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

MDX, hands down. Will cost far less to own over a 100K life. Arguably nicer infotainment system too.

? Starting in 2008 ? also, I read on some car forum that the 2011 has transmission problems that were fixed in 2012. Can't remember what it was and may not be reliable information.

Currently shopping this exact set of cars, plus have one or two to add to the list.

X3/X5 really thought this is where we would end up. The gadgets are super, but the driving isn't the "ultimate" or whatever BMW likes to say. Choppy ride in the regular and sport trims.

MDX, nice but uninspiring....replacing an Odyssey, so the Odyssey is uninspiring and better in other ways.

Range Rover Discovery and Evoque - small and cheap quality inside.

Audi - not interested based on previous experience, didn't look.

Maserati Levante - WOW is all I can say, might be more fun than a Cayenne. Engine, drive, interior.....all top notch. This will make the final 3.

Mercedes GLE - this one surprised me the most, I really like it, has the features, feel, drive......also part of the final 3.

Cayenne - I thought we were shopping for 1 car, but I think we are going to get two, the Cayenne is that good....I drove a few year old GTS and was blown away, this makes the final 3. Despite some nagging quality issues like the transfer case, I trust the dependability of the Cayenne, I think it is vehicle I could own long term.

We went to the Chrysler dealer, drove a Grand Cherokee.....first, they couldn't get it to start, then it had a grinding noise on the first turn......some people have great luck with these, we decided to pass.

So I think we will end up with a GLE350 for the wife, and a Cayenne for me......

Go drive the Levante......WOW

Lou

Based on the experiences of others that I know, and what I have read about recent Chrysler/Fiat models, I don't think they have gotten much better. A friend of mine traded in his Chrysler minivan last year IN THE MIDDLE OF A VACATION because he finally had his fill of the random stalling issue that the dealership couldn't figure out.

Yes starting with the 2008 facelift models. Though the parts aren't bad if you want to DIY the repair on an earlier Cayenne, and they are dirt cheap. There's also a center driveshaft bearing that can wear out causing vibration (about $400) and the air suspension pump or shocks can leak with time, though you can get new ones aftermarket from Arnott. The air suspension was optional on most models, but standard on the turbo. I had it on my 2008 Cayenne GTS, it's actually damn good.

Of the ones on the list, the MDX seems to be the one that stands out. It has all the luxury of the Mercedes at lower cost and higher reliability. We would have gotten one when we were in the market for a larger familymobile but we needed something with more seats. I'd recommend the MDX over the others.

Something else to consider, though, is the Toyota 4Runner/Lexus GX470. The Toyota Landcruiser models are beautiful but insanely expensive. The 4Runner/GX models look beautiful to me and seem to be more functional, roomier, and less expensive. I'm sure they're more than an MDX but they might be worth considering.

I routinely get X3s as loaners when I have my 535 in for service. I do not like them at all. I fully understand not wanting to stay with an X3.

I beat the crap out of an 05 MDX, nothing but normal maintenance up to 150k or so then traded it in on my Tacoma. My wife drives an 05 RX330 bought from Speeder, she loves it, more luxurious than the MDX, also more buick like in terms of suspension, etc. I don't know how that carries over to newer ones. The MDX was no sports car but it handled better and had a fairly firm suspension compared to the Lexus. Japanese products can have some fun to drive quotient and soul, maybe not the dark soul of some BMW's I've seen described here. Drive it, then decide.

I can share here, I think.
My wife drove our 2006 Honda Odyssey from new until appx. 110k in 2014.
She said that she would do ONE minivan, and I can support that sentiment. The Odyssey was an EX-L, and was a great vehicle basically all the way through. We did front wheel bearings and the timing belt/water pump service. That was it in addition to oil changes, filter changes, brakes once and a couple of sets of tires. Really not many issues, and was still a great vehicle.
Decided to upgrade in summer of 2014.
List was pretty short, as we wanted to retain 3 rows of seats - but only really necessary when we had visitors from out of town.
Because of AWD, seating, price, milage and general brand opinions, our short list was really only the MDX and the Q7. BMW seemed quite expensive, as did the M-B. The RX350 is only a 2 row seating vehicle from what I recalled at the time. The new highlander was just coming out, and if I knew it had 3 rows available at the time - perhaps we would have driven one.

