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 hi