Luxury SUV dilemma: BMW X5 vs Range Rover Sport

I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving.

BHPian ace_driver9000 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I too was pondering over that. Do you think the additional 30L and 2.5-month wait are worth it over the X5?

On one hand, I like the design and overall feel of the Range Rover Sport, but on the other hand, I want a car that I can enjoy driving. I'm specific and value things like steering feel, engine & gearbox tuning etc, which actually I'm not sure if the Range Rover Sport can offer.

I’ve never driven a Range Rover before, hence the confusion. Planning to get a test drive soon.

Please share your thoughts with regard to the above. By the way I enjoyed reading your 6GT thread.

Here's what BHPian samyakmodi had to say on the matter:

I think you should try both the cars back to back to get the feel properly

With my experience with BMW so far - I'm on the fence for the first time to recommend it to anyone.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say on the matter:

Range Rover is primarily about prestige and signature design. BMW and Porsche SUVs would be noticeably better to drive. I feel BMW offers the best long term ownership among the luxury brands - should be a big factor to those buying with frugal personal funds and wishing to keep the car for long vs business-expense/HNI cars that are typically replaced after 4 years.

The most common complaint with BMW is tire/wheel damage. This is because BMW uses RFTs, often low profile tires with cast alloys - a terrible combination for our horrible roads. Going tubeless, downsizing the wheels (avoiding low profile tires) and/or using forged alloys (if sticking to low profile tires) would totally avoid this problem.

Here's what BHPian Abi5sek had to say on the matter:

Sorry to digress from the topic of this thread. I have driven the 6cyl diesel versions of both these cars. Going by what you said, in terms of driveability ,the X5 should be the car for you. The engine and gearbox are in perfect sync with each other and sport mode feels almost telepathic! It's an absolute delight to drive and it's so engaging that you sometimes forget that it's a >2 ton SUV.

The Sport is a relatively more opulent and relaxed experience. It's got a lovely engine. The ride is wafty in comfort mode and glides through roads like it's no one's business. I could also notice quite a bit of vertical + sideways movement over uneven roads. It does stiffen up in dynamic mode despite which there's plenty of roll to contend with. Safe to say it doesn't like to be hustled around. The gearbox does wake up in sports mode but it's still not as quick as that of the BMW. The car has massive presence though and will definitely catch a lot of eyeballs.

I would've been blow over by the Sport had I not driven the X5 which feels like a precision tool.

Here's what BHPian Tutenkhamen had to say on the matter:

Between x5 and RRS, I would pick RRS 10/10 times just for the shear road presence and that green oval logo!The engine options are cherry on the cake too. No more downsized 4 pots.

Between x7 and RRS, thats bit different and I think I’d go with the latter 8/10 times still.

To be fair, x5 can be much more commonly seen and for good reason, but thats bit of a negative point too (its suffering from success?  )

< silly analogy ahead />

RRS is like JLC (or IWC), built well with a balance of luxury, opulence and caters to a niche while x5 is more like an Omega.

It does quite well for what it’s built but doesn’t stand out as much and typically goes under the radar (relatively speaking!).

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