I drove the MDX, and it handles well and is typical of Acura. I had an RDX when newly introduced. Great seats, nice power, stiff ride - but horrible gas milage. I realized about 17mpg in that vehicle. Kept it less than 2 years and bought another Subaru to replace it.

In any case, my wife drove the MDX, and then spent 20 minutes with the dealer to try and figure out the HVAC, Nav and infotainment controls. No way. She was nearly in tears. 2 big screens and a dashboard full of buttons. The vehicle would have probably been nice, but the controls just were too clunky.
I really did like the previous design (I think through either 2012 or 2013), but this iteration was not going to work for us.
In addition, the cargo room in rear seems a bit less than the Q7.

We test drove and bought the Q7 TDi in Premium Plus trim.
Since June of 2017 we have put a little over 40k on it, including a few trips between Atlanta and WI. Great highway cruiser. Very stable and great mileage. 28-30mpg on the highway at 80 with A/C On and fully loaded (2 kids, 1 dog, 2 adults and a bunch of luggage).
No mechanical issues.
Drivers' side door panel (interior) had a small split after about 20k miles, and the dealer didn't argue about replacing. And - everything worked properly when they were done.
Maintenance is a bit steep. We bought the prepaid maintenance for the first 45,000 miles - and I think that was a smart move. Paid 1/2 of list (or wouldn't have done it that way).
It needed tires at 24k, and brakes at 35k. Neither were cheap. But then again, I have been driving subarus and hondas prior.
DIY brakes all around from our host (Pelican) ran me about $650 for ATE parts. Cant figure out why they made the rears so difficult to get the calipers off. Special multi-star wrench required, and I couldnt do it without an impact wrench. Just could not get to the bolt with a big enough lever.

In any case, it's been a great vehicle. Solid handling and great torque.
Will be interesting to see what happens as it is on the TDI "List".
If they offer a buyback, it's a financial no-brainer - but I'll never get another Audi Diesel (I expect).

Don't think I would have bought one in gas at high teen mileage on premium.

Hope this review is helpful to you.

+1 love mine

We have owned 3 X5's and a Q5. Now have a base Cayenne. The Cayenne blows the competition away.

Just got on my sisters X3 and felt ok but then I rode on my brothers MDX with the enhanced tecno package is just amazing.. blew away the bmw.

Thanks everyone, was traveling today so I couldn't respond.

He has drive the Q7 and the X5 (M for grins and th V8 and 6cyl), the rear of the Cayenne was the same size as the X3 so he crossed that off the list unfortunately.

Will see if he has driven thto MDX tomorrow.

I have shared a bunch of the replies, so I appreciate it.

He may also want to consider the Mazda CX-9. I would at least take one for a test drive.
They look sharp.

I picked this Sport Super up last November because I test drove it up I-70 in Denver and it pulled up the mountain like a freight train. It's damn comfortable too, and super quiet.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1490987339.jpg

We put 220,000kms on our 955 Cayenne turbo and it was great. We now have a 958 TT and it is amazing. We have 2 big dogs and have never felt the like we did not have enough cargo space...

Grand Cherokee is a totally different animal.

It (and the Chrysler 300) have Daimler Benz (Mercedes) roots. Nice vehicle.

Minivan, not so much. Cherokee is not either.

This.

Thanks for all the advice, in the end he didn't listen to me or any of the words of wisdom on here and got a 6cyl X5.

Well, too late to suggest a new Toy. RAV4. It's a Toyota, after all.

She loves her MDX, it's a great vehicle.

That said, maybe look at the Land Cruiser, or the Lexus variant of it.