You get what you pay for


The price difference between my two vehicles is $24,000, which obviously is significant…but today I discovered that you get what you pay for. We went on a road trip today and traveled about 250 miles in the new MDX, hardly enough to fully evaluate the difference between these two vehicles, but enough for some observations. Since the MDX is brand new, I drove very conservatively so that should be considered.

We averaged 23mpg on the trip which is very nice, significantly better than my X5 and this before its broke in…but this is where the advantages start to disappear.

The MDX ride is far harsher than the X5, a very noticeable difference. The road noise is also noticeably louder. There are a lot of little details in my X5 that make it a luxury vehicle, little things I never really noticed until I drove the MDX. Some examples:

1. The turn signal- it has a pleasant sound and has a soft touch, plus the abilty to have it flash three times and turn off automatically. The MDX has a very annoying sound and the lever feels cheap. Its either on or off.
2. Buttons and levers- they are all much more refined and just feel better on the X5. The MDX buttons feel cheap and have slack.
3. Dashboard- The X5’s faux leather dash looks like it is leather. The MDX faux leather looks like cheap plastic.
4. Seats- The MDX seats look great, but the X5 Comfort Seats are so much more comfortable, there really is no comparison. The MDX seats also don’t have nearly as many adjustments.
5. The MDX steering wheel is butt-ugly and not comfortable- The X5 Sport wheel is much nicer and looks better too.
6. The MDX only has three power outlets- one in the dash, one in cargo area + a 120v outlet in the center console. The 120v outlet is a nice addition, but it would have been nice to have a 12v in the center console to keep you phone. I find the X5 has much better placement of the power outlets.
7. Ipod- MDX has no Ipod interface, further the only way to plug in an Ipod is thru the rear Entertainment ‘s stereo phono plugs in the second row.
8. The RSE system is nice, but no better than the X5’s despite all the complaints about the X5’s stock system. The MDX is roof mounted and the kids started complaining about neck pain several hours into the trip. Overall its equal to the X5, maybe slightly better due to the integration with the front center console.
9. Sunroof- The X5 Pano Roof is far superior.
10. These features on my X5 are not available on the MDX- and are part of the reason for the price difference:
a. Comfort Access- didn’t realize how much I like it until I drove the MDX w/o it. Plus the BMW key is so much smaller than the MDX key.
b. HUD- WOW, I really like my HUD, especially with the Nav info, this feature was really missed on this trip.
c. Ventilated Seats and Active Seats
d. Front/Rear PDC
e. Ambient exterior lighting
f. Rain sensing wipers

11. Body Design- X5 clearly the superior design
12. Ergonomics- The X5 is the winner
13. iDrive- Ok, the idrive is amazing. The placement of the idrive knob is perfect, it is in a spot that is natural. Every time I had to reach for the MDX knob it was awkward, not to mention the dozen of buttons on the dash. Earlier I stated that the Technology in the MDX was superior, I have to say that after driving the car for a day I think that I was wrong. The BMW idrive is far easier to use and it minimizes taking your eyes off the road. I found in the MDX that I had to ask my wife to operate the nav for me. Of course I wasn’t familiar with the MDX yet, so this isn’t totally fair but I did notice a few things:
a. The Nav screen on the MDX is lower res, the X5 looks much better
b. The MDX screen is not very bright, the X5 is much brighter and easier to read
c. The MDX uses XM Traffic- which has a monthly fee + its is available in fewer cities.
d. The voice commands aren’t as usefull as I first thought.
e. The backup camera, even though the camera is much better resolution and better in low light, I think I like the X5 camera better. The MDX is a very wide angle and it’s very hard to judge distance, plus the BMW adds the overlay lines, which makes it a breeze to parallel-park…not so easy in the MDX.
f. The MDX does not have a PDC feature.

14. The MDX has a power lift gate, which is very nice. Power open and close.
15. The MDX does not have run flats
16. The MDX uses XM not Sirius
17. The MDX has better entertainment separation- The rear passengers can listen to XM FM, AM, DVD, independently + the front can selectively listen to all the speakers or just the front speakers.
18. The MDX will play DVD-A audio discs

The MDX is a fine vehicle, and I’m not saying it has flaws. It’s just not fair to compare the two as equals, because they are not. You get what you pay for….and btw, I am very pleased with our new MDX.

This is one thing that I can't see past on most higher end Japanese cars.. it's almost like they value a car based on how many buttons with little text names they can cram into a dashboard. It's very unsightly in my view and makes for a very plasticy interior.

