rayaans

But I dont like how they look. The M-Sport looks better outside. The tyres are too thick, no idea why they need tyres like that.

SW17LS

Thats fine, but you can't make a statement like "The X5 doesn't ride as well as the RX" when you are comparing only the stiffest, sportiest model.

Its like saying all RXs ride hard because the F Sport rides hard. I also like the looks of the F Sport better, but that doesn't mean the base RX doesn't ride better.

Tires are too thick? What do you mean? Higher sidewalls give a better ride...you can't want a better ride and complain about tires being too thick LOL.

Why do you think I got 18s on my LS460? Yeah the 19s look better but I want it to ride as well as it can.

dchar

I think he means how wide the tires; a lot of the X5 I see have unnecessarily wide 275 fronts and 315 rears on their OEM 20" wheels. They aren't the X5M either...so it makes me wonder, do you really need all that grip in a family SUV? It must have some effect on ride quality and noise, and probably very expensive to replace the tires.

SW17LS

Thats the M Sport. If you don't get an X5 with a sport package it won't have wide wheels and tires.

People have those wheels and tires because they selected a package that has them.

jjl12

Here's my m-sport with 19' all seasons and stock suspension..perfect balance between comfort and performance. Does not ride harshly at all.

rayaans

Im comparing the stiffest riding X5 to the stiffest riding RX which I have - the 450h F-Sport.

The X5 rides a lot worse, maybe its the European tuned suspension but its like a rock on 20". Too much tyre roar as they are unnecessarily wide, the runflats dont help for ride either going over bumps like a wooden kart.

SW17LS

It's the sport model. It's not supposed to ride well over handling well. It also has 20s, yours has 19s, and as almost all reviews of the F Sport RX noted, you get a hard ride without much if any improvement in handling, that's not the case for the X5.

The F Sport is just really a sport appearance product, the M Sport package is more than that.

spwolf

I am looking at M Sport package in Germany, and what exactly is it more than F-Sport? Its not.

dchar

I agree! Not even any suspension changes.

SW17LS

On paper its not, but in reality they achieve more. If you drive an X5 with the M Sport package and an RX with the F Sport package and compare them to vehicles without it, the M Sport achieves more in terms of changing the dynamics and handling of the vehicle.

Personally? I wouldn't get either package but thats just my opinion having driven both vehicles with and without each package.

dchar

Idk how you "achieve more" from M badging...not much dynamic or handling changes would be made from getting the M Sport package. Slightly more grip from bigger wheels (but more weight) and maybe a slightly more aggressive transmission (probably not very different), but nothing really changed. Ride will still be the same as the non-M Sport X5. It's mostly an aesthetic package.

Even though many complained about the stiff suspension in the F-sport, at least they did something to differentiate it from regular RX.

spwolf

You drove 4RX with F-Sport? :-)

Not to mention that M-Sport in US apparently does not have active handling package like in Germany, so it is really just appearance package no matter how it makes you feel.

In reality, 4RX F-Sport is big upgrade on 3RX F-Sport which we are not talking about here. 4RX gets AVS and Active Stabilizer System as well as 20" wheels, unlike 3RX which was basically appearance package that came in late in the model cycle and was never designed for it to begin with. 4RX does more than US M-Sport and about the same as german full M-Sport model.

generally speaking, across the model range, M-Sport is mostly just appearance package and quite often it does not include all of the M-Sport goodies but you can "upgrade" to all of them individually... F-Sport is more rounded even in appearance since you get everything possible in the package. Same goes for S-line and AMG-line packages in Audi/MB... they are usually not fully rounded as well as F-Sport, at least not without some significant extra payment.

SW17LS

I'm not arguing for M Sport vs F Sport, the packages are the same sort of package. Have either of you driven all 4 vehicles? I'm just saying the M Sport to me gets you further in the X5 vs the F Sport in the 3RX. Maybe it has to do with the RWD layout, wider tires, who knows.

As for the 4RX that will remain to be seen, but it's still a FWD vehicle. Always going to be a step below the X5 when it comes to sporty handling because of that.

Bearcat

In the whole realm of things it really doesn't matter to most people on here. Reliability isn't even close.

SW17LS

If all I cared about was reliability, I'd buy a Honda or a Toyota. It has to be more than that too. Hopefully the 4RX will be, looks promising.