The MDX has been a great car but we've had it for 7+ years and decided it's time to move on. I recently started towing my S2000 with it, and while it did fine, it's harder on a car that already has over 100k miles, for example, when towing between 40-50mph in high gear the RPM would repeatedly surge and then drop +/-200RPM. It is also due for brakes and tires at all four corners. So before addressing those things ($$$$) we decided to shop.
We drove:
2018 X5: Great deals on leftovers (this was back in October), nice enough but not overly special
2019 RDX: Very nice, big step for Acura but this would require me purchasing a tow vehicle for my daily which my wife vetoed because she knew I wouldn't be happy
2018 Q7: Felt big when driving it. Also the digital cockpit wasn't as impressive as the early reviews/hype suggested, its graphics looked more dated than BMWs
2019 Atlas: Lethargic V6 powertrain, infotainment was not as easy to use as it should've been (nav. kept insisting we were in CA even though we were in NJ)
2019 X3 M40i: Holy crap is this thing fast, faster than my 340i! It was very nice overall but towing capacity is at the lower end of what I need
2019 X5: Exceptional. We were blown away at how much of an improvement this new model is. The interior is comfortable, luxurious, and more solid than any BMW I've been in. The drive was excellent, acceleration was butter smooth and strong, the car seemed to shrink around us as we drove it. And the tech. inside is pretty wild, makes you say wow.
2019 Velar: Very stylish. Built like a tank but also drove that way. Touchscreens are a liability not an asset as you need to look down to make sure the functions/menu you want is on screen at the time.
She was in love and I must admit I've never been more impressed by a [non-exotic] car than this; the compromises of driving an SUV are seemingly gone. We kept trying to come up with the configuration that would suit our needs while keeping the steep cost under control so we drove two more X5s testing various options. When we finally settled on what we wanted, visiting the bimmerpost forum helped tell us what discounts and incentives we could get and where the good sales people were. Because of differences in regional incentives we left NJ and bought the car in PA which netted us an interest rate 1.66% less than NJ and a $2000 finance credit not available in NJ. We agreed on a trade value, a discount on the new car, and placed an order! The car started production today and we'll be taking delivery at the Performance Center in Spartanburg! We're both excited and I've never seen her this excited about a car before, maybe because it's being made just for her.
We drove:
2018 X5: Great deals on leftovers (this was back in October), nice enough but not overly special
2019 RDX: Very nice, big step for Acura but this would require me purchasing a tow vehicle for my daily which my wife vetoed because she knew I wouldn't be happy
2018 Q7: Felt big when driving it. Also the digital cockpit wasn't as impressive as the early reviews/hype suggested, its graphics looked more dated than BMWs
2019 Atlas: Lethargic V6 powertrain, infotainment was not as easy to use as it should've been (nav. kept insisting we were in CA even though we were in NJ)
2019 X3 M40i: Holy crap is this thing fast, faster than my 340i! It was very nice overall but towing capacity is at the lower end of what I need
2019 X5: Exceptional. We were blown away at how much of an improvement this new model is. The interior is comfortable, luxurious, and more solid than any BMW I've been in. The drive was excellent, acceleration was butter smooth and strong, the car seemed to shrink around us as we drove it. And the tech. inside is pretty wild, makes you say wow.
2019 Velar: Very stylish. Built like a tank but also drove that way. Touchscreens are a liability not an asset as you need to look down to make sure the functions/menu you want is on screen at the time.
She was in love and I must admit I've never been more impressed by a [non-exotic] car than this; the compromises of driving an SUV are seemingly gone. We kept trying to come up with the configuration that would suit our needs while keeping the steep cost under control so we drove two more X5s testing various options. When we finally settled on what we wanted, visiting the bimmerpost forum helped tell us what discounts and incentives we could get and where the good sales people were. Because of differences in regional incentives we left NJ and bought the car in PA which netted us an interest rate 1.66% less than NJ and a $2000 finance credit not available in NJ. We agreed on a trade value, a discount on the new car, and placed an order! The car started production today and we'll be taking delivery at the Performance Center in Spartanburg! We're both excited and I've never seen her this excited about a car before, maybe because it's being made just for her.
