MDXs are suffering from high numbers of transmission failures. There is a forum specifically for this issue. MDX Transmissions failures

I agree about the RX330 being overrated as it is really a Toyota Camry in disguise. And in Japan it is simply known as the Toyota Harrier. I would not want to pay Mercedes prices for a Toyota. Not in the same league as the ML at all.

Land Rovers have always been plagued with big problems and I am not sure that Ford Motor company has added anything positive to it.

The BMW does look good but it is too small for my tastes and it lacks a decent off-roading system.

VW continues to have high relibility and quality issues with its high end vehicles including the Toureg. This is compounded by the fact that most of its dealers are used to dealing with Jettas and Beetles, and not ones in the $40K-65K range.

I have a 2001 ML and still enjoy driving it every day. I haven't had any issues with it other than a few cosmetic things.