What's the most underrated 4x4? Mercedes ML/Touareg/XC90?
Discussion
Recently moved back to England from Canada and bought my wife a used Fiesta (cheap to buy and run, practical enough and quite fun to drive) but although I like it, she doesn't, as she misses her SUV! Not a vehicle that was available here but it was a Mazda CX9 (basically a larger CX5 with 3 rows), so I said that I would be perfectly happy to daily the Fiesta and have a look for an SUV for her. She would be alright with something like a Honda CRV/Qashqai/XTrail but I'm not a huge fan of these "crossover" style vehicles, so it would need to be AWD otherwise what's the point (personally, I'd probably take an estate over a crossover).
That got me thinking though, for the money (nominally around 5k), you can get some "proper" larger 4x4s/SUVs, which appeal to me much more. People love the LR products, BMW X5s and Porsche Cayennes but a cheap L322/Discovery 4/X5/Cayenne is quite the dice roll and probably not a risk that I would be prepared to take.
So are there any other "proper" 4x4s/SUVs that offer decent value and are possibly a bit underrated?
The ones that I keep finding myself looking at are the 1st/2nd generation (W163/W164?) Mercedes-Benz MLs. I think that working in a Mercedes-Benz dealership in my first job out of University, a 1st gen ML was the first SUV that I ever drove, so I have a bit of fondness for them even if they're possibly a bit s***. History will say that in terms of engineering/quality, pre-millennium was "peak" Mercedes but although I have more of an appreciation for those older cars now, at the time they seemed a bit staid, spartan and old mannish. In the 90s, BMW was cool and Mercedes was not but I think they turned it around in the early 2000s with stuff like the CLK, SLK, ML, R230 SL and W203 C-Class. Mercedes was cool again and more youthful and at the time I would have loved to have had a 1st gen ML55 and an SL55 sat on my drive! The 1st gen ML is pretty old now and perhaps more susceptible to rust than one would like and due to its age probably missing some features that you would expect to see on a modern supermini but I think that they still look pretty sharp, are actually pretty capable off-road and fundamentally quite a mechanically reliable package? You can get a minty one for around 3k, which seems like a lot of car for the money (there's even an ML55 on A/T for 3.5k) but the diesel is probably the safer bet?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507074...
Likewise, the 2nd gen car, which I don't know that much about, as it was after my time but unlike X5s/Range Rovers/Discoverys of that vintage, I've never heard of any horror stories with these. Probably more expensive to run than a Fiesta but this looks like a much more expensive car than it is for the price of a 10 year old Astra diesel estate!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512248...
I'm aware of a few more issues with these and you probably want the 3.0 not the 2.5 (the 2.5 was the 5 cylinder?) but I've always been quite fond of the 1st gen VW Touareg too. Again, they're pretty capable off-road unlike a BMW X5 and manage to pull off that trick that Volkswagens often do quite well in that they feel quite "premium" whilst being quite understated compared to an X5/Range Rover and not really making a statement.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
I always quite liked the Volvo XC90 too. Not the best drive if I recall and not that capable off-road with its fair share of reliability woes but quite a pleasant , understated, very safe and well-packaged family vehicle with the benefit of a 3rd row seats. I'm sure that the 2nd gen XC90 is a really fantastic and underrated and looks great IMHO too.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512278...
Finally, the (4th gen?) Jeep Grand Cherokee. A bit more expensive and I had a 2nd gen (WJ?) car and it wasn't that great but my BIL had one like this and I really liked it. A 4x4 heritage every bit as good as Land Rover, interior a bit less premium than a Range Rover/Discovery and I think they had some issues with the electronic shifters (didn't that Star Trek actor get crushed by his?) but my BIL's had a regular shifter, it drove great and I don't recall him having had any major issues with it.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509126...
So what 4x4s/SUVs in your opinion are underrated and offer great value? Are the above vehicles cheap for a reason or are they just great automotive bargains?
That got me thinking though, for the money (nominally around 5k), you can get some "proper" larger 4x4s/SUVs, which appeal to me much more. People love the LR products, BMW X5s and Porsche Cayennes but a cheap L322/Discovery 4/X5/Cayenne is quite the dice roll and probably not a risk that I would be prepared to take.
So are there any other "proper" 4x4s/SUVs that offer decent value and are possibly a bit underrated?
The ones that I keep finding myself looking at are the 1st/2nd generation (W163/W164?) Mercedes-Benz MLs. I think that working in a Mercedes-Benz dealership in my first job out of University, a 1st gen ML was the first SUV that I ever drove, so I have a bit of fondness for them even if they're possibly a bit s***. History will say that in terms of engineering/quality, pre-millennium was "peak" Mercedes but although I have more of an appreciation for those older cars now, at the time they seemed a bit staid, spartan and old mannish. In the 90s, BMW was cool and Mercedes was not but I think they turned it around in the early 2000s with stuff like the CLK, SLK, ML, R230 SL and W203 C-Class. Mercedes was cool again and more youthful and at the time I would have loved to have had a 1st gen ML55 and an SL55 sat on my drive! The 1st gen ML is pretty old now and perhaps more susceptible to rust than one would like and due to its age probably missing some features that you would expect to see on a modern supermini but I think that they still look pretty sharp, are actually pretty capable off-road and fundamentally quite a mechanically reliable package? You can get a minty one for around 3k, which seems like a lot of car for the money (there's even an ML55 on A/T for 3.5k) but the diesel is probably the safer bet?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507074...
