2016 X5, SQ5, cayenne, rrs, xc60, xc90, or gle?

[AuthurDaley]

Afternoon All,

A fairly expansive what car as I plan to make a new purchase shortly. Looking for some advice and experience on these fine marques;

1) 2016 x5 m sport. Had use of one of these a couple of years ago. Was very impressed, great cabin and drive. All round could not really fault it.
2) 2016 SQ5. Clearly the quickest of the lot, but would it be as comfy and chilled to drive as some of the others? Sat nav looks a bit dated and cabin potentially a bit cramped?
3) 2016 cayenne diesel sport. Its a Porsche so that is hopefully a good thing. Not the quickest on paper.
4) 2016 rrs sdv6 hse. The most expensive used of the bunch. In my personal opinion not the best build quality or reliability. Reviews say its a good drive and hopefully would hold some value due to the image premium.
5) 2016 R design T5 polestar. Always liked these, good price too which means a dollars left in my pocket for buying other cool/pointless stuff e.g life size lion sculpture for front garden.
6) 2016 xc90 R design d5. Saw one of these the other day in white and looked great. Not sure on interior and also its only a 2.0 diesel which could be bit crap?
7) 2016 350d amg gle. Some of these look okay with the right spec, performance is okay too. Have a contact in merc so might get a deal.

Looking for a stress free drive in terms of reliability, reasonable depreciation over 2 years and good performance.

Thanks in advance.

[ZX10R NIN]

When it comes to the Cayenne I'd be less concerned with the age of the car & I'd be focusing on getting the best V8 diesel for my budget as this drivetrain is much better suited to this car than the V6:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Failing that I'd go for the Touareg in Altitude spec with the same drivetrain:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Other options:

Jeep Grand Cherokee in Overland/Summit spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

F Pace

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you don't mind a Q5 sized car the the Infiniti QX50 is well worth a look & in Premium spec they come with everything but the kitchen sink.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

All the above & what you've listed fit your criteria so I'd say visit a 44 centre that'll have most of these in stock & jump in/test drive them to see which suits you best.

With the X5 you were talking about the 40d which is another good option drivetrain wise.

[anonymous-user]

I think Id be going for a V6 F-Pace or Maserati Levante

[russy01]

I chose the X5 in 40d guise out of that lot. Managed to get a great deal on a new one and loved the size and drive...

Cayenne - just worked out too expensive to get something in decent spec. Higher running costs and the V8 derv didn’t seem to pull any harder than the 40d

Range Rover - Mrs had an evoque and we found it a bit crap. Sport is just a bigger version and find it a little too knobby/showy ownership wise. Infotainment etc was also terrible.

Volvos - yawn. Nice car, but engines and drive in the xc90 apart from the silly T8 thing are too flat.

SQ5 - too small. Clearly capable for a midsize SUV, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a hot hatch. Decided to have the extra space in comfort from the bigger X5, which in 40d spec isn’t actually much slower.

Merc - really nice interior. Everything else felt inferior to the X5.

Jeep - didn’t like these. Weak engines and performance.

Maser - was too small and not blown away by the design.

[ninjag]

AuthurDaley said:

7) 2016 350d amg gle. Some of these look okay with the right spec, performance is okay too. Have a contact in merc so might get a deal.

I had a 2018 350d GLE as a courtesy car and the ride quality is awful, very jittery and quite unnerving at 70mph on A roads.

Then there's the turbo lag. Waiting to join traffic from a side road, there's a big gap so I try to pull out. Nothing. Starting to sweat. Gap getting smaller and the car is literally rolling forwards into traffic. Nothing. Starting to panic. Then suddenly the earth splits in two and the car powers forwards and every traction control and stability system goes into overdrive trying to control the car. It's terrifying.

The cabin is nice enough, I wouldn't say luxurious nor worthy of a £63k car. Very quiet though.

Lots more I could say just from such a short experience but let's put it this way: I couldn't wait to get back into a Honda CRV.

[JulietRomeo]

I looked at a similar bunch to this last year and opted for 2016 Cayenne 3.0d.

