If you drove every mid-size SUV on the planet to the most trendy restaurant or club in town, the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5 would get parked up front. Valets have a duty to pay attention to this styling stuff, since it identifies the likeliest over-tippers. The Range Rover Sport is also a contender in this status contest. The latest technology and design guarantee this treatment.

Some of that technology includes super-bright xenon headlights that turn with the steering wheel. We like this feature on the X5 and they follow the driver's wishes slightly more accurately than those on the Lexus RX 350.

Cargo space is five cubic feet larger than that of the Cadillac SRX, and 11 cubic feet larger than that of the Volvo XC90. Rear legroom in the BMW is the same as that in the Volvo and a few inches less than the space in the Cadillac, which is the longest luxury SUV at more than 194 inches.

Although the X5 has all-wheel drive and is considered an SUV, it has no low-range for its four-wheel-drive system and it rides as close to the ground as other luxury SUVs which is around eight inches. So we'd keep it on the road, not off. Snowstorms are okay, sand dunes are not. It favors sending most of the engine's torque to the rear wheels, great for handling, but it changes instantly when wheels at one end of the car start to slip. This is a good system for bad weather.