Can of Worms - 2011 X5 vs 2010/2011/2012 ML?

[2thdr]

I am awaiting arrival of a 2011 X5 35d after having just dispensed with a 2010 MB GL350. I was in the exact same situation last November, as I wanted to pick up a 2010 X5 but my wife wanted the MB. Seeing that it was her vehicle to drive, we purchased the GL.

Fast forward to July, 2010. My wife's impressions of the GL:

i) drives like a boat with lots of body roll (yes, I know the ML is smaller, but the suspension DNA is from the same engineers). Make no mistake, this is an important trait when you consider an emergency lane change to avoid an animal/other driver/debris on the road. A ML or GL has too much roll and a higher center of gravity, which would arguably make such a move less stable and potentially more catastrophic. Try the same move in an X5 with the sport package, or 19's for that matter, and let us know what you think.

ii) the braking is not as surefooted as the BMW with lots of nose dive. Again, I know that the ML is smaller, but the nose dive underscores a comparatively and inherently poorer suspension design

iii) the COMAND system is utter junk. Seriously, are you telling me they could not refresh these ML and GL mid-cycle in the same manner that BMW did their vehicles with the new iDrive system? Having to enter things by pushing a cursor control to move right,left, up, and down to menu selections is not only archaic, but unsafe if making an adjustment while driving. Irrespective of the fact that you can access these controls through the steering wheel buttons and dash display, it would still have been better to have adopted the new COMAND system from the present C class and other models.

iv) world's crappiest transmission. This thing shifts slooooowww. Go take one for a test drive and reverse out of a parking stall and apply the brake as per usual before shifting to drive. Take a note of how laborious it is.

v) My personal favorite. Now I am not sure as to why this bugs me so much, but the vehicle's speed in reverse is limited. If I remember correctly, it was limited to 25km/h. Why? Suppose, for the sake of argument, that you had to accelerate rapidly out of a situation in reverse. Who is Mercedes Benz to tell you that you should only be allowed to drive 25km/h in reverse. Retarded.

vi) Although I never had to pay for it, paying for service at Mercedes for Service A and B every 13,0000KM at an average of $350-400 for each visit really seems unnecessary when you consider how BMW covers you for 4yrs/50K miles. Keep in mind I had the diesel.

OK, those were a few of our beefs. I would honestly suggest to you to do the following. Go pick an ML up from your dealer and take it on an unaccompanied test drive and go straight to your BMW dealer of choice and do a thorough side by side comparison. I urge you to try an emergency avoidance scenario in both vehicles on an isolated stretch of road. At the end of the day, you are not just buying a vehicle based on looks...you're entrusting it to carry your family, whether your wife alone or kids as well. While both are great in terms of impact safety, I would argue that a better vehicle would help you to avoid such situations as well. In that regards, better brakes and a better suspension are key elements.

I hated the GL from the day we picked it up. My wife waited about a week before saying she thought we had made the wrong decision. It simply took the LCI upgrade to the X5 to get us to trade it in.

Make sure you do your homework!!!