rennym

Wife is looking for a new car. She's drove a 04 Highlander for 3 years and it has been absolutely bulletproof.

She doesn't really want a RX as it's too close to her highlander.

Drove a 08 GX470 loaded and loved it. Then drove a X5 4.8 Sport.

Tough choices. The GX seems much more like the family SUV that's going to get to the cottage and back. Rear DVD, towing capacity, soft, quiet.

X5 is more of a race car, but small on storage/space.

Wanted to know if anyone had compared / owned these two and can give their perspective. thx.

BlairC

as a frequent bmw owner i will say without a doubt you will have more little issues with the bmw. the cars are amazing and drive fantastic but they do need tlc to stay on the road. for instance on the 5series and X5 the cooling systems are notoriously bad - lots of heat in a little space cooled with plastic components is a recipe for failure. don't get me wrong, they are not lemons, quite the opposite - with love and attention i think you could coax most bmw's along to 200K. but, again, you will spend more money repairing the random cooling component, resealing vanos pans, consumables that dont last very long, etc.

have a look over at bimmerforums in their X5 forums and you will see what i am talking about:http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...play.php?f=101

my car background: m3 (little issues, not practical), f150 (too big for the city), bmw 525i (great driver, sold yesterday, want something to get to the mountain), today with any luck 2006 or 2007 GX470.

askhao

i've driven both,

also a loaded gx470 (my uncle's) and a loaded X5 4.8i

the gx470 felt boring. It felt like a boat taking corners, didn't have the power when i wanted, and overall, wasn't so much a fun car as a car that gets you from point A to point B.

the x5 on the other hand was just such a pleasure to drive for such a big car. with 350hp and 350 lb. of torque, it had more than enough power to "surprise" many cars from a stop. it also didn't feel so big when taking a corner, handles amazing for an SUV.

but if you want reliability, lexus is the way to go. my uncle has had his for 6 years now (purchased new in '04) and it has not had any problem. if you want to spend a little more for more driving pleasure, the x5 should be your choice.

happy hunting!

BLUEGXLVCR

Okay, those are two of the three cars I compared. The other was the 2011 Grand Cherokee. All I can say, read the reviews for the X5. I live in Las Vegas, so not a lot of FUN roads around here so the X5 did not have an advantage there for me. It was too small on the inside, the cargo area is a joke. The reviews is what scared me. It was to be for my wife and our 2yr old and the repeated "died on the freeway" scared me off. I have heard from MANY BMW loyalists that your money is better spent on the 5 series if you want a BMW. Not a lot smaller, just lower to the ground. My wife loved the 2011 Grand Cherokee so that's what she's driving. The Hemi is impressive. Handling is good.

I just traded out of my 2006 4Runner for the 2005 GX470 and am not sad in any way. Lots more room than both the X5 and the 4Runner. The power is constant but not huge nor lacking. It's VERY relaxing to drive which is good for me and my BIG foot. I finally took the GX out on some pathetic twisties (las vegas is lacking) and it was a boat until I changed the suspension from comfort to sport than it was acceptible. It's not a sports car, but in the long run, I think the GX is a fantastic choice and a wiser choice than the X5. That said, I still think the X5 is damn good looking though.

BlairC

haha, blue. my driving record has been much improved since i sold my M3. flawless with the truck i owned, and i got very lucky in my 5series over the summer before i sold it. these luxury SUVs sure save a guy money in tickets.

90ish in a 55 while passing, but the officer saw that i was trying to make a safe pass around an old truck, i was honest with him that i was in a hurry for no good reason and he let me go. (early in the morning on a holiday weekend, he was going to get his tickets no matter )

BLUEGXLVCR

Oh man. I got a reckless driving ticket a looong time ago on Hwy 50 up in Lake Tahoe. Hit with a $1000 fine and a year of probation. That was my last ticket too. I'm dating myself here but I wasn't 21 yet and I'm 36 now. My foot on the other hand is in fact 16 years old. Last fast car I drove was in California and 140MPH across the San Mateo bridge (again, many moons ago). I was an idiot.

I only can own slower cars. I pick my battles and have dodged a few bullets for sure. I like my cheapy insurance now too much to take too many chances.

BlairC

yeah, next fast car i own will be a track toy. maybe build a E36 M3 racer, or an old 911. but that is years down the road. have to pay for a wedding and a bigger garage before i can do that.

Booyah

I was a SA for BMW for 2 Years, I would not touch a an X5! Nice car but NO!!

Actually all BMW's are really nice--I have a 08 335, I will not have it after 4 years when the Bumper to bumper warranty is out! I would NEVER, EVER, EVER have a BMW for more than 4 years and thats a fact.

Johnny Rad

* On-topic:
The 4.8 looks awesome and the performance is better than nice [and yes the GX handles like a pig, but it's not supposed to be a sports SUV]. Too bad the BMW's interior is a far cry from where I think it should be at that price point. Touch surfaces are hard and plasticy, which is a deal killer for me.

* Off-topic:
Booyah - I've always wanted a BMW for obvious reasons, but have been concerned enough about reliability and cost of ownership that I never pulled the trigger. Your honest and informed posts have sealed the deal, which is a total bummer and a giant relief all in one. Loads of things cause me grief, but unreliable / expensive to maintain cars don't have to be one.

I was looking at cars awhile back and the Audi salesman honestly told me his A8 wasn't as reliable as Lexus. I don't know if he remembered that I pulled up in one. I think it was a recent post here that said you have to "nurse" your Audi to 200k mi. Ugh, I'll pass.

Losing BMW and now Audi hurts. Lexus is awesome, but those two Germans call me...

Jcp90ls400

I have owned both. I have had two X5's extremely expensive to maintain, I have a gx 470, and its awesome.
I would go with the Lexus you can't go wrong.

Good Luck!

Booyah

Like I said BMW's are great when New--Just if you want to try one and have fun then lease one for 2-3-4 years and give that sucker back lol. I love my 335XI but it will be gone 2012. I have had no problems with it all but BMW in general is not a long term car to own unless you like spending $$$$

Lexus 4 ME

BMW stands for
Break
My
Wallet
I had Bmw X5 4.6is. Very fast car, fun to drive, handles very well (almost like 5 series) but maintance killed me. Coolant system, altenator, seat belt bucle sensor($250) Radiator, O2 sensors failed smog. Fuel pump failed twice.
GX470 no problems at all for 2 years now. But I have to admit nothing handles like BMW. I have BMW E39 540 sport, super charged and this is a beast! I will keep this for ever.

prwdmd

I agree with this statement completely... but had to learn the hard way. My previous daily driver was a 2001 X5 4.4, it looked great, but was always in the shop. I calculated the average amount I was spending each year on repairs to be around $5-6k/year. That's when I decided to sell it and buy a Lexus GX.

Another major thing that should make you think twice about the X5 is the suspension. Yes... it corners and handles well, but believe me you will grow tired of how hard the ride is over any kind of bumps. You will feel every single bump or road irregularity in the X5... especially with a 4.8. Low profile tires + X5 sport package = very harsh ride.

BlairC

not to mention, the way they get that handling is usual by way of some pretty negative camber, which results in chewed up tires.

Booyah

2001-2005 filled our shops and they never left without a 1-3K bill every time! They are moneymakers--2001-2002 are the Worse X5's ever.

You ever have the crankcase vent valve go out on your X5--maybe once a year lol. stupid azz design and failed all the time