Learn me: "Luxury" 2-3 row SUV/Crossover (X3/X5?)

Hive, looking for some input on a good replacement vehicle for Mrs. CJ. Her Jeep Compass lease expires in a short time and we're looking to buy something to replace it. It will be our general purpose vehicle as well her DD. We have my Expedition for truck stuff, but we are looking for something she can use for the next 5 years (minimum). We do have a newborn. 

Her dream car for a long time has been an X5, and with a budget of ~$20k we can definitely afford some of the older X5's that can be found with lower mileage (seems we'd want to steer clear of the diesels). X3 allows even more car for the money. She also is interested in Audi Q7, Mazda CX-9 (doesn't love the look, but good value). I am always nervous about Luxury brands, but figure the hive knows best. 

Anyone with experience with these? Specific models/trims/features to avoid? Aesthetics do matter, and some of the niceties (both the way it feels, and things like heated seats/remote start) are important parts as well. We are going to try to drive some locally soon, but wanted to get a feel for what is worth looking at first.

Being a sensible old man, I'll tell you to get a Mazda, especially if you intend to keep the vehicle for several years. You ought to be able find one newer and with less mileage than the BMWs. Ongoing maintenance costs should favour the Mazda, too.

24 hours ago I bought my wife a Highlander Hybrid. 3rd row is surprisingly spacious and comfy. 
Very fuel conscious drive this morning yielded 45mpg. 
Very comfortable vehicle that I will sell as the warranty expires. 
1 day in, it's a hit. 

We went through a similar discussion at home recently with similar needs and price point. We looked at VW Touregs, etc. but actually landed on the higher end (Summit, Overland) WK2 Grand Cherokees for their abundance (good color selection, options, etc.) and good luck in the past with the Pentastar engine. 
 

Unless you're okay with how slow an E70 X5 3.0i is, I'd recommend avoiding X5s. Strangely, the Infiniti FX37/QX70 might be the answer here for a practical, luxurious, quick and reliable used luxury SUV.

So...4 now 5 against BMW. 

Make that 6. Unless you are getting one new with a warranty I would never put my wife in a used BMW. I would get a LR4 for my wife before a bmw X anything.  
 

I would be looking at Explorers.  I really like the look of them these days.  I think they are one of the best looking SUVs in there class.  What Landrover should look like. 

I would say it depends on your personal risk level. I have owned pretty much exclusively German made vehicles and other than one or two issues per car/suv I would say they have been extremely reliable  over hundreds of thousands of miles. 

Currently have a e90 335d that other than emissions BS has had no issues over about 80k miles

Wife has a 2012 Touareg with the VR6 which we have put 40k of the 110k miles on it, other than a water pump going at around 90k, and brakes (which are expensive but hey its a heavy girl)  it has needed minimal things other than routine maintenance.

05 passat tdi has 325k and has had nothing but routine maintenance and timing belts.

02 M3 with 187k that has a spotless history with binders full of maintanence.

As for the x5 diesel I would say it depends a lot on how you are going to drive the car.....lots of short trips, stop and go, etc. is going to cause a lot of problems with buildup. If you are doing lots of highway cruising there is not a lot out there that can compare in my eyes.

Biggest thing I have found with buying used for that sort of vehicle is purchasing from the right owner. For me personally, I wouldn't go near any sort of dealership period, and would look for one with a good owner that has lots of maintenance history, etc...

As long as you are okay with the idea of some of the routine stuff being a little more expensive (oil, brakes etc..), knowing tires are going to be more etc.... I think you can buy a lot of car for the money.

A vr6 toureg/cayenne, x5 diesel, touareg diesel would all be on my list in this category, unless you need a third row.

Things to note with the Porsche/VW. find a base model with no air suspension, and stay away from the VW V8.

X5 again, find one from an owner that knows about the vehicle and has taken care of it, look for them mentioning walnut blasting, and or having the egr system covered/repaired/replaced (there was an extended warranty).

Regardless of make if you go the diesel route, rip off the emissions stuff ASAP, the motors are great and have very few problems once those systems have been taken care of.

Walk straight to the nearest Mazda CUV.

Avoid the BMWs in that price range unless you Enjoy self torture.

A coworker bought a mid 2000's X5 new and was very unhappy with reliability, it was traded in before the warranty ran out. In MN I see many more Audi Q5 and Q7s than BMW suvs. I know people with the Audis and have not heard of any problems. We looked at similar criteria for 2 kids, 2 dogs, and active lifestyles and ended up buying a 2015 Acura MDX in 2017. We added roof bars and hitch mounted bike rack and have had good luck driving all over the US. It is a tank in the snow with a set of snow tires and very comfortable everyday. I wish it had CarPlay since that has been introduced, the phone integration from that era doesn't match today. At $20k budget that likely puts you in a 2010-2015 MDX with 100k miles. 
 

the heated seats, remote start, and other niceties seem to be available on most suvs, "luxury" or not. Your money will go further for a newer/lower miles with the Mazda or Toyota Highlander or the like. The folding 3rd row is a fantastic feature for a growing family. 

