This.

I test drove the B, the C350, E350, GLK 350, ML 350, and Smart Fortwo and out of all of those, the ML was the nicest interior. All others seemed cheap and like plastic. Totally not impressed with the lower end Mercs

 

Yes you could argue on which vehicle feels like a $50-$60k one.

But my only concern is reliability. I like all the vehicles enough to purchase. My #1 concern though is because this will be a log term vehicle, and I am leaving Japanese build quality and reliability, I am wondering what people think would be the most reliable of the bunch. Thanks again!

 

I think all of the options you are considering will have relatively equal long term reliability. Compared to the Japanese counterparts, the German cars are less reliable and cost more to repair. Sorry, but its true. That being said, I have never "loved" any of the Japanese cars I've owned, but have had wonderful and torrid affairs with the Audis and BMWs I have owned.
I've found peace with the fact that they cost more over the long haul because I take so much daily pleasure from the cars I choose to drive.
Buy the one you love the most, you will take care of it, and your cost per mile will be fine in the long term.

 

I'm a 1st time Audi buyer after two consecutive MB's. I've not owned a Range Rover or BMW. I have had several GLK loaners during my 10 years of MB ownership. Most of the costs in my Mercedes were routine maintenance.

The last car was a C-class that the GLK is built upon. The C-class is a good solid feeling car, but the GLK may suffer from some of the same items that caused me to switch brands. Around the 6 year mark 80K miles, My c-class that I babied like crazy began costing 1,200 here 1,500 there in addition to regular maintenance.

The last issue was engine hesitation RPM dipping when at stop signs. They had the car in and out of the shop around 5 different times. 6,500 spread over 3.5 months caused me to ditch the car.

I just couldn't force myself to buy the 3rd Mercedes as I also like to keep my cars for a while. I then looked at the X3, but fell in love with the Q5.

 

From their Owners Surveys Consumer Reports rates the reliability of the Q5 (2.0), X3 and Glk as Average. The Evoque was too new tro have any info.

 

Get new RDX, top of the line Murano (or Infinity), or RX.

RR will NOT be reliable, esp. 1-2nd year models -I had an LR2, which I bought new, since new AC compressor clutch was making "screeching" noise-I was told "it's normal, and it's working". The clutch gave up on the hottest day next year.
By the end of the warranty AC not working intemittently-took 5 trips to the dealer to "diagnose" defective radiator fan module-they "diagnosed" it after I told them the radiator fan has to be ON all the time when AC is ON, because their tech did not know it. Good thing I know something about home AC...
In 4 years w/ LR2 I had made 18 trips to the dealer not including maintenance. AC comressor was noisy. Traded LR2 for RX.


My neighbour across the street had 2 X5s (both leased)-both developed AC problems after 3 years, and some other problems.
Both X5 were fully equiped~$80K each.

The less you go to the dealer, the less chances they fu%#k something up on your car.

I bought RX350 last Feb, never been in dealer since (exc. maintenance). Their (Lexus) tech also took shortcut installing my remote start by glueing it w/ double sided tape instead of bolting the module to a pre-drilled holes (factory location) because he did not want to remove knee airbag and glove box.

X3 is now biult in USA- good thing for our economy, but X3 will NOT be as relible as any japanise SUVs.
Interesting that people do not report any shifting problems w/ X3, but report abrupt shifting in Q5s, and both use same 8-speed ZF tranny...

PS
a friend bought CR-V yesterday-$30K w/o NAV, but w/ leather.
It pulled very well from the stop, was not noisy on acceleration, has all basic niceties (BT, sunroof, leather)
I believe he will get 8-10 trouble -free years from it.
Honda still uses 5-speed tranny in CR-V. Do we need 8-speed in every day driving? Our 6-speed does just fine in 3.2 Q5.

 

I agree with what many of the posters have said. For an 8-10 year period, the Japanese/Korean cars will likely be way more reliable and any repairs will be cheaper.

Also agree you should definitely stay away from the Land Rover. Their vehicles are "proudly" at or near the absolute bottom of the reliability list of all manufacturers year after year. I have many friends who have them and they are always in the shop, and that's during the warranty period, so I can only imagine what they would be like after 8-10 years!

I just bought a 2013 q5 3.0 S-Line. Received it a week ago and loving it. Never considered the Mercedes as I don't like what it looks like (my opinion only). We had a Mercedes GL450 and hated the telematics on Mercedes, so unintuitive and non-user-friendly. Seriously considered the X3 as I've had many BMWs and assumed it would be sportier. However after driving the X3 35i and the Q5 3.0, I actually liked the way the Audi drove better. And when it comes to the interior, I found the Audi so much nicer inside (especially the S-Line with the new flat-bottomed steering wheel). Reliability of the Audi, BMW and Mercedes should roughly be about the same, that is to say average at best.

Bottom line: if your main criteria is long-time reliability, you really should be looking at the RDX, RX350, etc.