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Old 01-08-2018, 03:14 AM   #20
equ
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i
Posts: 9,580
I've owned an X5. Interestingly, my mind worked in similar ways in late 2013, when my a4 hit 4yrs/45k and I felt like a change. I wanted a Toyota or Jeep-like SUV. Found a 6-speed FJ Cruiser sitting in my Audi dealer. I w ent to check it out, sat in it and ran out of it like the plague. The cutesy interior and the visibility were so bad for me that I did not even start the engine. A nice Vermillion Metallic/Brown X5d was sitting beside it. I took it on a drive, thought I liked it. I also realized it was previously CPO'd by BMW but was not being marked up as such (being sold by an Audi dealer - I guess they don't read their own carfaxes). Arguably, at the time I didn't have a 100lb puppy (she's mostly done growing but not entirely sure).

Anyway, for me it was the worst purchase ever.

Did not have the comfort seats or adaptive suspension. The ride sucked. I changed the wheels and tires, each corner was like 70 to 80lbs. Lifting them sucked. Perhaps the JGC seats are not its strongest point, but I can lift its wheels & tires (snagged a set of used Blizzaks last night before taking delivery). Once out of the spacious suburbs where I test drove it, the x5 felt very wide. It also had a whiff of diesel fumes in it. I complained (as did the previous owner). Perhaps it wasn't a real problem, but I got a whiff. Perhaps it needed one long highway trip to regen and burn things off. I'm not sure. My good friend's ML350 CDI was quiet and smooth and clean by comparison. So was the TDI we had for 50k miles.

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of xdrive and its level of grip. I didn't get to test the x5 through a full winter, just couldn't bear it.

As a German SUV, I would consider a 2011+ Cayenne (either as 3.6L 6-speed or as a TDI), but they are rare and expensive. I've never found their seats all that comfortable. The bottom cushion has strange bolsters. They also have some kind of transfer case issue on certain model lines.

Touareg's are cheaper but I don't particularly like how the new ones look. I didn't mind how the 2004's looked back in the day. I never drove a modern one, but the old one felt like a Cayenne with bad steering, so I'm not sure I could make peace with that.
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