New Car Rant (long) but hey its KX5!

[KX5]

Oh how I've missed you all so much...

Well the time has nearly come for the ol' 2004 E53 to retire to the BMW 'used' lot at the dealership as the lease is soon over.

So I've been out with my Dad test driving new cars from all over the realm of motoring and heres a breakdown.

First, the obvious, the E70: Really...Dad and I were both not overly impressed. No flame war here guys, absolutely love the E53 and every other BMW, but just not feeling the new E70 and X3. My feelings are that it just feels to big now? Even though it is not that much larger, just feels less unique than our old one, you know? Watching them drive down the highway just doesn't look as attractive as the old one...not because of the shape or anything...I don't know...I guess I just fell in love with the E53 and feel the new one has strayed too far. So that and plus its more $$$

So now with BMW out, we looked at the ML350. Think it looks a LOT better than before the redesign, interior looks very clean and "pretty," but it's just that....too pretty. Didn't drive the Merc but felt that nothing would've cured our first-glance impression. Looks like a car that would come in a few years, more near to retirement.

Here we come RX350, and what a well-valued vehicle this was! Came loaded with all sorts of goodies, all at a more reasonable payment and undeniable reliability. Loved the touch screen GPS and the very soft ride, but was quite a bit smaller inside for cargo than the current X, and thus not a viable choice. Plus Dad wasn't so wild about the rear end looks of the thing.

But do not fear, Porsche's here! Tested out the Cayenne V6 and according to Dad, drove great. Excellent handling, and both agreed fit and finish were well up to grade, one problem, money. And besides, who wants anything besides a 911? Out.

So Audi and the questionably-styled Q7 came next. The looks I thought weren't tooooo bad, but the interior drew the line. Have you seen the GPS layout on this thing? Talk about industrial-looking. Love Audi, hate the Q7.

Currently driving a Jetta myself and loving every second of it, Veedub seemed a natural choice. The Touareg, it cannot be denied, has proven itself to be a capable SUV and has just as much cargo room as the ol' X. Test drove, seemed similar to the X in many ways, power was satisfactory, finish was fine, but running the numbers delivered nothing promising at all. $750/month for a VW? Maybe the Phaeton, not a V6 Turg.

Considered the XC90, drove it and unconsidered it.

Well here comes the other end of the spectrum....

The good ol Dad decided, may be high-time to start saving some money right? I'm in college and all, and for sure he won't be working forever( and God-willing I'll never start ) . So hello Ford Escape. Had a rental Hertz one last year for 3 weeks in Maine and proved to be a fine and dandy little automobile, capable of lugging around some luggage, daring through dirt roads and mud and all at a very reasonable price. However, test drove a new one, brakes were deadly. Thinking about the cargo room led us to decide that the Escape was fine for a three week vacation, but for a few more years of hauling around loads of business....probably not as good. Miss ya my oval buddy.

Explorer graced us 10 years ago, and left 4 years after that...never going back. But 4Runner has never had the honor of the KX5 family, so might as well look at it. Dad drove it, liked it, liked the looks (conservative) and not too expensive even well-equipped (well...equipped, in terms of Toyotas...). Lease payments not too unfriendly, seems the likely choice. Really had no beefs with the thing other than the fact its a Toyota, but hey, we all have to come down from the clouds sometimes.

Oh but the sweet winning grace of a well-placed LR3 parked in the drive-thru line led to....what about this one? Good looks, nearly unmatched brawniness, luxurious interiors and unreliable as heck to boot! Oh but what character these things have. Land Rover's sure have a sweet spot in my heart and I think they do in my Dad's too...never had one, but they sure have a reputation. So, willing to deal with spotty quality and overpriced Fordism, set off to find a Rover dealership nearby, but to no avail. Closest is 30+ miles and even sans unexpected hiccups, regular servicing would be a bear as Forbes just revealed Riverside was the worst congested traffic place in existence. So bye bye to Land Rover.

So what has all this blabbering come down to? The 4Runner. Only beef is the whole 'downgrading' thing from an X5 for the last 6 years and the whole idea of dropping nearly 40 large on a Japanese six is somewhat demoralizing. But hey, it's my Dad's car, and if in a month it's what he wants, we'll be a 4Runner family.