Which is better for a family? Which rides better and gets better gas mileage? Which is the quietest? Which offers better insurance rates? Which offers long term reliability? Which looks the best? Which is the best value? Who has driven any of these and can offer their opinion?

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I am partial to the X5, we owned one and we were very satisfied. Family of 5. Very good handling. It was a 4.4 so it did swallow some gas, but also depending on the drive style. If you don't force it it will consume less of course. If you need better fuel economy well get the 3.0
The MB GL is sooooo ugly and heavy. Horrible. The ML is a better option and more similar to the X5.
Don't know about the other two and I am not sure of you can compare Buick to a BMW.
Audi is also more of a crossover similar to the MB R. Not nice and a friend of mine is going to sell it with only 12 K miles.
Good luck

I've only driven a Q7 and it is stunning on all fronts, with the typical very high quality typical of Audi.

I've been in the GL but have not driven it. The perceived quality is about similar. The car is about the same size as the Q7 but looks bigger because it is squarer. If you want a macho look it's the right one to pick, but if you want a more up to date, sophisticated look, the Q7 is better.

I've been a passenger in an X5. It is much more cramped, and has a stiffer ride, feels sportier - typical BMW in other words.

I have not experience of the Buick and being in Europe my take on US cars is, they're so far behind on quality, that it's best to stay away ;-)

I cannot help on mileage or price or noise levels but all these can be found easily on the web sites (best to go to the original sites where there is the true data). It is good to remember that in the US it is common for US carmakers to lie about mileage by about 20pc to make their cars look less awful (this is easy to check if you compare, say, chrysler.com w chrysler.co.uk, or chrysler.de).

It should also be noted that US cars are typically much worse on crash tests, which is pretty important if you're going to carry a large family.


If it's for a family and you don't need the high ground clearance, DO take a look at the Merc "R" class. It looks great (in my view), the long version offers lots of space and is not really longer than the GL, you get much better mileage than a GL due to the much lower drag coefficient, and you can seat 7.

Finally, if you want seats that are really easy to manipulate because you'll often be 6 or 7 in the car, and if you don't mind something slightly less recent, then go for a Volvo XC90. It's cheaper, too. Its only weakness is a less good 4wd system so its inferior to the GL or the Q7 if you go offroad.


Hope this helps

Hands down Audi Q7.

If Price is a factor, the Buick Enclave is a great choice...