June 2013 CarandDriver diesel comparo
 

My new toy came in 5th out of 5, but it is the oldest in the group. I still prefer mine to the others, and attribute the loss to the now inferior 6 speed transmission.
Just to save time, the jeep grand Cherokee was 4th (cheapest in the group) then the ML, followed by a 95k cayenne and the winner was the 34k cheaper Touareg.

Do you have a link to the article?

I do not. Have a mail subscription. Sorry!

Old school! :)

When I read the comparo, I wasn't surprised. The X5 is aging and definitely the drivetrain. When the LCI occurred in late 2010, BMW didn't want to go thru the expense and process of certifying the 40d and 8AT for the NA market, hence we still get the outdated drivetrain. The M57 is 15 years old (the 3,0sd tune found in the X5 dates to 2006) and the 6AT gearbox is similarly old. The interior is also dated but hey, its 7 years old so its to be expected.

Personally if I wanted a large SUV, I'd go for the Jeep diesel.

I'm new to the X5 35d but not new to BMWs. I have had numerous BMW for the street and full on race cars with BMW Club Racing and SCCA. With that said, I just purchased a 2013 X5 diesel last week. I drove the Porsche Cayenne diesel (my wife also has a Boxster) and the ML350 diesel. I didn't look at the Jeep and could not justify the price of the VW. Seemed like the VW was at the top of the price point for a non lux brand.

I felt the MB had the nicest/cleanest interior and since I was driving an E350 4matic and my wife has a C300 4matic as a daily driver, the controls were very familiar. The MB was the cleanest simplest design overall and I liked it. I felt the drive was a bit boring and I could not hear the engine at all. Too quite and no sport mode for the tranny.

I then drove the BMW - drove like I'd expect a BMW to drive and while the interior was a bit dated and didn't seem to have the details of the MB it was my first choice... until I drove the Cayenne.

I loved the drive of the Porsche and thought the gauges were excellent. While I was a bit overwhelmed by the i-drive in the BMW when first drive it, I have to admit, all those small buttons in the Porsche could have been saved with an I-drive like controller. BTW, within one day I was fully up to speed and liking the I-drive.

The final deciding point for me, was the cost... the Porsche was way more money for the same vehicle and when you add in the $3,500 Eco credit from BMW and the $1,000 BMW CCA member rebate the price difference was just too much to justify.

After one week... I like the BMW and am happy with my choice. I am getting 23.5-24.5 MPG out of the box. I believe I would have been happier with the Cayenne but not $7-10k happier.

Vince

Nice summary. We own a 2011 X5 5.0 Sports Package Adaptive Drive - excellent car. I am a BMW guy from way back and love the E70.

I had decided to purchase an SUV for my business and began the thought process about 2 months back - of the 5 vehicles in our business, I will be driving the new SUV vehicle mostly myself - I am the company owner and I drive 30k + miles per year and I meet with customers constantly. I wanted to purchase a 35D but my wife nixed the idea because of the impression that having a BMW would give to some of my customers.

I drove the Touareg and the Jeep as these were two SUVs that I would be comfortable in with respect to the image it would present to my customers. I was very impressed with the Touareg and I drove it several times and grew to love it as I drove one 3 or 4 times. Although you can get the Jeep Grand Cherokee with a ton of amenities, I greatly preferred the Touareg because of it's German "feel" - very very solid, great diesel motor matched to a wonderfully sorted out 8 speed transmission. It has tight handling and nice workmanship throughout. WHen you shut the doors they are rock solid. Going down the highway the Touareg is quiet and vault-like. Everything in the VW is as I would hope it tobe coming from my love of BMWs. I felt - if I can't droive a BMW or Porsche, this is certainly the vehicle that gives me what I love and doesn't present an image I would not want to my customers.

Frankly, I got the feeling I always have gotten when driving the Jeep - it just didn't feel sound through and through - perhaps better than past vehicles I have driven, but it still felt, well, cheap at it's core. I drove the V8 gasser (no diesel available) with 8 speed and the air suspension and it was impressively loaded. I wasn't a fan of the way the 8 speed shifted and the air suspension didn't do anything for me on the street - I acknowledge that for some, the offroad aspect and adjustability of the air suspension would be a significant positive factor.

By the time I negotiated the Touareg down I was below what I would have paid for a feature laded Jeep. This is not an "oranges to oranges" comparison because the Jeep was gas but had more amenities. Even if the Jeep had been a diesel, I would have chosen the Touareg over the Jeep just because I thought it was a better car at it's core - the motor, tranny, drivetrain and chassis are as good as any SUV I've driven. And, that is why Car & Driver liked it (all things considered) over the other SUVs in the comparison they did.

I bought the LUX version of the Touareg for $50k - the MSRP is $55k - I got a great deal I think. And, I couldn't be more pleased with the Touareg so far - I'll report back after the 25k - 30k I'll drive it this next year! My first week of driving netted me an average of 26.7MPG which is certainly a shock to someone who drove a 6.7 Turbo diesel Super Duty most of last year averaging about 16.5 MPG!

PS - when we bought our X5 we drove the Mercedes ML and we liked it - we went with the X5 because the TT 5.0 with Adaptive Drive was a far better handling car. I have not driven a Cayenne, but I am sure I would like it - in fact we may look at a Cayenne at some point for my wife's car, but we shall also see what the next X5 has to offer - I suspect it will be quite good.