2005 Luxury SUV Trim, Steering & Interior

Now, about that g joy. For sheer straight-line thrust, the supercharged G55 AMG is in a class by itself. Would you believe a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.7 seconds? Believe it--this 5600-pound, five-door anvil can easily dust off a Porsche Boxster S. You'd pay admission to listen to its hellacious, musclecar exhaust note, too. The Cayenne Turbo is only a few ticks behind (5.1 seconds to 60 mph), its power delivery delayed a fraction by the spooling turbos, then arriving as subtly as a lightning strike (wrote one editor in the logbook: "The Porsche seems to create its own gravity when you put the throttle down"). The X5, too, is sports-car quick, launching to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds, its V-8 all smoothness and grace and kicking out a rousing, throaty roar.

The Touareg TDI is the slow player in the group--if you can call a 6.3-second sprint to 60 mph "slow." But don't let that fourth-place result fool you. We're in love with this turbodiesel V-10. There's an Atlas quality to the engine's torque, a sense of limitless reserves. Imagine pushing a giant bowling ball down a mountain. Might take a moment or two to get the big ball rolling, but then--watch out. The TDI feels like that. As we were hammering along a barren Death Valley road at 120 mph, the mighty V-10 felt like it was loafing. And while the Benz was gulping down fuel like a jet fighter in full afterburner, the VW's fuel gauge moved as slowly as a sundial. Oh, you could make some serious cross-country time in this peach.

As we expected, the trim, fat-tired, sport-tuned BMW took top honors in braking and slalom runs; the Porsche and the VW trailed close behind. Both the BMW and the Porsche deliver excellent steering feel; the Touareg's steering is overly light, while the G55's feels numb (it's an old recirculating-ball design). The G's handling poise is actually quite good, though--at least until the electronic nannies kick in to prevent you from pushing the big bruiser too hard.

Which GT SUV rules? We love the G55 AMG--its astonishing speed, its off-road talents, its "you and what army?" swagger, its undiluted, black-coffee flavor. But the G can't hide its age (it's the only player without a six-speed automatic, for instance) and its all-business, mil-spec genes. It also sucks up money like a televangelist, both at purchase time and at the gas pumps. Driving the G55 makes you feel like you're doing something naughty, which (wink-wink) we of course can't recommend. We rank it fourth. And we'll gladly jump on its gas pedal every chance we get.

BMW's most potent X5 feels like what it is: a 5 Series pumped up to SUV size.

That's a good thing, and for many driving enthusiasts unconcerned by the "U" in SUV the 4.8is will make an ideal chariot. But in the all-around game, the X5 is hampered by its lack of a hard-core 4x4 system, its dour and smallish interior, and its good-but-not-great 6000-pound tow rating. Third place.