strat1

jacksonian,
what grade of huper did the dealer use on your gx? your windows don't look very dark so I'm guessing ceramic 50. did the dealer tint the sunroof? thanks.

lexguynj

Rule of Thumb, always get your 2nd back up car for your wife and let her be the primary drives and substantiate that it's her car (not yours). Then get the car you really want for yourself and just happen to borrow your wife's car on the weekends for more driving fun.

If I were in love with the GX as much as you are, I would have at least considered a loaded 4Runner Limited V8 as a nice alternative. It's more low key and basically has the similar mechanical features to the GX470. However if you still want that luxury nameplate, I would have gone with another BMW X5 4.4, since they are truly amazing performance SUVs.

jacksonian

strat1,
Dunno what grade, I told them I wanted the darkest legal, but who knows. The dark gray interior on the black one makes it look much darker to me. The light interior on the blue reflects a lot of light from the inside and it loses the dark tinted effect as a result.

lexguynj,
Surely you know that a loaded V8 4Runner isn't the same. It's close, but it ain't the same. The GX is lower in the back for my Shepherd to step into. Plus, the V8 4Runners aren't scheduled until after end of year. And it's not about the nameplate. A loaded V8 4Runner runs over $43k MSRP. My GX was only $2k more. Thanks for the advice, though. And I love my GX, but I'm not IN love with it.

The X5 is too small in the cargo area, but I agree that they are performance monsters. But I have also realized that the word "performance" only belongs on the track. The BMW's (any of them) performance can't be realized legally on streets. It's impossible. Safe, normal driving doesn't tap any of the Bimmer's quality.
One day on the way home in my GX, some jerk was tailgating me and then blew past me on a curvy 2 lane road close to my home. Turns out it was the guy who lives down the street from me in his M5. It was unsafe and he endangered my life. I won't drive like that. So there's not much reason to drive a BMW. Now if I lived in Germany...

lexguynj

Jacksonian,

I often hear complaints about BMW's reliability, but rarely do I hear complaints from people that it's just too quick, has too much power and is too dangeours becuase of all of this. All these BMW features can be governed by the driver, so it really depends on the driver.

Do not fear the BMW. The BMW is your friend.

jacksonian

Yes, but to govern them castrates the BMW. It's not a nice cruiser. It's a nice performance machine. But you can't realize the potential safely on American roads.

PitBull

Jacksonian, $45K for a new GX is a great price. Edmonds quotes the "should pay price" at $46K for one with the only option (NAV with Mark Lev). If you go by Edmonds and price out a 4runner that has the same equipment that comes on the GX you would pay around $38K for the 4runner but the stereo and leather interior would be nicer on the Lexus and the Lexus would still be quieter with a better warranty. That is part of the buying decision, is it worth $8K more. Around here they load them up so you would be paying $50K plus on the GX because of all the added equipment.