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      10-05-2014, 05:02 PM   #1
McDF15
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Question Did anybody here choose the F15 X5 over the Range Rover Sport?

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!
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      10-05-2014, 05:55 PM   #2
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I did! Test drove the Sport and test drove the X5 just liked the way the X5 drove and how refined it was. The sport for wasn't as smooth more unrefined but I only drove the V6.

4 months later and I couldn't be happier with my X5.
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      10-05-2014, 06:20 PM   #3
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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.
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Last edited by MattBianco; 10-05-2014 at 06:33 PM..
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      10-05-2014, 07:31 PM   #4
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I just traded my 2012 Cayenne S for an X-5. Also test drove the RR Sport. Loved the Cayenne, but the v-8 engine and transmission was not as refined as the X5 (surprising to me). RR tech is really not close to either the X5 or Cayenne. It is outdated, the screen is small and the CPU lags, big time.

Cayenne drives less like a truck than the x5, even though the F15 is apparently less truck-like than the prior X5. I really think the Cayenne had a nice mix of handling between and SUV and sports car. The RRS us very truck-like, but I enjoyed the ride. I think the RRS interior is nice, but not any better than the Porsche and the X5 is pretty close as well (I have the leather dash which definitely upgrades the interior). No question that the Porsche leather was really top notch.

Both the Cayenne and RRS are much more expensive than the X5 when you really load them up with options. Full leather in the Cayenne is around $5K IIRC, 21" rims $5500 +. It gets really expensive. RRS is similar. Finally, as I stated in another post, the sales people I dealt with for the RRS/Jaguar here in NC were ridiculous people. Obnoxious and arrogant. Porsche folks were awesome to deal with as were the BMW people.
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      10-05-2014, 08:27 PM   #5
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Thanks for the info guys. I'll probably take the Cayenne for a quick spin this week to see how it compares. Should be seeing snow here within the next couple of months, so I might wait until then to see how they all do on snowy roads. Although considering that I'll probably have to order to get exactly what I want, the sooner I can make up my mind the better.
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      10-05-2014, 09:09 PM   #6
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Just got out of a RR Sport - was really impressed with the quality of the seats. Very comfortable. The screen is small, but buttons were easy to find and see. I think it was touch screen also. Nice - but not sure base price nice vs what you can start an X5 and build from. Felt like more standard pep, but sacrifice mpg I guess??
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      10-05-2014, 09:11 PM   #7
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Come back to this thread in a couple of days. There are some very knowledgeable people in this forum -far more than I- and they are very generous with their time to share information, and broadly speaking, very objective in providing feedback.

Also, you should do the same by asking a RR forum. I am sure the issue of having off road DNA will be a highlighted, not to mention styling, and overall reliability improvements.
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      10-05-2014, 09:26 PM   #8
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RR Sport has better steering feel with more directness than the new X5 and the engine sound is exactly like the Jaguar F-Type V8 that I test drove. Despite the X5 feeling lighter and more balanced on its feet, the 2014 RR Sport S/C v8 was more engaging and responsive to drive. The steering is really bad on the new X5.
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      10-05-2014, 11:26 PM   #9
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I chose my x5 solely based on value and price...it's like the corvette of the sports car world...best value but there's much more focused suv's out there

Not to say that the x5 is bad as I do love mine.

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      10-05-2014, 11:51 PM   #10
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F16 over RRS. Lack of diesel BHP, but mainly poor infotainment system. To put heated seats on press analogue button, then press touch screen, then adjust and reverse to get it up/down/off. Did like the high up seating and ride quality though. Seemed better leather as well in the RRS and they also had all season tyres which would have been a bonus on the F16.
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      10-06-2014, 04:39 AM   #11
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I also chose X5,after a test drive of a RRS with diesel engine.I didn't like it because the driver seat is to high for my taste(also fell this in Mercedes ML) and the engine of my F15 is way better.Also i didn't like at all the interior of the RRS,in my opinion it looks made in china.
And the price is better.
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      10-06-2014, 09:06 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
and who knows what packed in cup holders, armrest storage, etc.
I feel this pain. Sometimes you just don't want to know, as knowing might make you buy a minivan next time lol (who cares if a minivan gets dirty/sloppy..).

On the RR/X5 topic, the new RRS wasn't out yet when we got our X5, was just about to come out I think or maybe was out by the time we got our F15 but not when we ordered.. But the truth is I never even considered waiting for it, we could have, but had no interest. As much as I do love how they look and like how they drive, I had twice considered the previous model and twice stayed away due to the reliability concerns and far less attractive lease deals. We almost got one over an ML350 the second time I considered the RRS, but even their end of year blow-out deals had it around $100 more than a comparably equipped ML350 and my wife loved the ML (we both grew to hate it eventually, but that's another story). In the end, I picked an E70 4.8 over a supercharged RRS back in 2007 because the X5 was more planted, more fun, and more reliable (in that order, I was single and reliability wasn't as big of a concern as it is now). Second time around, it would have been the car we brought our first child home in, and I couldn't risk having her in a car that may or may not get her home with a baby on any given day. Again, this is all based on the previous model, but that model was mature. No way was I going to even consider a brand new model of a car that has been historically terribly unreliable to begin with…..
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      10-06-2014, 09:17 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McDF15 View Post
Thanks for the info guys. I'll probably take the Cayenne for a quick spin this week to see how it compares. Should be seeing snow here within the next couple of months, so I might wait until then to see how they all do on snowy roads. Although considering that I'll probably have to order to get exactly what I want, the sooner I can make up my mind the better.
I would imagine all of those 3, Cayenne, RRS, X5, would fair equally well in snow (assuming all equipped with comparable tires). I would be surprised to hear of any of the 3 having any issues in even heavy snow, again, with the right tire setup. So I would recommend driving now in case there are any end of model year deals out there before they're gone. Could be year-end deals too of course, but 2014 inventory will be that much lower (assuming there is any now, I have no idea since I'm not in the market at the moment…).

Plus, the differences you may find are more performance/driving feel related, so might as well drive now even if you don't want to buy yet. Get that feel before it gets too cold..
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