I agree (based on my test drive of the MDX) that the X5 is in a whole separate league.

At first, I hated iDrive.

I was used to the multitude of buttons that my 05 TL had, loved the navigation system because of the touchscreen, and never used the voice command, except to show someone a "trick". most of the time tho, my girlfriend was putting in the navigation for me anyways (its amazing how quick she is with POIs).

At first, I was disappointed with iDrive. Now I'm in love with it. Its jog dial method of input isnt very elegant, but it keeps your hand on the wheel, and your eyes (for the most part) on the road. hearing that the MDX lacks the touchscreen feature, and resorts to voice command (not a favorite of mine, im tactile) and their bizzare lookng jog dial, I see where BMW went when they decided to go with iDrive versus other interfaces.

It is much less capable (no touchscreen, limited POI, etc), but more simple to use, and real life use of navi (unless your the type that just likes to know distances to places) is limited to few occasions.

Like X5FX said, iDrive is in the natural position for your hand. I have definately come to like it alot more than initially. The killer combo would be touchscreen (for inputting text, etc) and idrive.

The best comparison (save it for another thread) is that of Windows mobile vs. iphone. I have been a winmo user for 5 years, and love it. However, since going to the iphone, i really havent looked back. When designing interfaces, the design teams really have to look at how the product will be used by everyday people. it really looks like BMW is headed the right direction with iDrive. Voice recognition will have amazing impact in the future, but as of right now, i still feel its very limited, both in capability and the users confidence in its accuracy.

My 0.02

Chris

This has been a very interesting thread. I have been in the MDX vs X5 dilemma for a little bit of time now. Although the X5 is a nice vehicle, the price difference does make everyone at least consider the MDX.

I do agree the the MDX does have a multitude of buttons in the center stack. A problem that most car magazines have also been reiterating. I think that came from the fact that they had to mount the LCD screen so far away from the driver. I had a 05 TL and that nav was great. The touchscreen really allowed a great interface for the car. However, with the LCD so far away from the driver in the MDX, they had to resort to so many buttons.

After test driving both cars, I have to agree, on some level, that the X5 has better handling characteristics compared to the MDX. When I had originally tested both, it was a bit snowy out. I took both to a empty parking lot and tried a few slaloms around light poles (I know, don't tell the dealers I did that), as well as tried to put both in to a spin (doin' donuts in the parking lot, just like high school). Now, it being a bit slushy snow and about 2 inches of it, they both were a little loose in the turns. However, the X5 recovered better in the slalom and gave more feedback in the steering wheel with each turn. The MDX did give much more in the slalom and sliding was very apparent. With both vehicles stability controls on, I could not put either into a spin.

As for the iDrive verus Acura's nav . . . it has taken me a while to get used to the iDrive coming from the Acura system. I like the iDrive, however, it could use a great deal of improvement. Some of the benefits of the Acura system, which is not possible on the iDrive are:
1. Ability to look up locations by phone number.
2. Ability to look up locations by name alone (the iDrive system requires you to put in a location first before looking up the POI. The problem is that let's say you live in Chicago and hear about a restaurant. You assume it's in Chicago, but it's actually located in a suburb very nearby. You put it into your iDrive using Chicago as the location, but it doesn't show up. You have to know which suburb it's in before the iDrive can find it).

As for the interiors of the two cars, I think I'm just getting used to the German style of interiors. I will say that I wish BMW would use a contrasting color to the orange. For example, the MDX uses blue for interior lighting and contrasts that with white. It would be nice to look at the BMW gauges in orange and have either the numbers or the needles be white to provide a bit more contrast. But I think that's just my taste.

The one complaint my wife had about the interior was the placement of the rear DVD package in the X5. One swift kick by a kid and there goes the screen. I like the MDX's placement with wireless controls, but unfortunately this placement prevents the placement of a panoramic sunroof. I think a better solution for both vehicles would have been a in the headrest DVD system.

Just thought I'd participate . . . .

One more thing the X5 has that the MDX doesnt- The nice exterior ambient lighting. And speaking of lighting, the headlights do a better job illuminating the road on the X5.

well said... good example of ergonomic design. Capability is only 1/2 the equation, you have to be able to access the capability in a safe and timely manner too.

actually, to me, the TL has an amazing voice recog. I only didnt buy it because it has no AWD

:wow: glad to hear the American made ride excelled in those points :thumbup:

Enjoy both.

Do you think that the MDX harder ride is related to the sport package?