The X5 saved my life after I hit a cement barrier on the freeway at around 70mph and was totaled. After years of BMW I'm going to give a Mercedes a try for a couple of years. My job changed and I'm going to be commuting more so gas mileage and comfort became more important than sporty, style and fun. The main reason I moved in to a Mercedes and not an economical 3 series was the fact that my Brother in-law is the service manager at our local Mercedes dealer and I can get parts at cost and most service for free. That adds up to some serious savings and I'm going to be driving a lot in a 4 hour commute for the next 6 months. I purchased a C230 with a V6 that gets 30mpg on the freeway and still feels solid and roomy. No guts and kind of soft as I would expect coming from a BMW but the Sport package tightens up things just enough to be decent. The car has massive slotted rotors up front as well which really brings to car to a stop in a hurry so 60-0 will need to replace 0-60 for a thrill.