[robby818]

Originally Posted by dream54ing

I think air suspension is rare in general. I didnt see any in most of the lots when we were shopping at. We wanted a softer ride and wanted to test out the air suspension before ordering, but bite the bullet and just just ordered it since none were available.

I do see the MB brand as a bit classier than BMW, but prefer BMW's design and the way it drives much more. I dont consider myself a hardcore BMW fan yet (only own 2), but if price point was switched around, i would still consider the G05!

Yes, I am doing a custom order because there is not a single X5 in Los Angeles that has the air option. It's only a $1000 option and I think well worth the cost. It should be on more X5s. It is standard on the X7 so i test drove one of those just to get a feel for it.

[gpitts]

Originally Posted by robby818

Yes, I am doing a custom order because there is not a single X5 in Los Angeles that has the air option. It's only a $1000 option and I think well worth the cost. It should be on more X5s. It is standard on the X7 so i test drove one of those just to get a feel for it.

I think you're doing the right thing. Not just for the air suspension, but you've opened the door to customize YOUR car like YOU want it. I've had all of my cars built like I wanted since the early 2000s and have zero regrets.

[mtnbiker5]

What I think is going to be a huge sticking point, no pun intended, is this new glass touch screen cars like Mercedes and Audi have been trending towards. My colleague at work just got the new Audi A6 and its filled with it. When new and in showroom it looks slick and nice. New school. However, and this sounds really stupid but its real, smudges. His car already has finger prints and smudge marks all over the glass displays and controls. The Mercedes decided to base their entire dash board and controls (like the new Audis) all based off of this glass touchscreens. Its like using a smart phone or having a tablet in front of you at all times. I really hope BMW doesn't go this direction and I don't think they will. I would expect American car companies probably to follow the same trend. Unless someone comes out with a fingerprint less touchscreen its going to suck, bad. The A6 although is slick, the marks one can see all over the controls and everything looks very sloppy. Plus, from an electrical glitch standpoint, too much tech can be a bad thing. Just give me a button to push when I want to turn the AC on. Enough....

[stein_325i]

Was this originally a 4-Way comparison article in the magazine? If you look at the photo, theres a Q7 behind the X5, and the photo is taken from what looks like the rear window of a Cayenne.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by mtnbiker5

What I think is going to be a huge sticking point, no pun intended, is this new glass touch screen cars like Mercedes and Audi have been trending towards. My colleague at work just got the new Audi A6 and its filled with it. When new and in showroom it looks slick and nice. New school. However, and this sounds really stupid but its real, smudges. His car already has finger prints and smudge marks all over the glass displays and controls. The Mercedes decided to base their entire dash board and controls (like the new Audis) all based off of this glass touchscreens. Its like using a smart phone or having a tablet in front of you at all times. I really hope BMW doesn't go this direction and I don't think they will. I would expect American car companies probably to follow the same trend. Unless someone comes out with a fingerprint less touchscreen its going to suck, bad. The A6 although is slick, the marks one can see all over the controls and everything looks very sloppy. Plus, from an electrical glitch standpoint, too much tech can be a bad thing. Just give me a button to push when I want to turn the AC on. Enough....

That's how the new Porsche models are. I saw a review or two complain about smudges and fingerprints on the entire center console from trying to change the climate control temp or suspension settings or etc.

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by mtnbiker5

The Mercedes decided to base their entire dash board and controls (like the new Audis) all based off of this glass touchscreens.

Actually, for the Mercedes, the touch screen is just one option to interact with the interface - you don't need to touch the screen at all.

You can also use the touch pad, or the thumb control on the steering wheel. For BMW, steering wheel thumb control/buttons/rolling wheel is for specific function only, but for Mercedes, it is part of UI control and you can move and select using the thumb touch pad on the steering wheel.

[cfm56d7b]

The styling of 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE is literally for committed aficionados only inspired by nature's "other GLE" design.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dung-beetle

[ronmramsayii]

I actually liked the GLE's interior styling until BMW updated the interior. Now there's nothing that Mercedes has that I want per-say except for their ambient lighting choices.

[Bahn360Photo]

IMO ML and GLE have never been on par with X5 and Audi Q7, it's just a crap car in and out.

I recently drove the latest one and it's just blah, it's not fast, it's not comfortable and it's not that nice inside.

New one is just plain ugly. Large grills on x5 may be subjective, but damn, headlight are gross on GLE and overall profile is u changed for years.

I have few friends that swore by that car and when they tried x5 or Audi, shared my opinion.

With new x5 it's definitely on the top

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by ronmramsayii

I actually liked the GLE's interior styling until BMW updated the interior. Now there's nothing that Mercedes has that I want per-say except for their ambient lighting choices.

You can change color through coding - and basically you can change to any color you want. It uses the html color values (e.g. #0099ff), and there are three layers of colors - dash, door and floor and each can be of different color. So I would say with coding, BMW would beat whatever is offered by the Mercedes

[wanderlustX5]

I agree with this review! actually I don't like the GLE interior and exterior at all. it is not athletic and doesn't have road presence like X5

[GOLFFRR]

at first I was a little hesitant of the grills, but the more and more I am seeing it in person and in print its starting to grow on me.

