clemsondds

Hey everyone! I have been a longtime reader of this site but this is my first time posting. I need to replace my wife's '10 MDX. We are having a really hard time deciding what to replace it with. We are looking for something with more 2nd row legroom...these darn childseats are so large these days...kids keep kicking the backseat. Anyway, we have narrowed it down to the 2013-15 ML350, 2013 GL450 or the 2013-15 Audi Q7. We like the ML350 for the gas milage and interior space. We dislike the ML for the outside appearance (just appears a little short) and how it handles in curves. We like the gl450 for the looks and ride quality. We dislike the cost of course and it might take a little getting use to for her to drive a bigger vehicle, though I don't think it will be an issue. Finally, we like the Q7 for how it handles and the ability to change suspension for a sportier ride. Our dislikes are the looks and the dated appearance of the instruments/navigation.

Can anyone add any thoughts/advice? We are completely stuck trying to figure this out. I think we would lean towards the GL if we could find a really good CPO 2013.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

eggyacid

why not just get a ML with air suspension? I had a Q7 prior to ML, I love the Q7 but it felt big driving around town. Do you need the third row? We used our third row once the first week we bought the car, that was it.

jtorrebl

I've had both a q7 and 2012 ml,350 and 2014 ml550. The q7 with springs drove too stiff and uncomfortable. Ml with springs was softer/nicer for my wife too. But air suspension takes the cake. Comfort and sport with lowering for better handling. Cheap option too.
My mom has a 2013 gl that I drive a lot and on long trips where third row is needed. Supposedly ml 2nd row is roomier than GL. ML is my top choice of those 3. I could have gotten a GL550 but didn't want to lug around such a big car. My q7 got old and gave me this feeling driving around town. That was a q7 with the 21 inch wheel package

DUTCH

I ***=u=me that you saw my response - #5 in the following thread:

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-d...vs-q7-2883924/

clemsondds

I did, thanks! Any other thoughts? Thanks everyone!

shotgun_banjo

When kids and leg space is a concern nothing will trump a van. That might be out of the question but that is how I use ours. When my wife and kid are with me and we do not want to lug a huge vehicle we take the ML. When there are 5 people we take the van. If it is just 1 or 2 person inside the car we take the w204 or B200 or the mazda 3 beater. If you do this route you will be able to buy a brand new van plus maybe another used c-class versus to only 1 used GL.

Q7s are like vans so better just buy a top trim honda odyssey and it wont give you headaches. If you really will go for a GL get the diesel version instead.

clemsondds

We just have two kids. 2 and 4. Thanks

Subatomic Power

Go itch the ML550. You won't be sorry. The q7 was a huge disappointment. The GL is too long & redundant.

abcut973

GL or Q7 is what you want for 3rd row, long trips etc...
ML is great daily driver but not roomy enough IMO. I just bought a 12 bluetech as a daily beater which will give me room for occasionally drop/pick up the kids (8 and 4). But for road trips or week end escape we take the wife's pathfinder that we will soon replace. Actually our choice narrowed it down to the Q7 or GL.

Subatomic Power

That's a good point about longer trips with young kids. Younger kids need a lot of stuff, so perhaps the GL would be a good deal. I test drove a Q7 and I was shocked at the poor quality of the ride as well as the lacklustre performance of the Diesel engine. The turning radius was also really poor - much worse than my Escalade. My kids are teenagers and are now into their own cars, so the ML550 turned out to be the best way to go for me. I can't believe how quickly the first 16 years went with the kids!

Today I test drove two vehicles at the Mercedes dealership, an ML 63 and a GT. The ML63 was AMAZING......until I drove the GT......and can't even find a word to describe a transcendent state orders of magnitude above the word "AMAZING"! It was like being on the "Cars" racing ride in Disneyland....but FOR REAL! I ended up ordering both of them at my wife's insistence. She's super cool that way.......

DUTCH

Having just switched from a 2014 ML350BTC to a 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI, I can tell you for certain that the turning radius Q7 is only very slightly larger than the ML - hardly enough to tell the difference. Having never driven an GL or an Escalade, I can't comment on the turning radius with either of them; but I'll bet the Q7 is equal or better based on the comparison with the ML. Also, both the ML and the Q7 had/have the Airmatic suspension; and the Q7 ride is superior here, too.

Additionally, you're comparing apples and oranges when comparing a diesel engine to a gasser. Since both my ML and my Q7 were/are diesels, I can tell you first hand that both engines perform about same with the Q7 getting better fuel mileage; and the power is more than adequate in both - especially when towing a heavy trailer. Put the Q7 transmission in Sport, and it will out accelerate the ML and many gassers off the line.

The place that the Q7 really shines in comparison to the ML is the transmission. The ML has a very hard shifting 7-speed (see numerous threads of complaint on this, and the primary reason I dumped the ML), while the Q7 has a butter smooth 8-speed. I frequently need to look at the tachometer to see it shift - not at all so with the ML.

These observations are my seat of the pants experiences based on 60k miles in a 2010 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI, 21k miles in a 2014 MB ML350BTC and 5k miles in a 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI - i.e. not short test drives. Your experience, at least opinion, is obviously different; and the OP needs to test drive them all and make his own seat of the pants decision.

I'm done.