Q7, Cayenne, MDX or X5
 

All,

My father has a fairly new BMW X3, but feels it is too small.

He is looking at the following, a lot based on Consumer Reports:

Audi Q7
Porsche Cayenne
BMW X5
Acura MDX

Are there any he is leaving off his short list? Pro's and Con's

Thanks,

Bill

Range Rover Sport

It now comes in Diesel

I would suggest a Lexus RX350. Even a used one is good value and avoid that Darth Vader front rad treatment. Great ride, smooth, quiet like a Mercedes except cheaper to run. :)

There is a larger Lexus suv but never tried it. The RX350 might not be big enough for your father.

He drove an RX before buying the X3 and said it felt like an old ladies car :)

I think he wants a bit sporty, understanding it's an SUV.

If the Cayenne made the list, have you considered VW's Touareg?

Wife has owned an 2011 Acura MDX for about 4 years now and about 50K miles. No issues whatsoever (its a Honda) and the fit and finish is holding up well.

I did bring the Touareg up with him, but apparently consumer reports doesn't like them.

Go figure.

I figured the Acura would be reliable, however they had a TL Type R or whatever it was, and it ate transmissions.

Honda pilot

The X5, like most modern BMWs, will slowly fall apart around you. Our company director of engineering for some reason owns two late model X5, I am appalled at the multitude of build quality issues that I spot when I ride in it. Many creaks and rattles, cracked clearcoat on the wood trim, cracked plastics, idiot lights, etc. The Audi may have electrics designed by Lucas, but at least it will still look nice at 100k. The Cayenne is actually pretty solid, especially the newer ones with the metal coolant pipes. The Ranger Rover is a Range Rover, enough said. Just Google "Doug Demuro Range Rover" for some good reading, and buy an aftermarket warranty.;)

Had an X3, was too bouncy. The short wheel base combined with the SUV suspension sometimes felt like it was going to Jiggle my guts out.

Now have a Cayenne Turbo. I like it.

Have him go drive the ones he is considering. And more than just around the block. See if you can get by with 20 to 30 minutes so he find out how the car really feels and drives and isn't swayed by just the gadgets.

Why is the Jeep Grand Cherokee not a consideration?

We had an '88 Plymouth Voyager, at 2 years old it broke down and stranded us in Iowa at my Grandparents house one summer. He refuses to even look at Chrysler products due to that...........

My son and his wife were looking at the Q7, but couldn't find what they wanted color wise. They happened to look at a 2014 Range Rover Sport that was a lease return at the local dealer last weekend and ended up taking it home. It still had some of the factory plastic on the knobs and he said it doesn't look like it was even used in the back seat. It has 37k miles on it and is covered till 2020 with the Certified warranty. From the pics it looks pretty nice. Has a supercharged V-6 in it.
He's happy since she's happy with it and they saved quite a bit over the price of a new Q7 too.

MDX is the droid he is looking for

MDX hands down.

They'd have to PAY ME to get me to buy an SUV made in Europe.
It's just not worth it to put up with crappy reliability and stupid costs in an attempt impress someone who doesn't know any better.

Seems he may not be happy with anything but a soul-less, japanese, transportation appliance.

I had a 13 Cayenne V6 for four lovely years. Great handling, trouble-free, amazing interior. Only negative is the cargo capacity is deceptively small, but as long as you don't want to haul big awkward things I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

MDX is a hopped up Pilot. Can go wrong with either if looking at driving it for a long time.

That was my thought exactly! The current GC is really nice especially in "Summit" trim level.

Yes. If you buy your cars based on Consumer Reports then that's what you end up with 100% of the time.

Bill I'd put money down that he chooses an MDX. :D