Tested: 2012 High-Performance SUV Comparison
Four high-powered utes—BMW X5 M, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Mercedes ML63 AMG, Porsche Cayenne Turbo—get put to the test, because who doesn't want a 175-mph SUV?
From the August 2012 issue of Car and Driver.
Examine the various branches of the SUV family tree, and none proves more eccentric—nor seemingly as self-defeating—as the luxo-hot-rod limb. Attaching massive horsepower to massive mass produces a massive window sticker and also feels a lot like one of those futile gestures familiar to overweight opossums and five-foot-tall brigadier generals. In this comparo, the average weight of our participants is 5272 pounds. They produce an average of 519 horsepower. Their average as-tested price is $103,999. Who’d have the nerve to conjure such a vehicle, then express a desire—never mind the cash—to achieve speed in a manner so counterintuitive? It’s like gold-plating the Goodyear blimp. It’s like taking weird Uncle Herb off his meds and giving him six credit cards and the keys to a liquor store.