BMW's Exceptional X5

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Buy it or Bag It?

The X5's relatively high base price and expensive optional equipment make it one of the most expensive SUVs in the premium mid-size segment. According to Power Information Group, the '07 X5's recent average selling price is $60,094, an indication that a lot of buyers are going with the V8 engine and a fair number of options. Also, strikingly, half of all buyers pay cash for their X5, while only 27.5% finance their purchase and 23.2% lease. (Power Information Group, like BusinessWeek.com, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP).)

That's not the profile of a buyer struggling to make ends meet, and if you're in that what-me-worry-about-money category, the obvious competing models to consider are the pricey Audi Q7 (see BusinessWeek.com, 12/8/06, "Audi's Q Factor") and the even pricier Porsche Cayenne. The Q7, which is based on the same platform as the Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg, goes for $41,000-plus with a V6 and $51,000-plus with a V8. The Cayenne starts at around $44,000 and shoots up to over $90,000 with a turbo-charged engine.

However, if money is a concern, or you're considering going with the smaller engine on the X5 to save on gas, there are numerous less-expensive competing models to consider. According to Power, the average selling price of DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Mercedes M-Class is $49,330, the Acura MDX $44,866, the Infiniti FX $42,433 (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/23/06, "Complex FX"), Ford's (F) Volvo XC90 $42,325 (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/10/07, "Volvo's Exceptional XC90"), and General Motors' (GM) Cadillac SRX $42,072 (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/20/06, "Cadillac's Crossover").

Within that group, I'm now a huge fan of the '07 Acura MDX, which I test-drove the same week as the X5. The BMW is about four inches taller than the Acura, giving it a bigger, bulkier profile, but the two models are almost exactly the same length. The Acura is also slightly quicker than the X5 3.0si and has sporty handling that will appeal to people who like to drive, as well as third-row seats that make it practical for carpoolers. Loaded to the max, the MDX tops out at $48,465, only slightly more than the base price of an X5 with a six-cylinder engine.

Look for a review of the MDX in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to test-drive an MDX if you're considering buying an X5. Unless, of course, money is no object. In that case, there's nothing quite like a Bimmer.

Click here to see more of the 2007 BMW X5.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.