My dad totaled his BMW X5 last week and is looking to me for suggestions on a replacement SUV. I think he might looking to get something different since his last two cars were X5's. Picking out cars is such a subjective thing but here are the suggestions I gave him. What would you add in the mid-sized SUV market?

He's a 67 year old 6'2" guy who doesn't do any outdoorsy type stuff.

- Toyota Highlander
- Grand Cherokee (not sure about quality)
- Lexus RX (he said they're too small for him)
- Lexus GX (he said a friend of his had one and didn't like it)

Any other suggestions for a luxury or loaded mid-size SUV?

Mercedes GL?

2017 Bentley Bentayga

Whitetail said:

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2017 Bentley Bentayga

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...with the $160K Breitling clock option or GTHO

The 4Runner Limiteds are pretty nice. He should definitely check out the GX for himself. Highlander and RX are probably the most practical of the four Toyota choices though.

We had a 2013 Cherokee and were happy with it. Had the head tick fixed under warranty which isn't a problem with the new ones anyway. I wouldn't be too worried about quality. It is a Chrysler but it isn't 1998 anymore.

Has the hellcat Cherokee been released yet?

Macan or Cayenne

My friend's dad has a Cayenne with 160k on it & it runs like a top with regular maintenance.

The dynamic driving characteristics of the X5 of years past may be best matched by the new Jag F Pace or the porsche suvs.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZZLF86dKj9wDKDUnTmftySmOEiFFWuD6BmS3ysDrU4gp2mO44

aTm2004 said:

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robertcope said:

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Porsche Macan?

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This or a Cayenne.

Since his last 2 vehicles were BMW's, he seems to be cool with maintenance costs, so I'd also suggest an Audi SQ5.

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Cayenne, SQ5 or GLE43

He said an RX was too small and Macan is smaller than an RX.

Let's get the old fart into a Wrangler then maybe he'll want to take you on a trip to Africa.

Ian Callum is the best in the business.

Explorer Platinum

Maserati Levante. I saw one in Houston last week. I didn't even know they existed.

Another option:

He sounds like a perfect candidate for a Lincoln.

easttexasaggie0 said:

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- Lexus RX (he said they're too small for him)

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Want to hear something that will blow your mind? The new RX is bigger than the GX. Yea, it blew my mind too when we were shopping for my wife's new RX. I would prefer to drive an X5 any day over an RX, but the RX is bigger than the X5 and GX. Also, the GX has a terribly outdated interior.

RX Wheelbase: 109.8"
RX Length: 192.5"

GX Wheelbase: 109.8"
GX Length: 192.1"


Anyway, so we just drove and looked at almost every car in the Luxury SUV segment:

Lexus RX - This is what we got. Not my choice, but my wife wanted another Lexus. It's a nice vehicle for sure, but don't like the styling and it's boring to drive. Very nice interior.

Lexus GX - Feels like a tank. Very outdated interior. Lexus really needs to do a refresh or kill the model.

Mercedes GL350 - BORING. We both thought it was blah on the exterior and interior. Nothing to get excited about even though we wanted to like it. Turning radius is very impressive though.

Volvo XC90 - I really liked it, but the wife didn't. Her car, so we moved on.

Infinity QX70 - Nice looking vehicle. Boring drive. Interior seemed subpar compared to Lexus and Merc.

BMW X5 - My favorite, but i'm a bimmer fanboy right now and can admit it. Driving an M5 will do that to you.

Jaguar F-Pace - We both loved this SUV. It drives great and looks awesome. The only problem was it was a tad too small for what we needed or we would have bought this one for sure.

aggiebq03+ said:

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Another option:

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Yup yup. Volvo is making some really tasty new cars.


Also, +1 for the Cayenne.

My .02...and probably worth only that much....

Diet Cokehead said:

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easttexasaggie0 said:

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- Lexus RX (he said they're too small for him)

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Want to hear something that will blow your mind? The new RX is bigger than the GX. Yea, it blew my mind too when we were shopping for my wife's new RX. I would prefer to drive an X5 any day over an RX, but the RX is bigger than the X5 and GX. Also, the GX has a terribly outdated interior.

RX Wheelbase: 109.8"
RX Length: 192.5"

GX Wheelbase: 109.8"
GX Length: 192.1"

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I'm still not sure I like how the sloped the rear roofline of the RX and have those funny shaped windows.

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Lexus RX - This is what we got. Not my choice, but my wife wanted another Lexus. It's a nice vehicle for sure, but don't like the styling and it's boring to drive. Very nice interior.

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This is why they sell so well. BUyers in this market expect a premium appliance that gets them from point A to point B with not a lot of drama.

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Lexus GX - Feels like a tank. Very outdated interior. Lexus really needs to do a refresh or kill the model.

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Agreed. Using the same platform since 2009 actually with a MCE in 2013. I'm guessing 2019 will have a new model.

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Mercedes GL350 - BORING. We both thought it was blah on the exterior and interior. Nothing to get excited about even though we wanted to like it. Turning radius is very impressive though.

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This is what Mercedes SUVs have become. Boring. Nothing to make it stand out in the market, other than the poor reliability.

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Volvo XC90 - I really liked it, but the wife didn't. Her car, so we moved on.

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Jury is still out on engine Tech.

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Infinity QX70 - Nice looking vehicle. Boring drive. Interior seemed subpar compared to Lexus and Merc.

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Agreed. Unchanged for 9 years already except for a refresh in 2011.

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BMW X5 - My favorite, but i'm a bimmer fanboy right now and can admit it. Driving an M5 will do that to you.

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I like these too but long term reliability makes me shy away.

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Jaguar F-Pace - We both loved this SUV. It drives great and looks awesome. The only problem was it was a tad too small for what we needed or we would have bought this one for sure.

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Seen a lot of these running around China already. Not sure what they'll turn out to be like long term. I like the look. The reliability over time will show whats up.

Cayenne

+7

robertf03 said:

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I think he'd be disappointed going to a Lexus from a BMW. Lexus is the luxury brand for people who don't know any better

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My MIL gets a new Lexus every 3 years or 60k miles (whichever comes first), and she's done this for probably the last 20 years. My FIL would buy her any car she wants, but she likes the comforts that the Lexus has as well as the reliability. To my knowledge, they've never had any issue (major or minor) with any of them. That is important to her as she would much rather drive to New Jersey to see one of her daughters, then drive up to Michigan to see Mackinac Island, and then to the family farm in Iowa...alone. BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc all make nice vehicles, but they don't touch Lexus when it comes to making a reliable vehicle.

That's kinda what I was thinking. My dads first X5 gave him all sorts of problems.

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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My .02...and probably worth only that much....

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Jaguar F-Pace - We both loved this SUV. It drives great and looks awesome. The only problem was it was a tad too small for what we needed or we would have bought this one for sure.

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Seen a lot of these running around China already. Not sure what they'll turn out to be like long term. I like the look. The reliability over time will show whats up.

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If it's any indicator, my mom has had 2 Jag XF's since they were released and neither one has had any mechanical issues. First one went to 110K before my dad traded it in (he's weird like that), the current one has around 40-50k right now i think.

The only issue is she keeps running into things with her current one.

robertf03 said:

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I think he'd be disappointed going to a Lexus from a BMW. Lexus is the luxury brand for people who don't know any better

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I own both and Lexus has much better customer service experience than BMW. Lexus really knows how to treat their customers.

He'd probably be disappointed going from BMW to Lexus because the driving experience is way better with BMW, but Lexus is much better than BMW as a far luxury treatment goes.

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Nothing to make it stand out in the market, other than the poor reliability.

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Lambo: