BMW X5 verus Merc ML versus Jeep Grand Cherokee
Discussion
Thanks DoctorD, your views seem to very much concur with other advice I have been given.
To clarify further, I have £30k to spend, so can stretch to all 3 (with the Jeep being the newest, then the Merc and finally the BMW).
Purpose of the car if to house the new addition to the family (the TVR Cerbera was never going to manage that), and to give my partner a safer, bigger, and better car than the one she currently drives (Ford Maverick).
I do indeed prefer the looks of the Jeep, as I like things to be a little different. Living in London, X5s are everywhere (especially in silver), as are MLs. That said, the styling of all 3 are appealing.
Performance wise, I'm not really that fussy, but would struggle to not buy the biggest engine in the class of any car I buy (which means I should be going for the ML55 AMG I guess).
Stability etc, is not something I have thought of. Thanks for the tips.
I have two mates who live in the States and both have Jeeps. One is a 4.8 variant (I think), and the other a 5.7 special edition or other. They seem to like them, but would probably have an X5 if given the choice and cash.
I have no idea about service intervals and costs, but I would assume they are fairly similar (i.e. expensive). I need to look into that.
Cheers,
Gixxer
To clarify further, I have £30k to spend, so can stretch to all 3 (with the Jeep being the newest, then the Merc and finally the BMW).
Purpose of the car if to house the new addition to the family (the TVR Cerbera was never going to manage that), and to give my partner a safer, bigger, and better car than the one she currently drives (Ford Maverick).
I do indeed prefer the looks of the Jeep, as I like things to be a little different. Living in London, X5s are everywhere (especially in silver), as are MLs. That said, the styling of all 3 are appealing.
Performance wise, I'm not really that fussy, but would struggle to not buy the biggest engine in the class of any car I buy (which means I should be going for the ML55 AMG I guess).
Stability etc, is not something I have thought of. Thanks for the tips.
I have two mates who live in the States and both have Jeeps. One is a 4.8 variant (I think), and the other a 5.7 special edition or other. They seem to like them, but would probably have an X5 if given the choice and cash.
I have no idea about service intervals and costs, but I would assume they are fairly similar (i.e. expensive). I need to look into that.
Cheers,
Gixxer
mustard said:
Dont forget the Lexus RX300SE/SEL better than the Merc ML & Jeep, And cheaper than the X5, worth considering if your on a budget
Thanks Mustard. The Lexus, plus the VW Toureg and Volvo XC90 are on my reserve list. The Lexus is probably ahead on the other two, but I am not enamoured by its looks, and feel it's a little smaller than the others.
Cheers,
Gixxer
Davel said:
I've got a 2 year old X5 - the 4.4i sport.
Cost me about £32k and is an excellent vehicle.
Much prefer it to the ML, the Jeep and Discoveries.
You can pick lowish mileage ones up for your budget.
Good luck!
Davel, did you buy yours privately or from a dealer. A new year old 4.4i with sensible mileage would probably be top of my buying list, many of the sensibly priced 4.4is I have seen have 40,50,60k miles. Am I missing something?
Thanks folks. Lots of useful info. I need to get out there and test drive soon as I want to purchase within the next couple of weeks.
Just to add to the dilemma, a good friend has the Lexus RX300 SE-L and absolutely loves it. Used to have a Jeep and X5 and reckons this is way better. It's horses for courses I'm sure but I am definitely going to also check out the Lexus. Very high spec, easier on the petrol, a little smaller so easier to live with, cheaper to run (servicing is every 20,000 miles), high residuals. blah blah blah.
Decisions decisions.
Gixxer.
ps - I have been digging out the stats and here are the manufacturers quoted boot capacities, all in ltrs:
X5: Min 465, Max 1550
ML: Min 1070, Max 2020
Jeep: Min 1110, Max 2059
So on that basis the X5 is the smallest (by some way).
What's this min/max anyway? Is it normal and seats folded down?
Just to add to the dilemma, a good friend has the Lexus RX300 SE-L and absolutely loves it. Used to have a Jeep and X5 and reckons this is way better. It's horses for courses I'm sure but I am definitely going to also check out the Lexus. Very high spec, easier on the petrol, a little smaller so easier to live with, cheaper to run (servicing is every 20,000 miles), high residuals. blah blah blah.
Decisions decisions.
Gixxer.
ps - I have been digging out the stats and here are the manufacturers quoted boot capacities, all in ltrs:
X5: Min 465, Max 1550
ML: Min 1070, Max 2020
Jeep: Min 1110, Max 2059
So on that basis the X5 is the smallest (by some way).
What's this min/max anyway? Is it normal and seats folded down?
Folks, an update:
Today we test drove:
* 2001 BMW X5 4.4i sport
* 2002 Merc ML430
* 2003 Lexus RX300 SE-L
* 2001 Range Rover Vogue
* 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8 Overland
Truly the worst, by a country mile, was the Mercedes. Terrible drive, cheap basic interior, terrible handling, poor acceleration (including a pretty sizeable response lag). And it had interior trim rattle (you know that indeterminate rattling noise coming from some unknown place). Yuk!
