Ordered an X5 4.8i today - April delivery

[X5audi]

Originally Posted by Arkay

We're getting out of an '06 LX470.

In terms of utility, reliability and overall quality it's been great. But it is a dated design and the new LX570 puts us off completely as it tries to take on the Escalade segment of the market, not our cup of tea.

The Lexus' ride was also pretty poor, basically due to its body on frame construction - and as mentioned above, it is a dated design based on the venerable Land Cruiser.

We'd originally thought an MB GL450 would replace it; but after test driving, my wife really wanted something smaller and sportier for her day to day activities as a full-time SAHM. So it came down to the X5 and the ML550, and the rest as they say was history...

Interesting. Well, you made an excellent decision.

Compared to the RX330, the X5 is (obviously) faster and it has better handling. However, it's also far more luxurious, has less wind noise, and simply "feels" more expensive. That's hard to put into words--but I'll just say it's absolutely worth the $20K jump in price.

We also drove the Range Rover Sport HSE and Cayenne S. The RR Sport felt extremely heavy, even if it isn't significantly heavier than the X5. It just didn't drive very well, and the interior was disappointing. The Cayenne, surprisingly, had less road feel than the X5 even though the $tealer was trying to convince me otherwise. It also had a cheap interior unbefitting of its $70K+ sticker (load up the options and watch the price go up, up, up).

So it was an easy decision.