Looking for new car.. Merc 350 GLC, Audi Q5?

NickK · 29 Oct 2016 at 15:54

So we're looking for a new car - budget is in the Merc 350 GLC / Audi Q5 area.. looked at these plus the BMW and discounted the BMW due to the atrocious interior (plus friends experience of BMWs have been .. well utter ****). We'll be combining both cars we have now so.. has to do everything

Main things are:
* get lots in the boot - GLC and Q5 are on equal footing
* can fit 6'4 in front and back - both GLC & Q5 again can do
* comfy .. again both the same
* not much stooping/easy to get in/out - older parents.. possibly less bending for baby stuff..
* automatic as the mrs has a very bad habit of slipping the clutch.. and I'm in the mind for comfy/lazy driving

Leaning towards the 350 GLC.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Ryan-3 · 29 Oct 2016 at 15:59

I like the look of the GLC, seems a good sized car and looks well made, even with its iPad dash. Reviews say its not as dynamic to drive as the X3 and expensive to buy, but is better in other ways.

No experience of either car mind.

[TW]Fox · 29 Oct 2016 at 16:00

Atrocious interior in the BMW? Seriously?

You need to give us more to go on as the budget being in the Q5 area doesn't help given they range from 10k to 50k.

The old model Q5 is very dated inside so I'd take a GLC over that.

NickK · 29 Oct 2016 at 16:07

[TW]Fox;30156798 said:
Atrocious interior in the BMW? Seriously?

You need to give us more to go on as the budget being in the Q5 area doesn't help given they range from 10k to 50k.

The old model Q5 is very dated inside so I'd take a GLC over that.

Basically the BMW X that friends had had drive shaft issues etc. However having sat in the X series in the show rooms, the interior just seems cheap compared to the merc and audi.

Budget 30-45k. Just to clarify - that's the GLC SUV rather than the Coupe.

[TW]Fox · 29 Oct 2016 at 16:16

There are 4 different BMW X models, I could understand it if the model they had was an X1 or something but the current X5 is wonderful inside and the X3 isn't bad.

I'd still have the Mercedes over the Audi though.

xs2man · 29 Oct 2016 at 16:40

I find it weird you find these cars to have big enough boots personally. I took one look at the boot space in the Q5 and laughed, then moved on. One of my friends got one, and hated it for being so small.

I'm also surprised you can get 6'4 in front and back too (I'm assuming you don't mean 6'4 sitting behind 6'4 though), as he was struggling with his kids car seat behind his driving position, and I can't imagine him being as tall as 6ft even.

If it wasn't for the "stooping" bit, a 5 series would be the perfect car for all your other requirements. And a new 530d with great spec, or a 535d with not quite so much spec, should be achievable within your budget, and be much better than everything else mentioned in every aspect other than, perhaps, the ride height thing.

wassap · 29 Oct 2016 at 17:39

Looked at both, but with the 4 bangers instead of nice engines. I found the Q5 marginally better to drive, Merc being newer, is nicer inside, but the engine was a bit agricultural. They offer no more space then the car equivalents to be fair. I ended up going for a XC60, mainly because its a company car and we were getting fantastic deals (and loads more kit than the quivalent german offering), and its a nicer car than the Q5 inside, and its got more space in the rear.

Had it not been a company car, my money would be on a X5, its not the be all and end all in terms of quality, but its got by far the better drive train and the nicer little touches, but its the class above so it would and should be the better car.

I'd be conserving my money, the new Q5 is due out soon, skoda re bringing out the kodiaq aswell, which looks good aswell.

Nasher · 29 Oct 2016 at 18:12

My Dad bought a new Q5 recently. The ride and seats are surprisingly hard for what is supposed to be a comfort car :/

SDK^ · 29 Oct 2016 at 18:14

The new Q5 is a month away so don't get the current old model, unless it's seriously cheap.

[TW]Fox · 29 Oct 2016 at 18:26

SDK^ said:
The new Q5 is a month away so don't get the current old model, unless it's seriously cheap.

If the old Q5 is still the current one I'm amazed he dismissed the BMW out of hand due to its 'terrible' interior. The Q5 feels like something from the mid 2000's!

I had assumed there was a new one!

NickK · 29 Oct 2016 at 20:02

Gawd I must be getting old.. just looked at the mrs' phone images - supposedly it's the 250 plc suv and the Q3 .. but I'm damn sure that the merc had 350 on the back of it.. lemme google.

Housey · 29 Oct 2016 at 20:04

Nasher said:
My Dad bought a new Q5 recently. The ride and seats are surprisingly hard for what is supposed to be a comfort car :/

Welcome to Audi damping.

NickK · 29 Oct 2016 at 20:35

[TW]Fox;30157277 said:
If the old Q5 is still the current one I'm amazed he dismissed the BMW out of hand due to its 'terrible' interior. The Q5 feels like something from the mid 2000's!

I had assumed there was a new one!

Yup - just happened to be the interior they had in the show room.

The audi seats were firm, but the interior feel was better than the BMW in their showroom. The mrs even felt that the BMW was plastic/tacky and it seemed the value for money (ignoring the on the road performance of driving) was below that of audi and merc. Don't get me wrong I think the audi and merc internals were spec'd higher (the audi and merc are next to each other and bmw across the road) bit still came in at the same pricing..

If the hatchback focus has 360/745 litres of boot space then:
Q3: 420 / 1325
X3: 550 / 1600
250GLC: 508 / 1600

So yup, the boot of the X3 has more when the seats are down but the inside gets cramped up because of it.

I've sat in the GLC, put the driver seat in position, then got out and checked the rear seat (being 6'4) and I had ample room in the back. The audi could cope with the same although more spacious head room in the GLC but you could still sit with a straight back on the audi in the front and the back.
The BMW.. hmm..

I found the seats in the audi harder but at the same time .. still comfy.. interesting to hear that the ride + seats = jarring experience.

We'll look at test drives soon - so on the road experience will the play a part..

Tinders · 30 Oct 2016 at 08:03

Have a look at the new Jag F pace, lovely looking car inside and out.

BigT · 30 Oct 2016 at 08:10

When you say you're looking for a new car do you mean brand new or new to you? If new to you then at this budget I'd be looking at the daddy of SUVs and look for a four year old Range Rover. Nothing I've been in feels quite the same and it meets all your criteria.

SDK^ · 30 Oct 2016 at 08:18

[TW]Fox;30157277 said:
If the old Q5 is still the current one I'm amazed he dismissed the BMW out of hand due to its 'terrible' interior. The Q5 feels like something from the mid 2000's!

I had assumed there was a new one!

Hey Fox - he's even comparing the X3 to the Q3

NickK said:
If the hatchback focus has 360/745 litres of boot space then:
Q3: 420 / 1325
X3: 550 / 1600
250GLC: 508 / 1600

So yup, the boot of the X3 has more when the seats are down but the inside gets cramped up because of it.

Nick - the Q3 is not the Audi opposite of the X3. The Q is based on the smaller A3 where as the X3 is based on the larger 3 Series.
You need to be comparing the GLC and X3 to the Q5