-282 TO 10,000 Feet - Sport Utility Vehicle - Sports Activity Vehicle

Second Opinions...Road scholarYou could hear them screaming, the hard core off-roaders who, at first glance, bellowed "the X5 is not, Not, NOT a real SUV!" Of course, they're right. We agree. BMW's outstanding new, er, whatever, is no rock-crushing off-roader. But it is arguably one of the world's best all-roaders. If there are twisty switchbacks leading to your mountaintop chalet, the X5 will handle them with aplomb. Indeed, with vigor; it's one of the few sport, uh, things that actually enjoys attacking a curve. A little ice and snow along the way? You've got full time all-wheel drive and several computerized goof protectors watching over you. No pavement? No problem in most instances, as long as that unpaved road isn't the ultra-jagged Rubicon Trail. The X5 purposely compromises maximum off-roadability for much-increased on-roadability-and isn't that where most people drive these rigs?

The X5's wailing V-8 and sequentially shiftable five-speed automatic fool you into thinking you're really at the wheel of a 540i. No surprise, since that's where they came from. Whether you choose to accept BMW's marketing-spun moniker of Sports Activity Vehicle is up to you. As with any machine wearing a roundel badge, the emphasis remains on Sport, but with a considerable measure of versatility thrown in.-Matt Stone

A trendsetter that's now a veteranWhen the Mercedes-Benz M-Class won our '98 Truck of the Year title, it was a novel indicator of where the SUV market was headed. We were both praised for our foresight and lambasted for the mere suggestion that this made-in-the-USA import could ever be deserving of the Truck of the Year golden calipers. Today, we honor SUVs with their own "of the Year" category, and, each year, it seems another manufacturer surprises the market with a new and different take on the theme. Still, the ML430 remains a class benchmark for its inviting comfort, friendly ergonomics, and eager V-8 powertrain. Although it doesn't yet have the heritage of a Land Rover, nor the novelty of an X5, it does continue to evolve and mature with the times. We love the new, big-as-Texas sunroof, highly recommend the Bose audio upgrade, and were wooed by the noticeably more comfortable ride (on- and off-pavement) it offers over the other two in this test. Bottom line: There's still a whole lot to love in the ML430.-Chris Walton

Y2K compliant-and ready to goIt was no accident that I had arranged to have the Discovery Series II parked in my garage over the much anticipated Y2K weekend. If there was going to be rioting in the streets, the breakdown of Western civilization, and an every-man-for-himself anarchy sweeping the country, I definitely wanted to greet it in the Land Rover. Sure, compared with the X5 and ML430, the Discovery falls a bit short in performance, refinement, and sheer driving pleasure. But in my humble opinion, it's the best damn all-terrain, bush-busting, rock-crawling, stream-fording escape vehicle you can find. Moreover, the Series II's already awesome natural abilities are enhanced by an arsenal of nifty electronic control systems that make it one of the most technologically sophisticated 4x4s on the road, er, trail. So even if Y2K came in without much ado, with the Discovery's third-row seats, this 4x4 still was the perfect machine to take the kids to build snowmen in the mountains.-Rik Paul