The X3 with the N55 motor is pretty good. Change all fluids like a normal car.  My 2014 has had no issues at 145k km.  Lots of power, rides nice, good gas mileage,smooth and  powerful.

the 4 cyl is to be avoided. X5s are not great either.

Two neighbors wife's had Euro SUVs-one X5 and one Touareg. Both now in Yukon's after service and reliability issues.  

Toyota, Toyota, Toyota. Period.

EcoBoost flex

I wonder if you would enjoy a Kia Sorento.  I've rented a couple, and they were nice.  The one with the 3.3 V6 was also pretty damn fast.  For whatever reason, Kias just seem to fit me right.  The feature count per dollar is known to be excellent, too.

I seond the vote by G-Body for an Infiniti model.  Much overlooked in the used car market and priced accordingly.  We've had excellent luck with both a 2008 EX35 and now a 2016 QX50.  Only negative comment might be that they run premium gas...

Gordon  

Mazda CX-9 gets my vote. Probably not in the low $20ks yet but a friend got a Subaru Ascent and really likes it.

Stealthtercel said:

I wonder if you would enjoy a Kia Sorento.  I've rented a couple, and they were nice.  The one with the 3.3 V6 was also pretty damn fast.  For whatever reason, Kias just seem to fit me right.  The feature count per dollar is known to be excellent, too.

The Kia/Hyundai Lambda stuff if pretty good. The V6s, particularly the 3.3s and 3.5s, are solid engines.

That said, I'd stay away from the Theta four cylinder engines. Turbo stuff is less bad, but the NA 2.4 in particular has a pretty checkered reliability record. Once again, the turbos are less bad, but the Thetas all tend to starve the number 3 big end rod bearing. The GDI Theta II stuff is worse than MPI Theta I. The brand new 2.5L "Smartstream" is scuffing pistons, sludging up and having oil consumption issues as low as 20k kilometers. (NA is worse than turbo, but both suffer). We're now 8 years into Hyundai saying "it's a simple manufacturing problem with the casting that we've totally fixed" while the reliability gets worse with every new evolution.

So many good choices in this category. The CX9 I had for a week as a rental was awesome. And my wife's owned-since-new 7 year old Enclave has been absolutely bulletproof, great vehicle. 

I'll throw in a vote for a second generation RDX.  Its a CR-V with a 300 hp (EDIT 280hp) V6, awesome headlights and standard heated seats.  Maybe a little dull to drive, but for daily driver purposes it could be much worse, and they're supposed to be pretty reliable yet quick.   

kingbeann said:

We looked at similar criteria for 2 kids, 2 dogs, and active lifestyles and ended up buying a 2015 Acura MDX in 2017. We added roof bars and hitch mounted bike rack and have had good luck driving all over the US. It is a tank in the snow with a set of snow tires and very comfortable everyday. I wish it had CarPlay since that has been introduced, the phone integration from that era doesn't match today. At $20k budget that likely puts you in a 2010-2015 MDX with 100k miles. 

Not sure this applies to the OP since its likely a bit out of his budget, but we got a 2017 MDX a couple years ago.  Overall, not a bad car, but I wish we had gotten the 6-speed auto (2014-2015) instead of the 9-speed.  The 9-speed is jerky as hell, though the latest software update helps.  I've also found that the brakes SUCK on ours, though that could be related to our location in the mountains.  The rotors had bad deposits/warping when we bought it CPO, so I put on new front rotors and pads...they were shuddering within a day.  It was a frustrating way to light $300 on fire.  

If you were closer I'd let you take my Q5 for a spin.  Has the 3.0 supercharged motor that comes out of the S4 along with the bulletproof ZF8 transmission.  Runs really well, especially after I had the APR tune.  Haven't had a single issue with it.  Looking to sell it soon though, hoping to move on to a P car.

Wife has a 2018 Durango with the 3.6 Pentastar that we special ordered new. We're very happy with it and really enjoy driving it. We looked at several different SUV's before we settled on the Durango. If 3rd row is not needed, the WK2 Grand Cherokee is another option. 3rd row was a must for us, so Durango was the winner. 

I have not had an SUV DD for a while, but I loved my '99 Grand Cherokee. I can't imagine that they have changed all that much, it was solid as a rock, reliable, and was our choice when we had a newborn.

If I was in the market today, I'd go for a Telluride. Used for $20k, I'd probably get the best Minivan I could afford. If pressed to get a luxury SUV, I'd avoid the premium brands because maintenance scares me and go for a Ford Flex or a Kia.

So should I be looking at or running from the $7800 cayenne S with 130k sitting on a lot nearby?

RevRico said:

So should I be looking at or running from the $7800 cayenne S with 130k sitting on a lot nearby?

Curious to the answer here.

We drove a 2010 Q5, 2014 Q7, and 2013 Touareg today. Took the Q7 off the table right away. The Touareg felt like a perfectly competent family vehicle, but the Audi felt quick, fun, and special. We were thinking the Q5 would be it until we got home and looked up how abysmal front seat space would be with a rear facing car seat, and that turned us off.

So, after talking, she really wants something that has that feeling of special or sporty. Obviously the grand cherokee and the Touareg don't quite meet the same criteria, but the Touareg was the right size which begs the question about the Cayenne!