pt767

Lexus RX350 is a great vehicle that's comfortable & bulletproof. No surprises on cost of ownership. My wife has the RX350 that we've had since late '04. She still loves it & isn't in a hurry to replace it. Just did the 90k service & should be good to go for as long as she wants to keep it.

seapar

I have 75K trouble free miles on our Lexus 400h 2006 which we have had for 6 yrs now. It is the Costco car, the going to the fair or concert car, shuttling guests car besides our two P cars. Can park on street, if necessary, w/o worries. Lots of choices for eventual replacement; not thinking anytime soon.

Mbiondo

Touareg, especially TDI. It's like a reasonably priced Cayenne, but better looking and more std equipment.

Sweetie has 2005 (bought it new!) V8. Wish they'd still make it today. 97k miles, and loving it.

mousecrab

X3 with M package. a bit lack of power but still sporty, can out run most SUVs on the road in curves (the M package makes a big difference). car is still running solid at 80K miles. not a lot of electronics but that keeps the trouble down as well. Q5 is very nice but was afraid of electronics issues so didn't choice that.

hpowders

Acura MDX. Drove it. Liked it.

At Law

I have been looking at the 2011-2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overlands as well. They are an outstanding truck, inside and out.
The interior is in my opinion the finest interior of any SUV on the market right now. The interior runs circles around my Range Rover Sport interior.
The Overland actually has full grain stitched leather all over the dash and doors and real wood inserts.

An Overland with a Hemi V8 will run a hair shy of $50,000.00.

Alan Smithee

I looked at the Q5 2.0T, X3, X5d, Cayenne V6, and Touareg TDI. Ended up with an X5d in December; with incentives and discounts, it was just under $50k (~$64k MSRP). With 20" wheels, sport and cold weather packages, and all nav/audio options, any of the others would have been much more expensive, and only the Touareg would have had monster torque. Handles great, and so far averaging ~23 MPG in mixed driving.

Canyon56

As a vehicle, the Touaregs are great. Esp the older ones (the latest one is very tame in comparison, specifically for off the road.) But although VW is getting better with their reliability, the US VW (VoA) dealer network is horrible. That alone keeps me out of one.

I went to the Acura dealership with a friend of mine (he's looking at the MDX) and checked out the current Acura TL while we were there. The sales guy let me play with it alone for a while. Despite the ugly nose/grill (they did do a nose job for 2012 and it looks a lot better), the car is pretty impressive for a safe, reliable, daily driver. I drove the AWD model with all the options (and bigger motor) and it handled really well with a sports sedan feel. Seats are nice and the car is roomy. Plus it has all the latest media goodies and a great nav system. Nice car, I was impressed. It can be had with all the options for just under $50k MSRP (I didn't ask about any deals.) Big thing is the reliability and the good electronics.

Tacet-Conundrum

LM002 if you need a hauler...

rodsky

How did you get such a good deal? I think their's a diesel rebate - no? What are the long term reliability prospects for an X5d. I have two friends that have them. Love them. but they are both leases.

Alan Smithee

There were incentives from BMW in addition to the Eco Credit, an alternative fuel tax credit, my BMWCCA rebate, and the negotiated price prior to incentives was under dealer invoice. Mine is a lease as well, so I didn't get it for the long term (after many BMWs, I have learned not to own them outside of warranty). I'm hoping the upcoming Porsche Cajun (or whatever they end up calling it) will be a keeper.

ELUSIVE

Just my $0.02 on a few of the cars listed above:
1) Lexus RX350/400h. My all time least favorite car. Not comfortable for anyone over 5'10, and absolutely zero driver feel. Super soft suspension and terrible brakes.
2) New Grand Cherokee. Love the looks but driving it sucked. Felt very much like the Lexus to me. Terrible suspension and brakes. The navigation was not very good graphically at all. Steering wheel was great.
3) Audi A4. Love the 2.0T and Quattro. My wife drives one of these and is super happy in the car across the board. Great gas mileage and plenty of power. I love driving it when I can.

Also like the MDX and the Taureg. The new Cayenne looks better but I still don't like the interior.

USMC_DS1

We loved ours until it hit 100K+ miles and ran out of warranty... then it started to suck $5K in repair bills out of my checking account. That's why we got the Lexus GX470 to replace it. BTW, I sold it for $8,500 after the $5K in repairs. Ouch!

rijowysock

talked to my dealer today, he said 500 off for new clients is max, also he said cali dealers are all asking 3-5k over lately so doubt they will even sell for MSRP.

goodluck tho, they are hard to find....

DRJMK

I loaded mine to the gills and love it! Getting 26 MPG on my X5d!!!