[MattBianco]

Welcome!

• Numbers don't lie. RR lease costs reflect their terrible residual values / depreciation. The market is smart and devalues cars with poor reliability, affecting residuals. Lexus, Toyota, Honda win big. RR is amongst the worst.

• X5 is not built for off road. It can easily get around dirt roads, but I would never take it on a 50 mile dirt-road detour, or truly off road. It does very well on snowy roads.

• The diesel affords you great torque, unbelievable MPG and commendable 0-60 times (6.5 sec for '15). It is also great for mountains or towing (if you need it). This option is N/A for N. Am. market for all LRs/RRs.

• You have to load the X5 with luxury seat and leather dash package to match/exceed RR's interior in my view

• RR loses big on technology

• Vs. '14 RR Sport I test-drove, the handling is superior in X5

• BMW coding (read threads) enable to you add personal touches in how the car behaves, not always legal, but most not warranty voiding.

My perspective is as follows: we have an R500 (AWD but not an SUV), and LX 470 (real SUV), and sedans. I have also driven (family's) RR Sport (2012), GL class (2013), ML Class (2012), X5 (2010), etc. The LX470 is exclusively for rough mountains and for reaching trailheads in remote parts of the Sierras and Trinity Alps.

While within family the RR has been well behaved, the nightmare stories about reliability, along with inferior tech and service costs (BMW even replaces brakes -you only pay for tires), makes BMW ownership a lot more convenient in my opinion.

My second choice was a Cayenne. It failed the convenience test as the center console is so slanted it is only built for "driving experience". There is no storage and not practical. Primary driver is my wife, and she has phones, snacks, purse, water bottles, and who knows what packed in cup holders, armrest storage, etc. The Cayenne's interior in full leather looks nicer to my eyes. If the center console does not bother you, give it a test drive.