jsanders

Was looking at vehicles like the BMW X5, Range Rover Sport, LR4, etc and these are all over 5000 lbs, if not heavier like 5500 lbs. Meanwhile, I also looked at similarly sized Japanese SUVs like the MDX, Highlander, Pathfinder, and these are all about 4400 lbs. Why the massive difference in weight?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

A friend who owns a body shop says some European vehicles are a pain to work on because they're built so well .I guess that makes for added weight in some vehicles.

darkdream

Only the LR4 is over 5000 pounds (unless you are considering the BMW X5M) otherwise they weight around 4400-4700 pounds.

mmarshall

While there are exceptions, in general, the sheet metal in European-designed vehicles is more solid than in American or Asian-sourced vehicles. While there are numerous examples, Probably the best one (today) of a European SUV still on the market, though it is an old vehicle of 1980s-origin, is the Mercedes G-Wagon (Gelondewagen). Shutting the doors on that vehicle is not only like a tank, but the frame itself is also of super-heavy solidness and strength. Added to that are three heavy-duty locking differentials and, of course, a heavy V8 engine.

jsanders

http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-X5-2013/specs/

http://autos.aol.com/cars-Land+Rover...rt-2013/specs/

spwolf

he is probably referring to the fact that german vehicles are hard to work on... taking off most of interior plastics is very hard to do unless you have specialized tools that their own dealers have.

On the other hand, Japanese vehicles are made to be worked on so everything is easy to take apart... I guess someone could take these things as "build quality" which is nonsense as they are simply built to be repaired easily.

There was a big survey on ease of work for in-car entertainment installations and Toyota and Ford always came out on top.


Now that has nothing to do with weight of the vehicles. Japanese SUVs are built on lighter platforms that come from their mid sized FWD sedans while germans are often built off their much heavier platforms from their RWD sedans... hence the weight.

LexBob2

I just looked up an X5 X Drive 35i on bmw.com, and the specs show 4790 lbs.

darkdream

Also if you want heavier Japanese suvs look at the Infiniti QX80/Nissan Armada, Toyota Land Cruiser/LX570, or the Toyota 4Runner 4WD LTD.

TangoRed

The Highlander and Pathfinder are mainstream crossovers, so we'll toss those.

The X5 is ~4800lbs., ML350 is 4600-4700lbs (2wd/4wd), RX350 F-sport AWD is 4500lbs. They're about in line with each other. All of that weight comes from sound deadening, adaptive suspension crap, and additional equipment not offered on the crossovers.

Infra

iTrader: (1)

Notice the difference in offroad capability....

Blackraven

Hehe well I'd rather have a European SUV instead of some lame-*** Expedition or Escalade.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I like the lame-*** Expedition

LexFather

Only on the internetz where the double standards are live an in effect can bash some brands and cars for being too heavy then make excuses for why another brand is heavy.

Hilarious

The bottom line is consumers don't seem to care but car brands do as lighter usually makes for a more efficient and more fun vehicle (as well as other benefits). For SUVs low weight isn't really a big priority since its not a selling point and well they are big SUVs. The Range Rover, MDX and Cayenne should be commended for being lighter than last generations.

mmarshall

As far as ease of accident repair goes, however, a far bigger factor than country-of-orgin is whether the SUV is truck-based or car-based. Traditional truck-based, ladder-frame SUVs are generally easier to repair and realign after a major acccident than the more fragile unibody. It's not necessarily that the unibody itself is not durable, but that, after an impact, deformities and misalignments tend to be magnified throughout the unibody structure more, sometimes requiring the use of a frame-rail machine to realign the vehicle properly. This also means that a unibody SUV is more likely to be totalled by the insurance company after an accident.

mmarshall

And, conversely, only on the Internet, in car forums like CL (one of the best of the best), will you find the ability of so many car enthusiasts from all over the country (and the planet) to come together and actually sit down and discuss vehicles like we do.

I myself don't really mind vehicle weight that much. All else equal (and there are many different factors, of course), weight (and center of gravity) gives tracking stability, resistance to crosswinds, smoother ride comfort, more crash-resistance, and a hefty structure. It has been possible, though, in some modern vehicles, to get a strong body structure without heavy weight by the use of modern alloy-metals and metal-substitutes.