C & D Comparo: Acura MDX vs. Audi Q7 vs. BMW X5 vs. Land Rover LR4 vs. Lexus GX460

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by deutsch100

I hate to admit, but I agree 100%. The E70, 3 Series and the now cancelled 6 Series are the only BMWs that still use the "dated" dash instruments, standard & boring all orange lighting, and just the 2 rings for Speedo and Tach. Look at the new 5er, X3, 7er, Z4...the instruments and interior layouts looks really modern, refreshed and pretty cool.

I LOVE my '11 35d, but when I compare the dash instrument and the HVAC controls to our '11 Range Rover, '10 750i, and my neigbors '10 GL550 and S63...the E70 dash and HVAC controls looks spartan, dated, bland and the digital print for the onboard info, odometer and the HVAC looks primitive and very old!

Well, I guess it is all opinion, but primitive, dated and very old are not words I would use to describe in the interior of an e70. Sure, the interior of the new 5 is a little more fresh, but the e70 still looks modern and, imo, has a much, much better layout than most of the other vehicles in the above comparison. Land Rover included. Visually, the dash of the X5 blows the LR away, imo.

[rh71]

Originally Posted by stockguru

So puzzled. BMW decided to send a car with summer performance tires for a test drive in MICHIGAN in the winter?

As soon as I saw the 214s in the pic, I knew it was in trouble as far as that goes. But hey I guess they wanted it to be "handsome". I know the mag mentions it showed up in summer tires, but did it actually deduct points because of that performance? Anyway, I guess I'm going to forward this to a friend who decided the Q7 was for him since he hated the X5's brakes. He'll be happy I guess.

BTW, yes the steering is pretty heavy imo. I like the feel some of the time, but not all the time.

[Richard in NC]

Originally Posted by AlexK

Yeap, I pretty much like the more "traditional" dashes with "boring" orange lighting in our X5 and 328xi... They don't distract me from driving with any redundant multi-colored "christmas lights"/displays and every data I need is clearly visible for me at any time of day and night

I agree, the BMW orange is much less distracting than many multi color displays.

On the steering effort, the active steering option cures that. It was worth the cost IMHO.

Its odd, that the test model had a high price and must have been well equipped but was down several points in that category.

The expected and achieved result was the X5 35i had by far the best handling and braking. Only .01 grip better than the MDX but 2 mph faster lane change and 18ft shorter braking. The X5 was 5 MPH faster than the Q7, a huge difference! The X5 was 27ft shorter braking than the Lexus, also a huge difference that I'd gladly take over more modern instruments any day.

[rh71]

^ well they did say the X5 had the summer tire advantage doing those tests.

[Richard in NC]

Originally Posted by rh71

^ well they did say the X5 had the summer tire advantage doing those tests.

True. Although, the Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow don't seem to handicap my X5 much at all.

[Bigtop]

There are never any reviews of the X5 5.0i.

[Jim E.]

Originally Posted by rh71

As soon as I saw the 214s in the pic, I knew it was in trouble as far as that goes. But hey I guess they wanted it to be "handsome". I know the mag mentions it showed up in summer tires, but did it actually deduct points because of that performance? Anyway, I guess I'm going to forward this to a friend who decided the Q7 was for him since he hated the X5's brakes. He'll be happy I guess.

BTW, yes the steering is pretty heavy imo. I like the feel some of the time, but not all the time.

Well that's a first for me. I've never heard anyone say they "hated" BMW's brakes.

[jackolo]

Originally Posted by Bigtop

There are never any reviews of the X5 5.0i.

I haven't read these but if you're bored...
CanadianDriver Test Drive
CanadianDriver Day to Day

And yeah, I definitely don't buy BMWs because of their interiors. C&D got one thing right, it's the athleticism and drive that keeps me coming back. I actually was really tempted to buy an LR4 except well... I wanted a vehicle that spends more time on the road driving then in the garage on a hoist. I love the interior and design. Drive was good too. I'm a sucker for British vehicles.

[deutsch100]

Originally Posted by jackolo

I haven't read these but if you're bored...
CanadianDriver Test Drive
CanadianDriver Day to Day

And yeah, I definitely don't buy BMWs because of their interiors. C&D got one thing right, it's the athleticism and drive that keeps me coming back. I actually was really tempted to buy an LR4 except well... I wanted a vehicle that spends more time on the road driving then in the garage on a hoist. I love the interior and design. Drive was good too. I'm a sucker for British vehicles.

I think the LR4 is actually doing pretty well, in terms of reliability (we have a friend at a local, big Land Rover dealer). Also, we have a 2011 Range Rover Supercharged (not the Sport). It has had ZERO issues. Just perfect. A real surprise, since our 2006 & 2008 Range Rovers were....uh, not so perfect

If I had to choose between our '11 Range Rover, '11 35d, '10 M6 and '10 750i (and I could only have ONE car, for my daily driver)...I would take the '11 Range Rover. I love my 35d, but the '11 Range Rover has EVERYTHING and is so posh, luxurious and elegant (and with 500hp...a lot of fun to drive too!!)

[FSETH]

To be honest, I think the front of the new RR looks way cheesy. I would not call it elegant, personally.