Aaron

onefat,

I too would contact SUEBMW, she would at least be able to give you her view on the Range. To me that is a high end SUV and may be more than what you are looking for.

I heard the Cayenne was nice, but like most you will have to see for yourself. I heard that the Toureg was nice. You always have the X5. I love the Cayenne from the back, absolutely hate the look from the front, and I think the vehicle sits absolutely too high.

If you can ease up on the luxurious interior request, you may want to look into the Dodge Magnum. Will handle better, get better gas mileage, and probably still has the room that you are looking for.

Hey, whatever happened with your wheel situation? I would like to see what you ended up with...sorry if I missed it.

kigerka

Be sure to read all the recalls for it. There was about 4 reacalls in one month if I remember correctly. Hopefully the bugs are worked out.

bmwin14rsm

From what I have read and felt with the Porsche, I would suggest looking at the VW Touareg. They are built off the same design. If you are going for the V8 performace model, it is hard to beet the V8 Porsche, but if you are going for a little more moderate vehicle, the V6 VW might be a better value.

Have you looked at other brands. I have a preference for the GM Large SUV, Tahoe/Suburban size in either Chevrolet, GMC, or Cadillac. This time of year, you can easily get aprox $10,000 off MSRP on one.

Last year I purchased a Fully loaded Z71 Suburban for under $35K. The MSRP on the vehicle was over $48k.

Let me know what you are thinking. There are so many options for SUV, to suggestion one now without knowing you intent for the vehicle is hard.

Think of the following questions.
Size
Price
# of Seats
Towing
4x4, AWD, or 2wd
Interior Amenities
Warranty
Resale
Longevity of Ownership
Future Standard Maintance Costs

robg

Try the Infinifti FX45. I test drove one. Extremly nice interior, lots of bells and whisitles available. Hnadles well for an SUV. And with the bigger engine (in the 45) real peppy for a heavy SUV.

bmwin14rsm

I agree that the FX 45 is a grea SUV. I don't know if it will do what you need with a new baby. The back of the FX45 could not hold a stroler, two large luggages, and hid-a-crib. If you are going to use your SUV to travel to the family with your new baby, you will need something with a larger storage compartment.

Posatives, the FX45 is wicked fast and handles great!!

PeterF

My other car is a 2003 Landrover Discovery, and I must say it's the best SUV I have ever had, and other than perhaps the far more expensive Range Rover, the best one I can think of. It is very roomy (I have three kids, two of them in child seats), and indeed solid as a rock. Handling, especially in snow, ice and general bad weather is very impressive. When I test drove it before buying, the salesman took me to an empty parking lot and drove a very fast, tight circle to show me that it would be VERY difficult to tip this car over -- he also demonstrated that by driving sideways on a pretty steep descent (and the car can get down icy descents forwards or backwards completely on its own, without you touching gas or brake pedal!). Last year, with quite a few snow days of up to 16", I did not shovel my driveway once... It is not as snappy as the BMW, or even some of the lighter SUVs, and perhaps not as luxurious as some of the others mentioned here -- but rock solid, comfortable, and offering everything *I* want in an SUV. I will most likely get a new one after this lease runs out. It is not a toy or wannabe SUV, it's the real thing.

--Peter

Sheran

I have a 2004 Cayenne S. Also a 2004 545 (non sport). 545 is quicker, but Cayenne handles better--believe it or not. I think handling on the 545 with sport is comparable. Cayenne is a great vehicle--fun to drive, agile, powerful especially at 2500 RPM+, true offroader, great towing capacity, indestructible drive train. Way better than the X5 3.0 I had. Recommend it highly.

my530i

A few things that made me leave the SUV territory:
1. Engine noise. Can't stand that. The car growling but does not move as much as you want in the case of car. This means that engine sound is NOT the music you want to hear like the one in E60
2. Body lean make me feel like it going to tip over. Don't have much confident hugging the corner

However, I like the ride height and sitting is very comfortable. Well, there're always trade-offs b/w cars and SUVs

Just my $0.02.

kscarrol

clearly Sheran is the only one w/ cayenne experience, but if you're looking for a solid SUV for the size/cargo aspect as opposed to true offroad ability or speed, I can recommend the Acura MDX. My wife has one and loves it. Solid, smooth ride, more like a car. Won't beat the cayenne in a race, but as opposed to the cayenne or other "smaller" luxury SUVs, it actually has ample cargo space in the back for strollers etc. And there is a functional third row seat that totally folds away for those carpool days when you've 5 kids. As a side note on the quality of the vehicle, my wife got rear ended at a stop light several months ago, not going to fast, just the other woman not paying attention and bumping her. Not a scratch on the MDX, while the bumper on the other woman's Expedition was a total loss. Guess that probably says more about Ford quality than anything...

bleudyno

I have driven a Cayenne S as well as the Turbo and let me tell you, they are both very different cars. The S nice and quick for an SUV but the Turbo has "push you back in your seat" power. I floored the Turbo and the thing just launched. The sound of the turbo is simply beautiful. I don't really like the aero packages on any of the Cayennes but I guess it would be one of the finalist for my final decision. The thing that turns me off about Porsches is that everything costs more. Everything is a freaking option. The base price on a Cayenne S may look okay but once you get the basics added on there, the price starts to look kinda high.
On the other hand, I think that the Infiniti FX45 is a pretty nice SUV. I was actually thinking about getting it before i test drive the 545i and it was pretty nice.
I like the technology package they offer on it (with the smart key) and 20" rims
is pretty cool with the sport package. Its very fast and it does actually feel like a sports car instead of a SUV. The styling may be too out there for some but I really like it.

David