Likewise, the 2nd gen car, which I don't know that much about, as it was after my time but unlike X5s/Range Rovers/Discoverys of that vintage, I've never heard of any horror stories with these. Probably more expensive to run than a Fiesta but this looks like a much more expensive car than it is for the price of a 10 year old Astra diesel estate!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512248...
I'm aware of a few more issues with these and you probably want the 3.0 not the 2.5 (the 2.5 was the 5 cylinder?) but I've always been quite fond of the 1st gen VW Touareg too. Again, they're pretty capable off-road unlike a BMW X5 and manage to pull off that trick that Volkswagens often do quite well in that they feel quite "premium" whilst being quite understated compared to an X5/Range Rover and not really making a statement.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512148...
I always quite liked the Volvo XC90 too. Not the best drive if I recall and not that capable off-road with its fair share of reliability woes but quite a pleasant , understated, very safe and well-packaged family vehicle with the benefit of a 3rd row seats. I'm sure that the 2nd gen XC90 is a really fantastic and underrated and looks great IMHO too.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512278...
Finally, the (4th gen?) Jeep Grand Cherokee. A bit more expensive and I had a 2nd gen (WJ?) car and it wasn't that great but my BIL had one like this and I really liked it. A 4x4 heritage every bit as good as Land Rover, interior a bit less premium than a Range Rover/Discovery and I think they had some issues with the electronic shifters (didn't that Star Trek actor get crushed by his?) but my BIL's had a regular shifter, it drove great and I don't recall him having had any major issues with it.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509126...
So what 4x4s/SUVs in your opinion are underrated and offer great value? Are the above vehicles cheap for a reason or are they just great automotive bargains?
Edited by Starsky80 on Tuesday 6th January 21:59
Edited by Starsky80 on Tuesday 6th January 22:00
Edited by Starsky80 on Tuesday 6th January 22:02
I'd say have a look at 2nd gen Touaregs as well - not quite the same offroad pedigree as the mk1 (unless you can find an escape model) but still good. We ran one as a family hack for a couple of years and still miss it!
Minimal issues to speak of outside regular maintenance, the only thing that went wrong for me was on the day I sold it, the rocker cover gasket blew out - it's a known thing on the V6 diesel, and mine (unbeknownst to me) had been bodged with silicone, which waited until sale day to s**t itself all over the side of the engine...
R-Line has the best spec as standard (pan roof/heated seats/heated steering wheel/bi-xenons that see round corners/electric tailgate etc), but they're all solid workhorses.
I don't know what your budget is like but you can get an early one for 5/6k. They facelifted it slightly around 2014, with a more powerful engine, lower road tax and a slightly updated interior (but you'd have to know what to look for), but they're a bit dearer, starting around 8k.
Minimal issues to speak of outside regular maintenance, the only thing that went wrong for me was on the day I sold it, the rocker cover gasket blew out - it's a known thing on the V6 diesel, and mine (unbeknownst to me) had been bodged with silicone, which waited until sale day to s**t itself all over the side of the engine...
R-Line has the best spec as standard (pan roof/heated seats/heated steering wheel/bi-xenons that see round corners/electric tailgate etc), but they're all solid workhorses.
I don't know what your budget is like but you can get an early one for 5/6k. They facelifted it slightly around 2014, with a more powerful engine, lower road tax and a slightly updated interior (but you'd have to know what to look for), but they're a bit dearer, starting around 8k.
Rav 4 as stated, though the 2.2 Diesel has known issues, Freelander 2 probably one the best vehicles wearing the badge, decent Diesel.
I'd be inclined to look at Subaru Forester/Outback too, having run Outback and then Forester for a good number of years they are reliable and tough with amazing handling in all weathers, beware turbo charged and H6 variants not because they're bad far from it but will often fall into the highest £700+ VED band.
Avoid the Diesels and especially avoid cars that have lived in Scotland because rust can be a serious issue underneath.
The other thing with Subarus is keep up the maintenance, specialists are few and there's a lot of maintenance the vast majority of which are simple DIY but spark plug changes and cambelts are far from easy jobs.
Whilst lots of maintenance sounds onerous all vehicles require similar for long lives but some makers arn't bothered if their transmissions distintegrate at 10 years 100k miles and the terms 'sealed for life' and' require no maintenance' are false.
I'd be inclined to look at Subaru Forester/Outback too, having run Outback and then Forester for a good number of years they are reliable and tough with amazing handling in all weathers, beware turbo charged and H6 variants not because they're bad far from it but will often fall into the highest £700+ VED band.
Avoid the Diesels and especially avoid cars that have lived in Scotland because rust can be a serious issue underneath.
The other thing with Subarus is keep up the maintenance, specialists are few and there's a lot of maintenance the vast majority of which are simple DIY but spark plug changes and cambelts are far from easy jobs.
Whilst lots of maintenance sounds onerous all vehicles require similar for long lives but some makers arn't bothered if their transmissions distintegrate at 10 years 100k miles and the terms 'sealed for life' and' require no maintenance' are false.
crispian22 said:
Try and find a gen 2 W164 Ml280, 3.0ltr v6 diesel engine is very good,same as the 320/350 variants but no dpf,no adblue, very reliable all rounder.
I have a final run grand edition 350 w164 and that doesn’t have adblue or a dpf either. One of the reasons I’ve still kept it. Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff