Josef:

Good morning. As my family is growing (second child), I need to replace the Mercedes C. I am looking for an SUV this time. I already tested an E53 AMG and thought it was too similar to my car, which is not bad but I want a bigger change.

Generally, I am looking at Jaguar F-Pace, BMW X5, Mercedes GLE but also VW Touareg (not so interesting engine options though) but am also open for other ideas. Does anyone of you have experience with a X5 M50i or a GLE 53 AMG. I think such a big SUV needs torque, I therefore much prefer the M50i. However, from an ecological point of view, a big V8 does not really make sense in a big family car to drive around with two kids. This is why I am also looking at Diesel engines, BMW X5 40d, Mercedes GLE 400d for example.

What are your experiences and what would you suggest me to do? I am a little bit stuck here as I also fear that I will not be able to drive a V8 anymore in the not so distant future.

The BMW 40d is a wonderful engine, suits the X5 well, lots of torque, proportionally low consumption - I have this engine in my 5series and a colleague of mine in his X5. Just food for thought, sometimes a station wagon may have more space available than a SUV ...