BMW X5 M sport vs Volkswagen Toureg R

Pick the one you like the most. Neither will necessarily be more reliable or cheaper to run than the others, they will both have issues over the next 3 to 5 years. Only have experience of the x5 from a company car on our fleet that one of the directors has, he has had 4 of them and they were all hassle. So much so I wouldn't touch them. Mainly suspension problems and chewing through massive tyres alongside normal wear and tear stuff which seemed a bit more frequent than normal.

I ran 5 series saloons alongside him for most of the time and then an Audi a6, both much more reliable,never mind much cheaper to run and better to drive.

No experience of Touareg at all.

You would want deep pockets to run either. While the Toureg doesn't have the premium badge of the X5 it still shares many parts with it's premium cousins the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne. Even basic stuff like tyres on both are going to be expensive.

If you want something in that range that is some what reliable then maybe look at the Lexus RX450h.

Call BMW and find out, my mother bought her BMW from the UK and got the extended warranty on it when the original warranty ran out, she has since let it lapse, she feels confident without it.

It should still have some warranty left? IMO unless is its a Japanese import they will cover you.

What year are you looking at? Is the X5 the 40e or 45e? The 45e performance would be more comparable with the Toureg R. If you doing a lot of long trips then the 3.0d would be more frugal than the PHEVs as these are pretty heavy cars. The Volvo XC90 is really the only other alternative if you need the space. Running costs and reliable will be similar to the others.

If I were buying any of these big SUVs then I'd probably buy from a main dealer to get a very good warranty on them as when things go wrong they will be costly to put right.

I’d be embarrassed to be seen driving around in either without a very strong use case.

Bazz26 comment about long journeys got me looking at autotrader,

First of all the x5 diesel does 34 mpg, the hybrid 30mpg, the V8 4.4l 24mpg and the phev, god only knows, It could be 200 mpg or 20 mpg, to get the most from it you need to charge it, I would think it would be between the hybrid and the V8 for petrol only.

24 kWh battery, 22kWh useable 85 km range, a nice easy driving style would get you around 70km, heavy foot, god only knows again.

Charging, I could be wrong on this, it could take 7 hours to charge that car, most BMWs only charge at 3.7 kwh, 7 kWh would bring it down to 3,5 hours, most newer phevs charge at 7kw, you need to find out,

The VW only has a 14 kwh battery, 11 kwh useable, and 50 km range, should do 40km nice and easy,

Charging I dont know.

Assuming a 400km trip in a diesel X5, @ 34 mpg @ 1.70 euro/L = 56.50 euro

Same in the phev but only 60 km electric and consumption of 25 mpg @ 1.75 euro/L = 4.40 (22kwhx.2 night rate, you will need this) euro electric + 67.23 euro petrol = 71.63 euro

15 euro difference.

A few electric only trips of 60 km would cover that 15 euro difference quick enough and its assuming the best for the diesel and worst for the plug in.

Any way spending 75k on a car, your hardly worrying about a few bob.

I spent some time driving a Toureg R recently and found the seats to be pretty poor in comparison to how a Sport spec BMW seat grabs you in. I've no interest in owning either car but that one detail made it feel less comfortable to me.

Maintenance will be the same and given the cost of car it really shouldn't be a deciding factor anyway.

I'd go for the X5 as long as you're OK with the size. Substantially higher quality interior and I'd argue better residuals. Try and get the 360 camera as parking and tight space maneuverability is limited.

You can retrofit a reversing camera (pretty sure all X5s have one) but a 360 surround camera set is not really feasible to retrofit as it involves many cameras and would be a thousands of euro job.

No idea why they would bother you so???

The B58 engines are genuinely good on fuel considering the power from them. However the X5 is a big heavy beast and the hybrid battery adds more weight so fuel consumption has to be realistic unless your journey can maximise the electric range. If your going X5 then make sure to get one with the Harman Kardon sound system as the standard BMW sound system is quiet poor by design.

Certainly not the cheapest example: https://www.carsireland.ie/3410328

This one is a year younger but has a bit more miles on it: https://www.carsireland.ie/3340815

Lol, that looks like a drug dealer or WAG's car imo. Body kits don't suit those large SUVs.

Funny you said that, my 2017 330e, that I imported last year and sold 2 months ago, I checked to see what the same was on donedeal, turned out it was 10 000 euro more than what I paid and even funnier it was a jap bmw also, I could see the writing on the Nav screen.

You cannot tell by a quick glance, loads of European cars coming in from japan, the previous car to the 330e, a prius phev, when I was VRT'ing it, a dealer was admiring it, he was there doing the same to his jap polo. It was spotless, I mean show room condition,

It is complicated and time consuming but I am on my 3rd car, I enjoy the process, I am not a dealer I just buy one car a year drive it and sell it,

It would be harder to sell that x5 privately for that price, but when its value drops to 20 k, its not that big of an ask I think, people have a budget and try to get the most for it, so the car will be competing with others than might have less gadgets more miles,

yes when vehicle is older it matters less , checking service history difficult ?

Then there is the drama of trying to get the software such as the sat nav maps changed from Asia to Europe so that you can get regular updates here especially if they are over the air updates. Again I can see BMW Ireland not having any interest in helping you.

Maybe on slightly older less complex stuff then probably yes but on fairly newish BMWs, etc it maybe not as straight forward as just a guy with a lap top. I'd also like to know how many mechanics out there know the ins and outs of diagnosing a major fault in the hybrid system of an X5. Not saying it's impossible but rather less likely.

As I said I'm sure stuff like VWs and certain Audis from Japan are a safe bet when it comes to fixing here but when your getting into the league of cars costing 100k here I'd say while the purchase price savings can be big on buying them from Japan, fixing them can a different matter however. Has to make you wonder why traders here are not importing them in droves given the savings.