From XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3?
 

Thoughts?

Wisdom comes from the multitude of counsellors, as they say....

Mrs A and I are beginning to think about life after the turtle. We're off to the Porsche & BMW dealerships in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Option 1: Porsche Macan Diesel S (V6 twin turbo 3.0 with double clutch PDK auto box). Mrs A says it ain't no thing of beauty, which might prove difficult to overcome.

Option 2: BMW X3 x-line 3.0d auto. Issue here is the upcoming revised 2017 model that can't yet be seen anywhere online or in the flesh. There's no way we're buying another car without test driving the exact engine spec etc - did that on the VEA D4 current XC60, results documented extensively elsewhere on this forum in a thread now buried in the mists of time.

Had briefly considered an XC60 D5 AWD but the model hasn't long to go and thereafter we can kiss goodbye to anything other than the soundtrack and experience of anything other than 4cyl turbos.

All opinion and feedback gratefully received. I'll update this thread after Saturday's two test drives and dealer experiences.

Arianne

Considering your time-scale, and also the waiting list for the Macan and the X3, you might also consider the Jaguar F-Pace. Not yet in the dealers, but the two 'first impressions' appeared in Autocar and Autoexpress last week. I only glanced at them, but they seemed positive.
There will also be a new Q5 soon. You should put this on your shortlist (which I have now doubled for you) !
GLC would be a no-no for me only because there ain't no spare wheel.

Your wife clearly has style and I whole heartedly agree with her view on the Porsche, I might go further and suggest it is ugly. The issue with X3 is that it is small, certainly compared to the XC60 though the engines are streets ahead of any Volvo engine though I have history with BMW engines similar to your XC60 experience which would make it difficult for me to ever recommend a BMW to anyone.

Have you thought about Lexus? The hybrid is very tempting.

Do you really want to go for a new model from any brand and become a beta tester again? I would only go for something that has been out for at least a year so you have some idea of what you are getting into if I were you.

Nigel, I had hoped the F-pace would be a serious contender but unless I want to be paying a price of £51k+ then I am stuck with the 4cyl Ingenium engine which seems suspiciously similar to the VEA in our Volvo. No discounts (true too of the Porsche) on the Jaguar.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Arianne

It's already been tested, in the Discovery Sport and Evoque bodies.

Porcshe fugly Volkswagen
BMW well, I wouldn't pee on a BMW if it was on fire, unless I had petrol for pee.

Discounts on the F-Pace won't be long in coming. I understand, as an ex-XF owner still monitoring the relevant forum, that the new XE and XF are already being offered at significant discounts. And these are cars which Autocar places as class leaders. There's so much over capacity in the premium sector that prices can't hold up for all of them. Perhaps Porsche will be immune but only by restricting production. If you can wait, perhaps you should. Even PCP buyers won't be unaffected since residual values will fall leaving no equity from GMFV.

And I gather from what I have heard that there are some problems with it in the Discovery Sport.

I would definitely want to be using a very well established engine.

The Porsche ,, I could live with.

The Ingenium engine in the Discovery Sport is very weak compared to the old SD4 as discovered in a back to back drive, for me the seats are uncomfortable as well.

X3 3.0D is a lovely engine but a recent test drive showed it to be thirsty, also I found the foot well cramped and offset in the X3. No spare wheel either.

I am currently tempted by the GLC very good CO2s for tax (129) quiet engine and nice to drive. Price is not too bad but servicing & insurance & warranty are ridiculously expensive and again no spare wheel. Also an attitude problem whereby they do not offer headlamp washers because they are not required with LED lights.

I still fancy buying the last of the 5's with better spec than this one.