[McDF15]

Hey guys, it's my first time posting here, and even my first time seriously considering a BMW. I currently drive a 2013 Audi A4, which has largely been a great car, but it lacks performance as well as overall practicality. I just moved into a new place in the city and the A4 with its lowered sports suspension scrapes every time I leave or enter my garage. While it does OK in the winter, the low clearance means scraping on larger chunks of ice, as well as generally getting stuck in situations when I would prefer not to be. I've already paid a few thousand dollars just fixing damage caused by running over debris left in the road, so for those reasons I'm looking to get something a little more versatile.

I initially considered the 2015 Range Rover Sport, and honestly I probably would be driving one right now if the leases on them weren't so terrible. Dealership quoted $1200-1500/mo for a ~75k MSRP car, which is insane. I considered financing a 2012 or 2013 CPO model, but that would mean getting an older body style and settling for older technology, which I would rather not do. I never really considered the X5 until I saw the 2015 50i M Sport, its awesome technology, and researched how much better the lease deals were. With 7 MSDs, I could get an $80k+ car for a fraction of what a cheaper RRS costs monthly.

Obviously the X5 makes way more sense financially, but considering that I've never driven one, I just don't know how well they do off-road and in poor conditions. My father has a full size Range Rover that he's lent to me for a couple of days over these last few bad New England winters, and I have to say that aside from the weight of the thing and the resulting lack of stopping power, the thing is pretty much unstoppable in the winter. I've also driven it through deep puddles, muddy fields, off road, on the beach, and I've never once doubted its capabilities. Has anybody here compared the X5 and RR in bad weather? I have no doubt that the X5 will handle poor conditions much better than my current car, but I'm hoping to get out there and do all of the things that I couldn't in the A4. I won't see anything much worse than a foot or two of snow, a rocky logging road, or a muddy field, but I want to make sure that whatever car I get can handle it no problem.

Sorry for the long winded question, but at this point I think I'm leaning towards the X5 for little more than the simple fact that I can get significantly more car for less money monthly (I definitely want to lease). I was just wondering if anybody out there could chime in on the X5's off road capabilities and how it generally stacks up to the more rugged Range Rover Sport. I might be considering the new Cayenne S as well, so if anybody has anything to say there it would be much appreciated as well. Thanks guys!