Re: ML?
I don't know about consumer reports or reviews but one thing is for sure: I drove two generations of the Lincoln Navigator, a SUV which is supposed to be a luxury SUV in the US. The overall quality impression is by far worse than the one on our first generation Mercedes M-class.
Japanese cars? Ouch. They look so cheap inside and the fact that Toyota invented the name Lexus for the US market doesn't mean that Lexus is better than Toyota.
In my opinion, this is a nice trick to sell japanese cars at a higher price tag but I think we could discuss this over and over again.
Regarding the Cayenne Turbo: forget about US SUVs, none of them, including all Hummer versions, can't cope with the Cayenne from a technical and performance point of view.
Japanese SUV? Yes, some of them have lots of space but again, the brakes, the engines...nothing even close to the Cayenne Turbo.
BMW? Well, I know several people who owned or still own a X5 in various versions (Diesel, 4.4, 4.6is, 4.8is). Most of them are happy but all of them had problems with interior quality and especially electronics failures. Not to speak about the small rear luggage room.
Mercedes? Well, the M-class has it's ups and lows. Some people have a very bad experience, others are happy. There seems to be a strong fluctuation in build quality, apparently Mercedes doesn't have full control over their US workers and suppliers like BMW does. Build quality is definetely much better on the X5.
For me personally, there is no substitute for the Cayenne Turbo...yet. If Mercedes builds a very powerful ML60 AMG with 500 HP, a good quality, an attractive price tag and superb handling capabilities, they may get me again as customer. But only if Porsche doesn't learn from the first mistakes they made with the Cayenne (boring exterior design, weak brake on the Turbo, steering still could need improvement to make it more responsive, throttle hesitation, shifting response, for example).
Right now, there is no truck to show the same straight line performance like a Porsche 993 C2 and almost the same top speed. And I can move my whole family, put a lot of luggage inside, drive through mountains regions covered with snow and freak the hell out of BMW M5 drivers who find themselves "locked up" at 250 kph on the left lane of the Autobahn.
Japanese cars? Ouch. They look so cheap inside and the fact that Toyota invented the name Lexus for the US market doesn't mean that Lexus is better than Toyota.
In my opinion, this is a nice trick to sell japanese cars at a higher price tag but I think we could discuss this over and over again.
Regarding the Cayenne Turbo: forget about US SUVs, none of them, including all Hummer versions, can't cope with the Cayenne from a technical and performance point of view.
Japanese SUV? Yes, some of them have lots of space but again, the brakes, the engines...nothing even close to the Cayenne Turbo.
BMW? Well, I know several people who owned or still own a X5 in various versions (Diesel, 4.4, 4.6is, 4.8is). Most of them are happy but all of them had problems with interior quality and especially electronics failures. Not to speak about the small rear luggage room.
Mercedes? Well, the M-class has it's ups and lows. Some people have a very bad experience, others are happy. There seems to be a strong fluctuation in build quality, apparently Mercedes doesn't have full control over their US workers and suppliers like BMW does. Build quality is definetely much better on the X5.
For me personally, there is no substitute for the Cayenne Turbo...yet. If Mercedes builds a very powerful ML60 AMG with 500 HP, a good quality, an attractive price tag and superb handling capabilities, they may get me again as customer. But only if Porsche doesn't learn from the first mistakes they made with the Cayenne (boring exterior design, weak brake on the Turbo, steering still could need improvement to make it more responsive, throttle hesitation, shifting response, for example).
Right now, there is no truck to show the same straight line performance like a Porsche 993 C2 and almost the same top speed. And I can move my whole family, put a lot of luggage inside, drive through mountains regions covered with snow and freak the hell out of BMW M5 drivers who find themselves "locked up" at 250 kph on the left lane of the Autobahn.
, is very annoying for such a powerful car and the weight, the excessive fuel consumption make it look very bad compared to real sports cars or even high power limousines. BUT: I needed a SUV with room for my family (2 kids, one wife, no dog 
) AND a toy car for myself because I knew I wouldn't be able to drive a sports car all the time anymore. The E55 AMG was nice but not really what I looked for because the interior room was too small, same with luggage room. Not to speak about some little problems I had, especially with electronics. So far, the Cayenne Turbo has proven to be reliable and I really drive it hard. I'm afraid I can't say the same about Porsche service, my dealer is great but Porsche itself sucks regarding the Cayenne Turbo. I just received a "dear John" letter from them regarding the hesitation issue, the content in two short words: CASE CLOSED. Very very disappointing.
