As my jag is almost sold i am looking to replace my old TD6 full fat. I was sure i wanted a 4.4 tdv8 full fat to replace it. However i have been looking at Merc GL420's and Audi Q7 4.2 tdi .
Has anyone else had these thoughts ?

like the look of the merc not keen on the look of the Q7 have not driven any of them tho

Similar, I will seriously consider the GL when mine needs replacing as not sure on the L405 as of yet.

GL looks good and has masses of space. Would only get the GL63 AMG for me  Alex

2018 Skoda Kodiaq vRS
2009 Caterham Supersport Race car
2007 M5 Touring
2005 Range Rover Vogue SE Supercharged
2004 SL55 AMG

Am i mad ? thinking about merc gl or Audi Q7

Short answer, yes.

Long answer, most definitely.

I think this will come down to what you use your FF for , the merc and the audi are no where near as capable off the black stuff , if that doesn't matter then its a close run thing I guess , the Q7 is the ugly brute imo , GL looks great but neither are a FF , just a big audi and a big merc

I am gonna tow our caravan about 6-8 times a year , rest of the time it will be a daily driver.

Nope, perfectly sane IMHO. I have nothing good to say about the L405 and wish for all the world I had kept my L322 Supercharged. The L405 is less comfortable by a country mile, less durable by the same margin and overpriced by a hefty amount.

As for the Audi, it's a real feat of engineering to make something that large outside and at the same time make it feel like a bubble car inside. Truly horrid. OK, I'm a bit of a cat funt but even SWMBO at a size 10 said it felt cramped.

The Merc however is a different story. Well made, decent engine, plenty of internal room but doesn't feel cumbersome on the road. I quite like it. A fine towing machine as well.

Overall though the 4.4 late L322 is the best option with some real bargains to be had now. That's probably what I would do.

Every time I see an Audi or VW product, I see another variation on the ultimate vanilla flavour / M&S underpants kind of car - the Golf.

The Q7 is a great example:

Audi Q7:

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

I swapped my 07 3.6 TDV8 Vogue SE for a 65 plate Merc GL 350 about eight months ago

Done about 10k in the Merc and it's been faultless. Very comfortable and loads of space, I have even used the 7 seat capacity on occasion

It's certainly not as luxurious as an L405 but that's not always a bad thing e.g. I don't worry about doing tip runs in it!

Ultimately I couldn't justify spending an extra 25k for an older, higher mileage L405 2007 Zermatt Silver TDV8 Vogue SE - now sold but was a great car!

Not driven a GL but had a Q7 as a loaner and thought it was like a reverse Tardis, massive on the ouside but cramped inside. Mercs are good cars ( i had a CLS for 5 years ) but they arent RRs. 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

bembo449 wrote:

I think this will come down to what you use your FF for , the merc and the audi are no where near as capable off the black stuff , if that doesn't matter then its a close run thing I guess , the Q7 is the ugly brute imo , GL looks great but neither are a FF , just a big audi and a big merc

With the suspension raised GLs - or whatever they call them now - ride like the airbags have been swapped for scaffolding poles. Land Rover are the only people who seem to pay any attention to actually using stuff off-road.

Mate swapped his 2005 TD6 for a 2010 GL a few months ago, he was gutted as soon as he did it, it lasted about 2 months and he is back in another 2004 L322 and loves it.

I had a W164 2009 ML350, it was OK, but in all honesty I preferred my earlier W163 270cdi. It was barge like to drive, but it was comfy, quiet and everything felt soft and squishy inside rather than lots of hard plastics.

Would I swap my L322 for a Merc GL?
Not a chance!


I don't mind Mercs, I have a 350 estate, but even wondering about that now, it just sits in the garage, I have gone from 2000 miles a month in it to last month around 40. Porsche 911 (996)
2015 BMW 5 Series Touring
Not got a LR of any kind at the mo, and got itchy feet.

Q7 is woeful and nowhere near as comfy or spacious as a FFRR. We looked at one after we sold the D3 and it was a huge disappointment. The 4.2tdi is a peach of an engine though, but get it in an A8, have it remapped and go out bullying M5's  Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Brother in law has had both over the last few years and we have always compared them against the L322's I've had. Agree with most of above comments.

Q7 feels small inside. Cant stand the boring boring boring square Q7. The previous Q7 looked better, but as already commented, it feels small inside.

The Merc, nicer car than the Q7 imho. Front row feels small too ... I think this is cause of the rake of the front screen coming much closer to your head than the RR. Rear seats have plenty of space I find.

Brother in laws wife, has always commented when she gets into the RR on just how nice it is ... you can almost see a pang of jealousy.

I'd still rather have an RR though myself. V8 or else ...