Jeep vs. X5
 

I was car shopping yesterday with a friend who is looking to get a cheap SUV (around $20k), and we went into a Jeep dealer to look at the Jeep Patriot. A friend of hers knows the owner, so we ended up talking with him, and upon hearing that I have an X5, he said "I'm not one to like imports very much, but last winter I had the opportunity to drive friend's X5 in bad weather, and I don't know what they did with that thing, but they have taken the SUV to an entirely new level".

He proceeded to tell me that he though it was the best SUV on the market, and that he couldn't believe how fun to drive it was and how good it also is in bad weather. For the rest of the conversation, as we were discussing whether my friend should get a Patriot, Liberty, or Compass, whenever she asked about its driving ability in bad weather, the guy would say "well, it's not going to be as good as your friend's X5, but it will be pretty good".

I was just rather surprised to hear this from the owner of a Jeep dealership, so I thought I would share. :)

Now that is odd. Are you sure he wasn't sweet on you? Just kidding. I had 3 Jeeps before the X. I'd never go back but to compare a true 4WD Jeep to the X5 is like comapring apples to oranges. The X does fine in some snow but there is no comparison in true snow.

Eric don't kid and kidder. :nanana:

Jeep of any kind are way better in the bad weather than a wide tyre X5'er.

It's not like I live in Alaska, but back in March we had a very big ice/snow storm here in NY. It started around 2pm on a Friday afternoon and I had plans to drive upstate that evening. I thought about canceling, but decided to start driving and if it was too bad, turn around and come back home.

So I left Rockland Country around 6:30pm, and by the time I reached the Woodbury area (intersection of Route 17 and the NY State Thruway), there was 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, and it was sleeting, so there was a mixture of snow and ice all over the highway. It had not been plowed at all yet.

At first I was very cautious and was only going around 20 mph. But as I drove more, I realized that I was not sliding at all, so I gradually increased my speed figuring I would slow down if I felt myself starting to slide. Eventually I reached a steady speed of around 40 mph. There was a hummer who was following me, and everyone else on the highway was either in the right lane doing 10 mph or was already pulled off the road (there were tons of cars that looked like they had either pulled off to the side of the road or else slid off the road).

Eventually I reached where I was going (a few miles north of Middletown), and I was just amazed at how good the X5 handled. I didn't slide one bit. I was like driving in rain. After I got off the highway, I had to drive up a hill that had not been plowed, and by this time there was around 6 inches of snow there, but other than seeing the traction light flash a few times, the X5 went right up the hill with no problems.

I think it depends on what kind of tires you have on the X5. Some of the models come with the sport tires, and they are probably not so good in the snow. But even though I have the sports package on my X5, it came with all-season tires, the same model and tread as the regular non-sport X5. I think if you get the sport on the 4.4 it comes with the sport tires.

Either way, after driving through that storm last winter, I don't think it would matter what kind of weather there was. I would be confident in my X5's ability to drive through it without any problems.

I don't really know anyone who owns a Jeep, so I cannot compare. But one of my employees has a Ford Explorer V8, and another has a Suzuki Grand Vitara, and my X5 does better in the snow than both of theirs.

lol my X5 got stuck in snow last winter.

Then again any car should get stuck in snow with no clearance and no snow tires.

good story :thumbup:

BTW, tell your friend not to get a Compass or Liberty. The Compass is a POS and the Liberty is outdated. I don't know too much about the Patriot.
I would look at the new Ford Escape, which is a very good suv for the money. I'd also look at the Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Tuscon, and Kia Sportage.

I/we love our X...
but, theCEO's Jeep Grnd Cherokee w/awd and low range, was unfookinstoppable
in our driving around Orange,Rockland, Bergen counties and the CT counties for
the 9 winters we had it. Ran like a top, very few glitches and even in the blizzards of
'92-'93, etc., we always got out even when the plow guy never showed.

Not apples to apples, but it was a brute. The X is simply the best handling, best braking,
"safest feeling/responding" 5,000 lb, high CofG car I've ever driven. Both have their place.

At least the Jeep guy was honest...

;) California...Summer tires year round:nanana:

My X3 didn't. But it had snow tires on. So the morning after that horrible snow-ice storm, of course I had to go out and have some fun. Roads were truly a mess especially with the drifts that resulted from the plows. Me and my friend tried to get the X3 stuck. But our efforts were in vain. People shovelling their driveways gave us a :confused: stare, thinking "how the heck is THAT guy getting around?". The looks were priceless and unforgettable.

Now, I'm sure a Jeep will pwn any BMW on serious off-road stuff. But we don't see much of those around here.

She's leaning towards getting the Patriot. It kind of looks like a mini-Commander, and it seems like a very good deal. The 5-speed (which is what she wants) gets 29 mpg on the highway, which is very important to her since she drives 25k+ miles per year. And for around $21k, she can get a nicely equipped one.

She is also considering the Hyundai Tuscon and the Honda CR-V.