From "F" to "M"
 

I'm sure you will all have a different opinion on this topic, but I have been a long time Lexus enthusiast and driver... From my 92 SC400 I had in high school to today, where I am sending my 2015 F Sport to a new home (selling it for an excellent price!)

I had some issues with the car that ultimately led to my decision to sell. None of these issues were problems, but things that just annoyed me to no end. I special ordered the car in Ultra White with Cabernet leather. I paid for the ML audio (the subwoofer and bass is terrible for this level of audio) and other options (AWD).

#1 I thought the infotainment system was cool when I got it, but after a few months I started to not only get annoyed with it, but I actually hated the system. It was slow. I was always moving that damn mouse pad all over the screen trying to do simple adjustments. The apps reminded me every time how they weren't tethered or they were using data.. Or that I needed to reply to a message... Or you can't do this anymore because you are moving.

#2 the enform app was awful. Either my battery was always too low or some silly parameter wasn't met, oh and guess what. The car just turned off because you opened the door. Imagine that! I need to get in the car to drive it.

#3 it has power and it's fast, but it was like good power and not great power. The gas mileage was regularly averaging 19-21 city (30%) and highway (70%).

#4 the armrest is about two inches wide. My arm is three inches wide.

#5 press the leather and it sounds like there is a sponge under there somewhere

#6 what a beautiful car! I love love the design, but don't you just get a little ticked off when you see your car and wish you had fog lights? I did, and no I didn't want to go through the process of adding them.

Happily. I found a CPO 2012 BMW X5 M that solved all of my issues. Maybe it will be expensive to operate, but what the hell. It was 15k less than my GS and is phenomenal. I purchased a second extended warranty through my credit union until 2020 or 100k miles.

#1 The power of this car is INCREDIBLE. No question. The handling, the drive, the EVERYTHING.

#2 I don't care about depreciation. I already got this car for less than 50% of MSRP. I will not lose any more that I would in the depreciation of my GS or any other car.

#3 the comfort seats are the best seats I have ever experienced, the premium audio is 1000x better than my ML system.

#4 iDrive is SO easy to use. I have so many functions and the 3D topographic maps are my favorite.

#5 Forget the foglights now, I have two turbos. Nuff said.

Yes I still love Lexus. Just guess I've fallen into the BMW demographic these days
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Oh man I want that MX5 bro!!!! I want I want I want damnnnnnnn!!!

Congrats :)


btw, I hate my infotainment crap too. From that to wipers coming on when it wants to trunk not opening "motorized" I got the sponge sounding interior too, doors and center by my knee lolol " key not detected " and I'm in the car with it running! But it rides great.... I had 2 IS's rock solid but just too small for me.
Giving my wife this car, she wont care and I'll get the new RX :)

Congratulations on the X5 :)

I agree with you on the mouse controllers.....I'm not a fan of them either, especially on rough roads or when the car is pitching. Can't say I'm much of a fan of the BMW I-Drive system and similar systems, either...they're distracting on the road. Carmakers, IMO, need to get back (as much as possible) to simple knobs and dials.

BMW's warranty (as you know by now) is four years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper, including the drivetrain. And with BMW's historically low depreciation and high cost of dealer service and repairs, I probably wouldn't keep it much past the warranty cut-off.

congrats on the x5m! about your lexus complaints... isn't the iDrive in your bmw not that great either?

I actually find the modern iDrive system to be quite intuitive with minimal distraction. There's programmable shortcuts on the dash as well as shortcut buttons around the iDrive knob that become second nature after some time. I have 0 qualms with it.

Low depreciation? What? I would definitely get an extended warranty on that bad boy though. The E70 X5 isn't known to be a reliable vehicle. Enjoy it! It really looks great.

I want that LFA poster in your garage :D

<p>beastly!&nbsp;</p>

Low projected depreciation is part of what has allowed BMW to give those good lease rates.

Not exactly... they depreciate quite a bit, but BMW uses heavy incentives to subvent lease parameters (bolstering the "residual") to bring those lease payments to a competitive level.

Agree 100%! The rotary knob systems in Mercedes, BMW and Audi, once you get used to them, you know that one or two detents, and a click is "this" function, etc. Without having to look at the screen.

With any of the Lexus Remote Touch interfaces, you have to generally look at the screen to "lock" onto the button. Lexus claims it's easier because it's point and click like using a mouse, which people are familiar with. And while that might be true, I don't use my mouse and computer screen while operating a 3,500-5,000 lb vehicle traveling at 60-70 mph. But that's a whole different thread topic.

LOVE the X5M!!! It's on my short list of vehicles...that seems to grow longer every day...of cars I'm looking at in the fall. Congrats...

They depreciate a LOT once they're off lease and outta warranty

I have a '14 328, and I can say that the iDrive system is a breeze to use and navigate. This is my first experience with iDrive, so I'm sure that prior generations were worthy of all the hate. But the key to the current iDrive setup is the shortcut buttons around the controller. One touch to get to the radio/sat, one touch to get to nav, one touch to get to your phone, one touch to get to the music streaming.

And with the iDrive radio set up, you really don't need the dash 1-8 presets for radio stations--and those buttons are programmable for most functions in iDrive. You can program them for phone speed dials, or as short cut to an iDrive feature you may use frequently (like checking TPMS) with one touch.

It took me less than a week to get used to iDrive.

have you seen bmw residual values against lexus?

Right on the money