Q7 Vs. the Others (X5, ML350) - Real World Economy

So my wife and I (mostly I) have decided that our 2015 SEL Sportwagen may not be long lived with us. Just too small for a family of four to travel with two dogs (soon to be one sadly) and luggage.

My friend really got the gears cooking when he recently bought a 2015 X5d. I was MORE than impressed. So we started looking.

We're partial to VAG/Audi. But we found a dealership where we're going to be able to get hands on and drive the Q7, X5, and ML350 all in diesel trim (and they have a Touareg too).

What REAL world fuel mileage are you guys seeing with the Q7? I'd love to see actual calculated mix tanks and highway only tanks to get an idea. Any big gotcha's with the Q7's we should be aware of (I'm a DIY maintenance guy, do my own timing jobs, etc).

Also, before someone suggests it.....No.....we're not keeping the GSW and getting rid of my Passat. The ONLY thing my Passat would go bye bye for is a 2015-16 A6 TDI.

Check www.fuelly.com for mileage comparisons. The Q7 was the higher consuming vehicle when I checked a few years back when shopping my Touareg.

Don't blame you for keeping the Passat, its a great car! Kept mine until I found the A6.

2011 - pre-fix q7 - about 9.5-10L/100km (70% rural/hiway driving)

2015 fixed q7 with a Malone tune - about the same... I haven't done a pen/paper calculation on it recently...

I'd be more concerned with reliability than fuel economy, motors are all the same displacement with similar management/injection systems, so should perform similarly economy wise.

The M57 runs lower compression and makes around 400hp tuned and deleted, it's also the smallest interior wise. The newer F15 chassis X5 has an 8 speed and probably nets the best economy of the lot.


Would not touch newer Mercedes products, deal with a lot of them and they're not even close to as reliable as the BMWs or VWs.

We went through this with great care about 18 months ago. Our needs had changed (read 7 grandkids, several in child seats) including a new-to-us farm that meant genuine mild off road ability. Need to be able to tow as well, so the diesel, 3 row options were pretty short. Noting posts above, we came to same conclusion that the Q7 would do what we want it to do, and would likely do it for a lot longer than the other options. We buy cars, but don't sell them. Once in the driveway, that is where it will be until rust or some other catastrophe takes it away.

First, bought an ultra-low mileage 2014 (with fix) and enjoyed it greatly...until last winter when an errant Ram 3500 plowed it into a ditch (writeoff). Got uber-lucky and found a brand new 2015 that has been equally useful and capable. Plan on 800km from a tank around town and 900+ at fairly illegal speeds and 1000 if it was possible to drive at speed limit.

I am a fair bit biased towards VWAG (even though peed off with them for the whole dieselgate affair) but I think pretty objective when assessing. One factor is having all of the tools, service equipment, diagnostic software and familiarity with the VW way of doing things, as well as trade sources of aftermarket parts. The other is having well over 600,000 kms on several previous VWAG diesels with no big issues.

Would not touch newer Mercedes products, deal with a lot of them and they're not even close to as reliable as the BMWs or VWs.

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Hmm... Just as I'm looking for a bigger diesel to add to the fleet. Are you saying I should steer clear of Bluetecs in general then? Other than the one we have, which so far is working well (knocks on wood). And I was even planning to have it tuned!

Yes, the emissions problems are far more common than other platforms and dealer/aftermarket support is such a hassle you'd think you were trying to service something exotic. Deal with a good volume of them across north america and factory dealer support really needs improvement.

Over on the MBWorld forums, the Bluetecs have quite the bad rep of being prone to errors, expensive diagnosis and just throwing parts at a problem hoping for the best, all while the owner is getting fleeced. I knew going in that might be the case, and so I maintain it as best I can. The dealer doesn’t touch it and it seems the better for it.

Thanks for the advice, will skip more Bluetecs (why tempt fate, right?). At least with the Touaregs, Q5s, Q7s, and the Cayenne (right??) we get a nice warranty for some peace of mind.