I’m currently in the market to purchase a suv for my wife and currently debating x5 vs defender
defender wins hands down on the cool factor but x5 is a much better all around suv ( off-roading aside)
here is the kicker a similarly equipped x5 will cost about 15k less in The current market :
there are about 2800 x5s available nationwide which I believe is very comparable with the pre pandemic era. I’m getting close to 10% off on 68k msrp with the final price somewhere in the 62k range. The truck comes with 330hp and tq, standard led lighting moonroof and much more luxurious interior

there are only 45 defenders available less than 75k msrp ( total of 170 nationwide up to 150k)
for the 62k msrp the defender would come with 4 cylinder engine, cloth interior, no moonroof, analog gauges, small screen, non led lights and the best deal I have gotten is 4k above msrp on the defender in stock in SoCal. The fact th at LR doesn’t allow customers to shop outside the local region doesn’t help either.

wife would much prefer the defender as she has had X5/ma in the past but I can’t seem to get over the value prop on the x5.

one thing that defender has going for it is the inflated resale values ( Atleast for now) which is way better than the x5. which again is tied to the disparity between the number of available cars for sale for each one

JLR has always been way off in terms of msrp but it’s always been easy to get good discounts specially on jaguars. For example my f type R msrp was 115k! Base gts territory. BUT I bought it at 36k off for 79k.

4 cylinder defender was priced correctly when it came out and it was kind of a steal at 50k price range compared against another msrp inflated competition aka Jeep Wrangler. 70k 4cyl defender however is by no means considered a value buy.

 

Having owned both I couldn’t disagree more that the X5 is a better all round SUV. It isn’t. I sold mine after I bought my defender.

It sounds like you’d be happier with an X5. I wasn’t.

 

The Defender is only 'luxury' when compared to the Jeeps and Broncos of the world IMO. Especially in the lower price range. It's a very enjoyable vehicle to drive but for other reasons. The more you're in it for luxury the less you'll like it vs the X5. As you said the resale is good enough where you can probably get out after a year or two without being hurt too too much so if your wife really wants it then I'd say go for it. Has she test driven one? I'm assuming so but if not I'd highly recommend doing that first as it is rubber and neoprene coated pretty much everywhere which might not sit so well with some folks who are more accustomed to the luxury-side.

 

Completely agree. We couldn't get another Defender in the time we needed, so I ordered an X5 that arrived in 6 weeks. It's fine for now, but I will order another Defender next year to replace the X5. Here is why...
- Defender has far more rear leg room for our 6' tall daughters
- Defender seats are far more comfortable on long trips
- Defender interior is more rugged. I don't mind putting lumber, landscape supplies or a wet yellow lab inside.
- Air suspension unavailable on the X5, so no extra ground clearance available. (When driving through a flooded NYC parkway after a heavy rainstorm last week) And it will have sag-butt when loaded with family, gear and a hitch bike rack.
- X5 is an on-road vehicle which I wouldn't take on a nearby beach. (I presume it's as bad in sand as our old Q7 was)
- X5 higher level sound systems were unavailable when I ordered the X5, so I had to spend $4K on an Focal aftermarket sound system
- Defender front seats are cooled, X5 are just ventilated which does nothing in last week's heat
- X5 run flat tire ride is harsh on rough roads
- No driving modes in the X5 and I really like snow mode when driving up skiing through a snowstorm. And I'll miss the locking diffs when driving in deep snow.
- Defender is the best all around SUV simply due to the blend of luxury and amazing capability.
- If you don't need the capability, then the X5 may be fine for you.
- And I agree that the X5 is an excellent value. My V8 X5 was under $88K and I'd have to spend another $25K to get a V8 Defender.

 

The Defender is far from a luxury vehicle compared to a loaded out X5. There iare about 25 million X5's on the road and they are oh so boring and nowhere near a Defender in cool factor.

 

ageeed. I just don’t understand the disparity between the number of available cars for sale between the 2. It’s almost a factor of 20x.

 

why it’s almost like one of them is made in a high volume factory right here in the USA and one of them isn’t.

 

Owned a 2013 X5 6cyl, then a 2014 X5 V8 then a 2018 X5M. Took the M over to Germany in my military assignment.

my D90V8 is at or better in comfort both in ergo/tech/perf than both my standard X5s. My X5M was a beast especially on the Autobahn A8 at 160-170mph. Great seats etc…but the only edge I give it over my D90 V8 is faster overall and tighter on the road in cornering. The X5M with snow tires did great in the German/Austria alps so no issue in snow.

Living in Summit County Co above Breckenridge the D90 is above the X5M given road conditions and depth of snow/conditions I have Sep till June.

bottom line o do miss my X5M but I would not give up my D90 V8 for one where I live now. If we buy in Austria then we may rethink it but I enjoy my D90 more.

 

X5 is just a higher volume vehicle—it’s more mass. And some people don’t want to get an older model when a refresh is coming for MY23: https://www.bmwblog.com/2022/06/09/bmw-x5-facelift-at-the-ring/

 

lol BMW and their LCI changes every year it seems.