The Range Rover was never really under consideration but thrown in for interest only. Nice enough if you like sofas on wheels.
The Lexus was a different proposition altogether. Lovely interior, all the toys and a nice all round package, but not really what I was looking for. It feels and drives like a "normal car" which is fine if that's your thing, but not quite what I was after.
The Jeep was very nice indeed, and lovely to drive. Lots of low down torque which throws you forward at the smallest of touches on the gas. Extremely comfortable seats, and a pretty high spec as the 4.7 V8 Overland is the top of the range jobbie. Steering was a little stiff, but something you'd quickly get used to.
The X5 was very nice indeed. Couldn't fault it (apart from the price). Not as smooth a drive as the Jeep, but much more of a drivers car.
So we quickly narrowed it down to the Jeep or the X5. The actual jeep we drove had 40,000 miles which is more than we wanted, and the X5 was being offered at a very high price £38k, but had sensible mileage (24k).
On the way back home we pretty much decided on the Jeep as it's mostly a car for the wife, and she felt she didn't need the more responsive BMW drive/ride. Also, the X5 we drove was a good £10k more expensive than a typical 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 Overland, and for what the wife needs from a car we felt that extra £10k was simply not worth it.
Job done I thought. All we need to do now is find a nearly new top of the range Jeep and save ourselves £10k. BUT - I have just had a look around the web and there are a good few X5 4.4's with decent miles (<30k) for around the £30k mark, so perhaps the car we saw was a little enthusiastically priced.
Next weekend will be spend doing further driving, but my gut feel now is that if I can find the right X5 (as above) then that'll be where we land.
Cheers,
Gixxer
Today we test drove:
* 2001 BMW X5 4.4i sport
* 2002 Merc ML430
* 2003 Lexus RX300 SE-L
* 2001 Range Rover Vogue
* 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8 Overland
Truly the worst, by a country mile, was the Mercedes. Terrible drive, cheap basic interior, terrible handling, poor acceleration (including a pretty sizeable response lag). And it had interior trim rattle (you know that indeterminate rattling noise coming from some unknown place). Yuk!
The Range Rover was never really under consideration but thrown in for interest only. Nice enough if you like sofas on wheels.
The Lexus was a different proposition altogether. Lovely interior, all the toys and a nice all round package, but not really what I was looking for. It feels and drives like a "normal car" which is fine if that's your thing, but not quite what I was after.
The Jeep was very nice indeed, and lovely to drive. Lots of low down torque which throws you forward at the smallest of touches on the gas. Extremely comfortable seats, and a pretty high spec as the 4.7 V8 Overland is the top of the range jobbie. Steering was a little stiff, but something you'd quickly get used to.
The X5 was very nice indeed. Couldn't fault it (apart from the price). Not as smooth a drive as the Jeep, but much more of a drivers car.
So we quickly narrowed it down to the Jeep or the X5. The actual jeep we drove had 40,000 miles which is more than we wanted, and the X5 was being offered at a very high price £38k, but had sensible mileage (24k).
On the way back home we pretty much decided on the Jeep as it's mostly a car for the wife, and she felt she didn't need the more responsive BMW drive/ride. Also, the X5 we drove was a good £10k more expensive than a typical 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 Overland, and for what the wife needs from a car we felt that extra £10k was simply not worth it.
Job done I thought. All we need to do now is find a nearly new top of the range Jeep and save ourselves £10k. BUT - I have just had a look around the web and there are a good few X5 4.4's with decent miles (<30k) for around the £30k mark, so perhaps the car we saw was a little enthusiastically priced.
Next weekend will be spend doing further driving, but my gut feel now is that if I can find the right X5 (as above) then that'll be where we land.
Cheers,
Gixxer
DoctorD said:
Thanks for the update. Interesting what you say about the Jeep, maybe they've improved in recent years but I would normally have put the Jeep behind the Merc. The new ML can't come a day too soon for Mercedes.
There should be quite a few X5s in the dealer system at the moment (due to the new model arriving) so if I were you I would view the used car list on bmw.co.uk and then start negotiating. Most dealers should be prepared to strike a deal.
DoctorD, not sure which model of Grand Cherokee you've driven before, but the one I took out yesterday was undoubtedly a nice drive. Sure it was a little floaty, sure the big comfy seats helped, but you can get a lot of car for around the £20k (ish)mark - which makes it worth a serious look. The 4.7 Overland model has an extra 35bhp on the standard 4.7, and around 25 lb ft extra torque, so it's pretty nippy (especially off the mark).
The BMW X5 4.4i sport has 30 bhp on top again, but only an extra 10 lb ft of torque so not a huge amount in that.
I would undoubtedly enjoy the X5 better as you feel more part of the drive. The Jeep however is a fantastic sit back in the comfy leather chair, press the gas and go (getting thrown back in the seat) type of car, which is more what the wife is after.
Off looking at more next weekend with a view to purchasing something.
Gixxer
The Jeep's not looking quite as smart now - check this:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=99617&f=10&h=0
Gixxer
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=99617&f=10&h=0
Gixxer
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