FFRR - Too big, RRS - Reliability concern,DS - Reliability plus 3rd row seats don’t fold flat and leave boot floorspace looking badly packaged.
XC90 - meh
SQ5 - rear footwell space for middle seats impacted by transmission tunnel
X5 - didn’t like the seats or rear boot view. New x5 was imminent
GLE 350Amg - has one of these for a month whilst paint was corrected on Cayenne. Agree with previous poster ...9spd auto on paper quicker than Cayenne but sounds agricultural, keeps hunting for gears, dash looked old.
F pace ... front cabin space cramped
Cayenne - drove the best, obligatory 21” turbo wheels better than 5 spoke design, decent nav/park assist, impressive front cabin design. Decent on fuel as well for its size and where I use it(Greater London ...34mpg non-motorway)

[AuthurDaley]

Thanks for the thoughts on these!

Leaning towards X5. I actually found the 30d quite impressive and the 40d even more so. Both cars are sub 7 seconds to 60 which is pretty swift for size of the thing.

- Did not even realise a F pace could be had for under 35k, will investigate further.
- Not sure what it is with the Merc's nobody really has a good word to say about them.
- Landover used approved has some poor spec, above average miles RRS for circa 35k on 2015 plates. Madness as I do not really think they are a superior car in any way.
- Cayenne would need the right wheels and styling or just looks a bit pants.

Spoke to some people yesterday and some curve balls where thrown in - a fast jeep 4x4? Seem to recall they do some SVT stuff? Also a 2015 C63 AMG....

[cerb4.5lee]

AuthurDaley said:

- Not sure what it is with the Merc's nobody really has a good word to say about them.
-

Not driven a GLE but I've put nearly 45k miles on a GLC350d from new. It isn't very exciting to drive but it is a very decent mile muncher IMO. The engine can feel a bit laggy occasionally and I'm not sure it needs nine gears because it just gets confused.

I much preferred the engine/gearbox combination that I had in my 640d in comparison though, and my brother in law has a 2016 X5 40d and I was very impressed with the drive I had in that. I think the X5 would be my pick. I've also had a test drive in a SQ5 and I liked that too.

[sinbaddio]

How about a Stelvio - a looker in its division - this used, approved 280bhp 18 plate is £33k. 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, 143mph:

https://usedcars.alfaromeo.co.uk/single-used-car/a...

[ninjag]

sinbaddio said:

How about a Stelvio - a looker in its division - this used, approved 280bhp 18 plate is £33k. 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, 143mph:

https://usedcars.alfaromeo.co.uk/single-used-car/a...

I didn't even know that thing existed! Looks very nice, impressive figures for a petrol in SUV guise.

[ZX10R NIN]

You'll have to drop to a 2015 if you want a fast petrol Grand Cherokee but they're out there & a very good car too.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

X50i M Sport (I'd still pick the Jeep)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Gregmitchell]

Wow those Jeeps are seriously drinkers! They'd cost a small fortune to run.

[cerb4.5lee]

Gregmitchell said:

Wow those Jeeps are seriously drinkers! They'd cost a small fortune to run.

My old X5 4.8iS had the same combined mpg figure as those Jeeps. It was comically poor on fuel and I now wouldn't consider a big/heavy SUV with 4wd and a petrol engine. There just isn't much point to them for me. They aren't especially exciting to drive so I think a nice/powerful petrol engine is a bit of a waste in that type of vehicle.

A V8 diesel engine is more in keeping for that sort of stuff I reckon.

[Yidwann]

ninjag said:

I didn't even know that thing existed! Looks very nice, impressive figures for a petrol in SUV guise.

I have had the Stelvio for all of 3 days now, got the Milano Edizione, so all the toys, and I really really like it! Definitely worthy of a shout in the 280bhp form, you won't find it lacking for an SUV.

[Junior Bianno]

I've had the GLE, Cayenne and X5 out of those, and the X5 is probably the pick of the bunch. I've got the 40e Hybrid and it really is a very nice drivetrain. It's so smooth and eerily quiet - even in petrol mode. The electric range isn't up to much admittedly (about 10-12 miles), but then my commute is only 6 miles. Overall getting 35mpg and that is probably 80% urban driving. Not the fastest car to be fair, but it's got more than enough power for usual.

[AuthurDaley]

That Jeep does look pretty awesome - am taking a closer look at that. Outside of that, its what it's back to my original fav, the X5.

Just in that usual position where I am about to make a purchase but then look around at what else I can get for my money - for better or for worse it would seem!