Interestingly I just rented a 2018 X5 Xdrive 40e from Turo this last couple of weeks. The X5 felt very solid and I could tell it was well made. It handles very well for a suv. Also the 40e with the battery and turbo 4 had plenty of power. It’s been the only auto start stop vehicle I’ve been able to tolerate without turning the “feature” off. It’s because the car will take off on electric motors and then once it gets going the gas motor kicks in and it’s almost imperceptible. J got great fuel economy with the thing.
what I hated about it was the myriad of buttons scattered all about the dash and middle console. IDrive is terrible. The button layout in the Ascent is far far better. And while the ride was ok for an luxury suv, I still find the ride in the Ascent is better.
Interestingly the steering in the Ascent is far better. The X5 had a bit of hesitancy and slop going off center that made it more work to accurately place in a corner. I don’t know if this is the way they all are or if it was an issue to this particular vehicle.
All in all, the X5 isn’t worth the almost double asking price of an Ascent.
