[23109VC]

So I test drove the X5 and Cayenne same day - back too back.

I drove a brand new M50i and X5M Competition at my dealer. The M50 was very nice, rode really smooth in comfort mode. As soon as I have it a significant amount of throttle the car was very unstable and floaty. Even in sport + mode - the car road like a boat. I did not care for it at all. There is too much power for the chassis. I honestly think it’s a big waste of money to put that much power in that car. It cannot handle it. If I was going to buy a new X5 I would get the base model and just use it to shuttle around town to get groceries and go on road trips but there’s way too much horsepower in that car. I understand it’s an SUV and it’s not meant to be a sports car, but the car floated and felt unstable when it was under throttle.

I drove the X5M immediately afterward there was a significant difference in the feel of the car. It was much flatter in the handling, and the ride was noticeably more firm as expected. I did not think the ride was uncomfortable, but it did ride pretty firm, and I found myself thinking it would not be comfortable as a daily driver car at least not to me. I also found the car to feel very heavy like I was driving around in a tank that went real fast.

I drove the Porsche Cayenne within an hour. It was a GTS model. There is no comparison. None. The Porsche Cayenne drives circles around any of the X5’s, even the competition model. The cayenne sounds better, rides better, and handles better. I would take a Cayenne GTS over the X5M any day, even though the GTS is supposedly a little bit slower. My seat of the pants observation I felt like the GTS was at least as fast as the and 50 but it felt so much better because it was so planted and stable.

The fit and finish in the Cayenne feels noticeably better however, you don’t get as many features for your money. If you equipped the Cayenne on the same level as the X5 models you’re going to pay significantly more for the Porsche. If I was going to buy one of these cars, I would sacrifice on some of the text features and take the GTS over the X5.