Team-BHP - What SUV for 65

Considering you drive in the city and may want something that is easy to maneuver, something small yet exclusive, I would suggest the RR Evoque. The Q7 is due for a facelift within a year and is going to get much better inteiros similar to A8 and also redesigned tail and headlamps, it is also going to shed off some weight. Not that the facelift matters because hardly you see many Q7's on road, but the interiors of the current model just dont feel premium and is surely dated! The new X5 fails to impress me as it doesn't have the road presence that Q7, Evoque would have, also the new X3 is way to similar to the X5. Why dont you look at the Porsche Cayenne? Just a little over your budget but a great SUV with on road presence. Both the Evoque and new Cayenne have atleast 4-6 month waiting period. Hence you will have to wait. But its worth the wait.
If you want a car immediately looking at the X6 is a good option and way better than X5. Even im buying a SUV in the same price range as you, and mostly it would be the Evoque, waiting for this financial year to end.

The Range Rover Evoque fits your bill absolutely perfectly. Since you drive mostly in the city, the Evoque makes a whole lotta sense, considering that it's a relatively small SUV. Plus, it looks absolutely stunning, with those concept-car elements.

The Evoque has the best ride for any SUV in that range, but don't expect it to be very spacious. It's about as roomy as an entry-level executive sedan (Laura, Civic, etc) But it does come with loads of goodies and equipment that will make your drive pleasurable.

If you don't fancy the Evoque, you've got a few other options. The BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 are both promising crossover-SUVs. The X3, in particular, has grown up quite a lot and has matured. Much better than the out-going X3.

Thanks people, your views are spot on.

The waiting time on the Evoque and the Cayenne is a big turn off.

Cayenne is sparingly equipped, and options on the Porsche to make it worth it's price, sets me back by at least 20 lakhs.

I never liked the looks of the Q5 and Chennai has no full fledged service or sales for the Volvo at least for the next few months. I have to use Coimbatore sales and an dealer approved 3rd party service that hardly has any spares.

X6's ride is bumpy, rear visibility is poor, so is the rear headroom and cargo room. At 87 Laks on road Chennai, I ain't sold on this.

I did drive the Q7 3.0 Tdi, X5, X3 2.0.

As pointed out by Y@sh, Q7's interiors look dated. The vehicle feels very heavy for the 3 liter motor. Ride and handling falls way short compared to the x5. I have ruled out the q7 4.2 Tdi as I feel it's pointlessly pricey.

The X5s interior though very typical of BMw and fails the create any spark is of reasonable taste. Materials are A grade and fit and finish is very good. Ride and handling is fantastic. Given its amazing dynamic ability, the authority it displays on broken roads (save for few very bad cuts) is impressive. On the flip side, it too is sparingly equipped and BMW across India have less than 10 cars with pre selected options and colors from which I can take one or wait for 4 months (if I wish to configure afresh!) The combination of options defy logic and forces one to pay for things you don't need (ex. I need Driver seat lumbar support but not soft door close, 3rd row seats and spare wheel. But that's the way the current stocks are kitted and I have to pay for things I don't need)

X3 is very good in most regards except for a slightly noisy 2 liter engine. It comes fully loaded (save for manual steering adjust). The problem, IMHO is that it falls well short of the X5 in every aspect except, VFM and performance (in case of X3 3.0)!

I am confused between the 2 BMWs slightly biased towards the X5. I appreciate your inputs and thank you guys. I am still confused, between the two BMWs.

Porsche Cayanne Diesel !

-Has the same Audi Q7 3.0TDi engine (although I really wish they offered the 4.2TDi on the Porsche too).
-Best interiors in it's class. Although the Q7 is bigger and seats 7
-More exclusive and long life span compared to the Q7 that is towards its end
-VW has now taken charge of Porsche India operations hence I expect waiting periods to go down, service back up to be far better and equipment levels to be spruced up. VW taking charge of Porsche India operations means that they are done testing the waters and now ready to gain better market share. The success of the Q7 might be repeated here.

2 different suggestions here. In 65-75 you cannot get a fully loaded Q7 or X5 or Cayenne. The options that make it them fully loaded will take the price quite a bit higher.

I suggest you wait a month or 2, let the X3 3.0d get launched and pick that up. It will be bloody quick and have more features than the 2.0. Its even more powerful than the 530d.

Another option is wait for the new Touareg which may be priced a bit below the Q7 and X5 range. It looks nice according to me and will probably be loaded with gadgets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 316kmph (Post 2606948)

@raja The new ML isn't coming for another 6 months atleast that's what I heard.

Volvo has no dealer/ full fledged service in Chennai! have to depend on Coimbatore dealer and 3rd party dealer authorized service. And yes resale will be an issue.

The 2012 ML will be launched in the next 3-4 months. Its has already been spotted in the Mumbai Air Cargo department (as it is imported) by a team bhpian and is heading to Auto Xpo.

Hi,

My dad was in the same market and he was confused between the same mix of cars, q7, x5, x6 & cayenne. So the q7 has lost that exclusivity factor simply because of the out dated design and too many cars on the road. X5 is a great suv it handles great and the ride quality is pretty good. X6 has road presence but thats about it. It is not made for indian road conditions. Cayenne looks great , has got the same vw/audi engine but that would cost you around 87-90lc on road, with just the basic options.
I would suggest you to either go for the x5 or wait for the ML, I got to drive that car here in US and it stands out from the competition. one of the reason being, its launched recently and it has got all the bells and whistles one might ever need.

Anyways, as for my dad, we gave up on getting an suv and we are waiting for the 6series GranCoupe to arrive in India, (which should be in the 3rd quarter of the year).

Quote:

Originally Posted by n:CorE (Post 2621193)

I am surprised none of the BHP-ians suggested the Range Rover Sport. I think it will come around 75L on-road. Its a majestic British SUV. It will amply satisfy the self-driven nature with the TDV8 under the bonnet, well equipped and also does have a lot of road presence and stance. Why don't you give it a thought if not the baby rangie (Evoque).

No chance you will get a new RR Sport for 75 on road. Maybe, the Sport SE will be in the 70s, but that will be with a TDV6.