Need some suggestions for my father. Quick run-down, he's been an Acura guy since 1989 (Legend and 3.2 TL respectively, he keeps cars A LONG TIME, current 1999 TL has about 180K on it), but is feeling like switching it up and going with a sport ute.

He picked up a LX470 a little while back for my mom, and he's looking to branch out a little bit. He saw a Range Rover Sport the other day which really piqued his interesting, problem is he's heard quite a bit about reliability issues, and coming from two VERY reliable cars that's not cool.

Okay, so after a good tangent I'll get to the point. Does the RRS truly have reliability issues or is it one of those "enough people have bitched about it on the internet to make it seem like an issue but in reality its only those 20 people that are having problems" and they're painless? And if they are painless, anyone else have any suggestions? He's kicked around the idea of a Cayenne, but he says it doesn't really do anything for him (he's kind of a car guy, he reads about cars and truly cares about what he drives, but not enough of a car guy to spend hours on forums trouble shooting and shooting the shit), he's thinking possibly the Touareg, but again the possibility of reliability issues. Any thoughts there? He's got my old 1998 4Runner (he bought it back from me and keeps it at their vacation home) and he loves it, I've suggested possibly going with a newer version in limited trim, for a little more luxury and comfort. Thing is, he doesn't like driving the same thing as everyone else (that's why he liked the Legend more than the TL, weren't many Legends running around in 1989), and everyone in Phoenix seems to have a newer 4Runner.

Ultimately he's looking for comfort and luxury, performance, and reliablity, probably with performance coming in third in that checklist. I don't think he's really got a budget in mind, he doesn't mind spending more money with the thought that he'll have the car 8-10 years.

Thanks in advance, and sorry about the long windedness, I can be a little verbose when driving a keyboard.

 

i have had 3 big drinks, so i couldn't read everything your wrote (your fault for being long winded... ).....

may sound stupid, but.... has he taken the new MDX for a drive? my wife (soon to be ex..hahhhahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahahah) has an 07 MDX... it looks neat, has 300hp, is fully loaded for $47k (roughly).

my boss had a RRS which he quickly traded for a RR HSE....which he quickly traded for an acura RL.... he hated the RR's for some reason...

 

2 friends with LR3's. on which the RRS is based, have had problems with the speed sensors... completely shuts down the car pretty much. Speedometer went to zero, shocks completely went down, etc. also as part of replacing the speed sensors, they replaced the entire rear axle? i mean, it was just strange that both of them went through it, same problem.

I keep reading good things about the Mercedes GL450. Reliability is still a question mark though with Mercedes I guess.

I would also take a look at the MDX.

As crazy as it seems, I'm kind of a fan of the new GM full sizers as well, Yukon Denali, Escalade, could fit the bill.

 

If you can get over the looks, the subaru tribeca is a VERY nice suv with all features of a 45k lexus at 10k less.

 

Like someone said, Acura MDX. New or used for that matter.

 

get the new x5. it handles way better than most SUVs out there.

 

I'd buy this:

http://www.mbusa.com/models/main.do?modelCode=G500

 

X5 is very hot. Especially with those wide tires!

 

My father got a RRS-Supercharged in July 06. Great looking car on the outside, front seats were fine but the back seats were pretty uncomfortable. Performed pretty well, felt faster than it actually was, kind of like his old X5 4.6is, but when the snow came (late Dec.) it was useless and because of the big brakes up front the only option for snow tires were a set of wheels & tires from RR for about $5k, so he traded it in for a MB GL450 (great SUV).
The RR went in for service once (scheduled), no reliability issues, but the Nav was useless, layout inside is/was silly (small buttons, etc.) just didn't "feel" like a $75k plus vehicle, the MB does.
It does look wicked though.

 

Honestly, I'd grab an MDX these days. With the 3.7L motor it now has a decent top end with more grunt down low and a lot more flash inside and out (more chrome and flare outside and a lot better interior), not to mention under $50K heavily optioned, it's a pretty easy choice.

It may not have the name cachet of the RR or BMW but it'll probably outperform most of them while providing strong reliability and resale for years to come.

Oh yeah - they're not all over the place, even though they sell pretty well.