room for rear passengers...
True. rear seat sucks for passengers.


Steering,OMG,3 turns from point to point vs. 5 in the X,good luck going on highway with that ratio and uninformative power steering.
Simply not true. Highway manners are excellent.

Ergonomics just suck.
Matter of opinion

Who? Just tell me who is buying BMW for mud and crap?
Mud and crap can happen anywhere. It's nice to know you can get out of trouble if you should get into trouble. Not to mention SNOW???

Performance wise,you are right that Toyota Tundra will tow more lbs. than your ex 3.0i,it's a silly comparison of engines with twice a displacement.\
The Hemi has twice the displacement, 100 more HP, and gets the same gas mileage. What's wrong with that???

just one thing that I remember about that.Did you notice any sticker anywhere in your X saying to drive carefully because the vehicle is gonna flip and roll?
That's a liability thing and you know it. It also says I'll kill my kid if I'm stupid enough to put a baby in a car seat facing the air bag. I seem to remember quite a few posts on this forum about upside down X5s.

I'll bet you $10,000 (HA HA) that this Jeep won't cost me a fraction of what you will pay in repairs and maintenance in the 125K to 200K mileage zone.
Oil leaks and Cooling system is usually the consequence of an abuse and negligence of the owner,and for many of us,a previous owner.
We all have a different taste almost for everything.You found your love and leave.Best of luck and many years of joyful ride to you.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. Seriously, thanks.

[diyanich]

Winter driving depends a lot on winder tires setup,I am from Russia and now live in Canada,so I know about winters.So far I had no troubles with snow and light off roading(half wheel deep puddles,stony slopes etc.) even with all season Falken luxury SUV tires.
So? Many things are in play in those situation + the driver's common sense.

About you being "at home" with jeep,just saying that your' back to what you like and feel comfortable.Good for you on that one.Not more that that.

How do you compare the presence of Air Bag warning sticker to Driving dynamics? I still don't get you in this one.
It's a warning,which is just not present in X,for a reason I guess.

Originally Posted by bnw

Who? Just tell me who is buying BMW for mud and crap?
Mud and crap can happen anywhere. It's nice to know you can get out of trouble if you should get into trouble. Not to mention SNOW???

Performance wise,you are right that Toyota Tundra will tow more lbs. than your ex 3.0i,it's a silly comparison of engines with twice a displacement.\
The Hemi has twice the displacement, 100 more HP, and gets the same gas mileage. What's wrong with that???

just one thing that I remember about that.Did you notice any sticker anywhere in your X saying to drive carefully because the vehicle is gonna flip and roll?
That's a liability thing and you know it. It also says I'll kill my kid if I'm stupid enough to put a baby in a car seat facing the air bag. I seem to remember quite a few posts on this forum about upside down X5s.

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by bnw

Who? Just tell me who is buying BMW for mud and crap?
Mud and crap can happen anywhere. It's nice to know you can get out of trouble if you should get into trouble. Not to mention SNOW???

This is true. I ran off the Interstate in the rain in my previous X5 3.0. I'd neglected replacing the high dollar tires and I hydroplaned. Totally my fault.

Of course, I had 20" wheels and performance tires on it that were past the wear bars. I came to rest in mud that came up to the running boards when the wheels finally just spun in the mud. Called the Highway patrol and waited for my ticket and a tow. But then I got anxious and started rocking it too and fro once the mud came back around the tires. DSC off, of course.

I got out! I had rooster tails of mud sligning from all 4 wheels! Mud was on TOP of my X5. Drove about an hour and a half back home and kissed my girls. I'd thought I was going to die.

No problems in the snow with my 20" wheels and new tires. If it snowed more often, I'd throw some snows on it and roll like so many others do. It's not rocket science and it's far from anything to do with the car. Anyone can say one car is a better tool than another, but it really depends on the tool doing the driving.

These pics are AFTER 100 miles in pouring rain. The car was much cleaner once I got home. The whole truck looked like the side view mirror. Caked in mud.









Edit:

One last thing:

If you balance the use and abuse with old school maintenance and TLC for the paint/interior, these cars will stay working well and performing well as long as you take care of them. After all of that abuse and 7 years of utility, this is what my 100K mile X5 looked like the week I sold it. My neighbor's had it for a year with no major issues.

[bigwave2255]

oh BNW good luck with the Hemi

do your research, that and the earlier jeep V8,s have had there fair share of issues

[Edwin Stow]

Our 2001 X5 has had both front CV joints and an alternator. Not big problems at 90k. I would buy another one if the gas mileage was better.

[Contigo]

Finally got rid of our 2001 4.4 V8 Sport for an E61 M5 touring and glad it's gone. Yes we miss the X5 driving position and comfort but not the problems we had.

They are built of chocolate.

[TEMA]

Originally Posted by Contigo

Finally got rid of our 2001 4.4 V8 Sport for an E61 M5 touring and glad it's gone. Yes we miss the X5 driving position and comfort but not the problems we had.

They are built of chocolate.

you will regret that decision. e61 is one ugly pos on top of things that are wrong with them, mho, e39 would've been a classic move.

[TEMA]

THE ONLY THING THAT I FIND WRONG WITH X5 is that they are build in US and not in GERMANY. haven't had anything wrong with my x5 sitting at 120k+. oil change that bitch and thow some tires on it, and if anything does fail very easy to work on yourself. DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS.

[Dannyell]

This has been quite a read...and let me just say now that I am at 160k miles and have replaced everything except my 'no-reverse transmission' i can comfortably say that these SAVS are quite problematic...

I can live with replacing window regulators (3 so far), cv boots and etc...but the cooling system on the 01-03 are simply a joke and nothing more...

[epdarks]

bnw,

Thank you for your input and contribution to the forum. It's important to consider all owner experiences; good and bad.

I do think you are yelling to deaf ears. We all know the X requires more maintenance than the Jeep, we know it's more costly to purchase and more costly to maintain, we know what the problem areas are, and we know what it takes to get them fixed.

There are certain qualities that BMWs offer which attracted me to the brand in the first place: looks, build quality, interior quality, driving characteristics, aftermarket support, good communities, optional equipment, etc.

While I don't think going through a transmission every 80k is "acceptable", I would say it borders on "tolerable" and I look at it a a cost of ownership. In my opinion, once you get through the common items... these trucks should run to 250k without any major failures. Preventative maintenance is key.

At the end of the day there is a little bit of luck involved. Any car or truck with 100k miles is going to have some failures.

Good luck with the Jeep.