[CP911]

Originally Posted by robby818

Almost every review seems to be using this same X5- an x-line with air suspension. That option is super rare and maybe 1 or 2 people out of 100 will get it. I think I only came across one X5 that had air suspension when I was shopping for my X5 and i live in L.A..

The air suspension option increases payload capacity quite a bit which actually enables you to tow a 5000+ lb. trailer, taking tongue weight and typical passenger/cargo weights into consideration. Without dual-axle air suspension, the X5 is not a legit towing machine. So anyone looking to tow a car or boat and the family will definitely be selecting this option.

[Tenac]

Originally Posted by CP911

The air suspension option increases payload capacity quite a bit which actually enables you to tow a 5000+ lb. trailer, taking tongue weight and typical passenger/cargo weights into consideration. Without dual-axle air suspension, the X5 is not a legit towing machine. So anyone looking to tow a car or boat and the family will definitely be selecting this option.

I do not have air suspension and my X5 is rated at 7200lbs...

[CP911]

[QUOTE=CP911;24937045]

Originally Posted by Tenac

I do not have air suspension and my X5 is rated at 7200lbs...

Tow rating means nothing without factoring in payload and tongue weight. Your X5 cannot safely tow 7200 pounds without the air suspension, and even with it, 7200 pounds is likely going to exceed payload with anything more than just the driver in the car. Do a little homework on towing capacities and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[Tenac]

[QUOTE=CP911;24937058]

Originally Posted by CP911

Tow rating means nothing without factoring in payload and tongue weight. Your X5 cannot safely tow 7200 pounds without the air suspension, and even with it, 7200 pounds is likely going to exceed payload with anything more than just the driver in the car. Do a little homework on towing capacities and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Where did you locate the payload number?

[maczrool]

Originally Posted by nosnoop

You can change color through coding - and basically you can change to any color you want. It uses the html color values (e.g. #0099ff), and there are three layers of colors - dash, door and floor and each can be of different color. So I would say with coding, BMW would beat whatever is offered by the Mercedes

How do you do that?

[Tenac]

[QUOTE=CP911;24937058]

Originally Posted by CP911

Tow rating means nothing without factoring in payload and tongue weight. Your X5 cannot safely tow 7200 pounds without the air suspension, and even with it, 7200 pounds is likely going to exceed payload with anything more than just the driver in the car. Do a little homework on towing capacities and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Found it the GVWR for mine is 6460, do you know how much the air suspension is at?

Finally found the GCVWR, My X5 is a maximum rating of 13,660lbs that includes tow vehicle and its payload, plus trailer and payload.

[jwong77]

On the GLE, I just do not agree with the aesthetics of the large dash screen design of the interior nor do I agree with the somewhat drippy looking rear tail lights.

Not saying the X5 is gorgeous, but it obviously looks like the one that will age gracefully out of the two here.

[BMWRL]

I'm actually surprised they said they liked the styling (inside and out) of the Mercedes over the BMW, the GLE is ugly. The X5 wins hands down IMO interior & exterior.

[CP911]

Originally Posted by Tenac

Where did you locate the payload number?

I believe it was discussed in the G05 ordering guide thread (I'd have to search for it), but I want to say it's around ~1100 lbs without air suspension and upwards of ~1500 lbs with it. That extra 400 pound capacity makes the difference as far as being able to tow a heavy trailer with a couple of passengers and cargo. It's not about GVWR and GCVWR alone, but more about tongue weight and how it takes away from your payload capacity. Tongue weight is the weight put on your hitch (and therefore suspension) from the trailer being attached to it. They say about 12-15% of trailer weight is what your tongue weight will be. Take a 6000 lbs. trailer as an example. You're looking at a tongue weight of at least 700 lbs. If you only have 1100 pounds of payload before the suspension is overloaded, that leaves you with less than 400 lbs. available for passengers and cargo! I don't know about you, but the average American probably weighs > 200 lbs. these days. Point being, there's not much payload left to bring your spouse, kids, gear, etc.

I think ~4500-5000 lbs is probably a more realistic (read: safe) towing limit for the G05 w/o air suspension and I personally wouldn't try more than 6000 lbs with air suspension. That's just me though. I'd rather not find out what happens in an "oh $**T" moment on the highway when towing that much on an overloaded suspension. YMMV.

I strongly considered the G05 for our family hauler/tow vehicle. The payload issue and need for air suspension was one of the reasons I didn't go for it. That, and maintenance costs on a turbocharged BMW engine over a 10+ year, high-mileage lifespan turned me away. I went for a 2019 Nissan Armada instead. It drives like the boat that it is, but you can't beat a naturally-aspirated V8 and 8500 lbs. tow capacity/1500+ lbs. payload for long-term hauling/reliability.

[lumpydog]

Originally Posted by radelow

Turns out it did have air suspension. See email from the writer of the article below (I emailed him and he responded almost immediately). Article already updated!

From: Scott Oldham [mailto:****@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2019 9:44 AM
To: Mark Radelow
Subject: Re: Car & Drive X5 Article Clarification

Mark,

I just double checked. You’re right, it did have the air suspension. I’m embarrassed by the error. So sorry. We’ll fix the story.

Scott

Awesome catch. Good on ya to write him and great that they responded the way they did.