X6 35i vs Cayenne S
 

Been toying my mind for a while. I am looking at upgrading my E70 ride.
I am seriously looking at E71 (35i) vs Cayenne S (2008 model). I am not into getting brand new ones. I am ok if it is pre-owned. In my country, a 1 yr old pre-owned E71 will be about the same price as 2yr-old Cayenne S (loaded with all the right options PDSM, electric memory seats, etc).

Which is really a better ride? Ride quality? Functionality? Reliability? Performance?

Of course I have done the 10min test drive..which really cannot reveal very much. Will be very much appreciated if you can give an honest view especially for those who owned these 2 vehicles before. Thks in advance.

Long term, I like the Beemer Better. Nescafe?

The previous model Cayenne feels like a truck (to me) compared to the new one and the X6.

Besides, a one year newer car has one less year of a chance of problems, and possibly warranty coverage.

Perhaps you should google around to find some reviews of the X6. I found the video reviews most helpful. I'll see if I can find the ones that I watched this weekend. Both good and bad. Some of them are quite entertaining. Here is a sampling:

I like this one the best:

YouTube - BMW X6 Review

YouTube - BMW X6 Sports Activitiy Coupe
YouTube - NEW Top Gear Aus: Ep8 - BMW X6
YouTube - BMW X6 [Motor Trend]
YouTube - BMW X6 xDrive35i | Infiniti FX35 [Motor Trend] [liked infiniti better, but mostly because it was less expensive]
YouTube - motorguru.com - 2008 BMW X6 Car Review (Full Length)
YouTube - BMW X6 xDrive 35d 2009 MSN Cars test drive

Not so good, but he was driving a 35d:

YouTube - 010 Top Gear Australia - BMW X6 Coupe 4WD

Here is the TopGear one from Jeremy Clarkson, its a bad review, but this guy is biased against BMWs. Also, he's doing trying to go off-road with summer tires! Even though it is a bad review, its very entertaining.

YouTube - BMW X6 car review - Top Gear - BBC

Then, after his ugly review, here is a good one from TopGear where they took the X6 into the Polish wilderness with off-road tires. Its in print, and long, but its also very entertaining.

Top Gear’s BMW X6 Off-Road Review

A lot of reviews ding BMW for being more expensive compared to the competition, but when I configure them to be almost exactly the same, the others are more expensive. Sometimes significantly so.

well cayenne for performance no doubt, and IMO for general ride comfort and looks. But then again, the X6 is almost new and the current model, but the cayenne is not.
I like performance so I would go for the cayenne :)