My kids love riding in our 911 cab. Unfortunately, there is always one left out or two when my husband is driving. Needless to say, a Pcar is not an option for a family of 6. I've read many reviews of sporty SUVs with 3rd rows, however, none answered my concerns. I'd like to drive my family DD like a Porsche, not for off-roading, not for the # of cupholders but for feel, responsiveness, and power to get 4 kids to their respective after school activities on time. I've trimmed my list down to:
Audi Q7 S-line
MB GL350 or 450-- need feedback on your experience
RR Sport

I'm hoping this forum would provide honest feedback and suggestions that I have not yet considered. Thank you

 

We have a VW Touareg V10 TDI with a few mods that make it far more desirable to me than the Cayenne Turbo we had previously. The problem for you is no third row.
If I were you, I would look into a police spec Tahoe. They are all the rage in Texas but are 2WD. Maybe, you can check the right boxes at a Chevrolet store and end up with a pretty satisfying SUV. I don't know if you really can get a properly spec'd Tahoe, as I haven't set foot in a Chevy dealer in 5 or 6 years, and that was just to pickup a friend. The police seem to love them.

 

6 kids here. Big family hauler is a 10 year old Ford Excursion with 200+K miles. And my DD while my Porshe is getting fixed. Drives like a truck but you can't beat the space for trips.


My wife has a Q7 as a DD. Not the S line. It will haul 7 people if needed but not much storage space if 3rd row up. It is great to drive for a truck. And with 100K miles on it, it has been very reliable.


Besides how it drives I would determine how much storage space you need. If you need storage space with the 3rd row up you may need to expand you list to include something American.

 

For a family of 6, I think only the MB May work. We have 3 kids and have had an MDX and an Enclave, but nothing beats the practicality of our 2014 Odyssey. Bite the bullet.


.

 

My wife drives a Ford Flex and loves it, candy apple red with a white roof. But we don't have to haul the boy's around anymore so it's just her

 

 

You had me at V10 then lost at no 3rd row.

Wish I had picked your brain while we lived in Louisiana. I do recall the crazy police Tahoes but not sure if that's the case in NJ. I will make some calls though. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Aha, a satisfied Q7 owner, thank you! This is my top choice as of now but I just needed to hear confirmation from a Porsche owner. SLines are becoming rare with the 2015 on the horizon (ugly facelift). I have an old Expedition to haul if need be, which is twice out of the year (beach house and ski trips) but a slug for anything more.

 

Just....
Can't ....
Bite the bullet.



Which MB do you have? I've read the MDX is a slug though considered a TSX wagon. I'm tempted to test drive the GL 350 and 450. Is the 450 quicker?

 

Roadsession and FLA966TT, my 9 year old's complained that her legs were cramped in the X5 and Flex. While the toddlers can fit back there, it would be short lived. And i haven't seen many X5's. Are there reliability issues with the X5s?

 

In the third row I would say yup, in the back? Both my boy's are over 6' and can fit in the back with no problems. But hey that's why there are a gazillion vehicles to choose from!

 

Hi,
There is no perfect vehicle - everything is a compromise and you have to pick what's important to you and trade off / trade up.

For us, we wanted 3 things:

1. Excellent driving dynamics
2. Decent reliability
3. Occasional use of a third row

So we ended up with the X5 3.5i with 3rd row.
By 2012, BMW had worked out most of the kinks with the HPFP.
The 3rd row is for occasional use and works fine. We got all the toys on it, and because the 3rd row comes with Active self leveling suspension, the thing corners amazingly well and absorbs road imperfections amazingly well.

And both my wife and I are spoiled with the driving dynamics of BMW and Porsche so everything else feels like CRAP. Seriously - we are very good friends with Herb Chambers so his dealerships give us their cars to take on extended test drives (i.e. take it home for a couple days). We test drove for two days the new MDX, the GL, the ML, the Q7, the Lexus GX, Land Rover, and the X5, and there was NO COMPARISON. ZILCH, ZERO. X5 all the way. (No Touareg or Cayenne due to lack of third row, and you couldn't pay me to drive a GM or Ford or Chrysler SUV - their build quality is still stuck in the 1990's). Having the car for a couple days makes you really understand how you can live with the car - from going to the grocery store to visiting friends in another town, to dealing with the stroller, etc etc... AND, the nice thing about the X5 is that you can pay someone $90 and they will program everything you want - i.e. DVD movies on the screen, remove the legal disclaimer, use the keyfob to open AND close all windows/roof, fold mirrors upon locking, close hatch from the keyfob, turn off amber bulbs in the headlight when headlights are on, increase Corona ring brightness, turn off the silly fog lights when turning, etc etc...

 

Just read 4 KIDS!! Ok, so X5 is out - cramped third row. For your needs what will work best is the MB GL. 350 has plenty grunt / power.

Out of our multi day test drives that truck was a close second. We went with X5 w/ third row because it's only occasional use.

 

IMO for the size you need you'll have to give up some handling. Try looking at the Lincoln Navigator

 

My Wife Adores her LR4 ( I was a land rover dealer previously) she's one her second one, super reliable ( 2010+) and almost as nice as a Full size Range but the LR4 has a 3rd row (optional). I'm 6'1" 250lbs and I can sit in the back row.

I *like my 2012 Denali with the Vette 6.2 but you always know it starts life as a $17,000 pick up truck.