I'm a pretty big guy and the X5 is great if you don't have anything to go in the backseat. I could barely get in and out. Once I got in it was fine, but getting out my feet kept getting hooked on the driver seat, legroom was very limited, and uncomfortable. And I HATE the BMW dashboards. Probably some of the finest cars made. But the SUV doesn't do anything for me. I drove the 4.4i when we bought our Touareg. The VW's air suspension is wonderful, powerband is great, and the interior is flawless. The X5 only had 1 thing I really liked, and that was driveability, other then that, I just wasen't impressed. Comparing it to the Cayenne is like apples and oranges. The Porsche weighs like 5700 pounds. That more then my full size truck.
I woulden't call the ML the best in it's class by any means. But it's close, and to call it garbage, and to recommend NOT buying for $30,000 is just ludicris.
BTW, Agball, if your reading this thread, go with the ML500, and get the sport. Tuned suspension and bigger tires. As well as a couple interior things.
Too bad they quit making the ML55.
