Photo: Car And Driver
Probably as a farewell for the retiring BMW E70 X5, the guys from Car and Driver did a quick comparison of the X5 with its most fierce rivals. That short list included the J2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit EcoDiesel 4X4, 2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI, 2013 Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTec 4MATIC and the 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel.
As you can notice, most of these cars are 2013 or 2014 models, representing the new generations of their respective models. All of the cars in the comparison are fitted with 3-liter diesels that push out 240 HP, excepting the BMW that develops 265.
Price-wise, the X5 is well within its class. Out of the 5 models, the Bimmer is slightly more expensive than the Mercedes but still a lot cheaper than its Porsche rival that seems to be out of place with a price tag of $95,175 (€71,600). All the other cars fit comfortably within the $60k to $70 limits, excluding the cheap Jeep that feels that way inside the cabin too.
After "thoroughly" testing the cars, the Car and Driver guys came up with a weird result. The X5 was placed last, once again ignoring some pretty important issues. First of all, it was fitted with a 6-speed gearbox for no apparent reason.
The E70 X5 was also available with the 8-speed ZF gearbox that would've made a terrible difference, as we said in our own test drive. Furthermore, they claim that the BMW diesel is noisy, yet, in the comparison sheet at the end of the test, the dB readings prove otherwise.
However, instead of receiving extra points for its luxurious interior when compared to the Jeep that came up fourth and was even mentioned as having a cheap, plastic feel, the X5 still ended up in fifth place.
The number of reasons that make us cry out "BIASED" are not limited to the ones we already pointed out. Furthermore, comparing a retiring model with new generation ones seems unjust for us, no matter if it was a BMW or any other model.
For the complete coverage, check out Car and Driver.
Price-wise, the X5 is well within its class. Out of the 5 models, the Bimmer is slightly more expensive than the Mercedes but still a lot cheaper than its Porsche rival that seems to be out of place with a price tag of $95,175 (€71,600). All the other cars fit comfortably within the $60k to $70 limits, excluding the cheap Jeep that feels that way inside the cabin too.
After "thoroughly" testing the cars, the Car and Driver guys came up with a weird result. The X5 was placed last, once again ignoring some pretty important issues. First of all, it was fitted with a 6-speed gearbox for no apparent reason.
The E70 X5 was also available with the 8-speed ZF gearbox that would've made a terrible difference, as we said in our own test drive. Furthermore, they claim that the BMW diesel is noisy, yet, in the comparison sheet at the end of the test, the dB readings prove otherwise.
However, instead of receiving extra points for its luxurious interior when compared to the Jeep that came up fourth and was even mentioned as having a cheap, plastic feel, the X5 still ended up in fifth place.
The number of reasons that make us cry out "BIASED" are not limited to the ones we already pointed out. Furthermore, comparing a retiring model with new generation ones seems unjust for us, no matter if it was a BMW or any other model.
For the complete coverage, check out Car and Driver.
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