THE RIVALS

BMW X5, FROM £57,495

The defining SUV, the fourth generation of which has also been recently launched. Undemonstrative design (apart from the huge grille) but comfortable and competent, with surprisingly good ride and handling. If you’ve got to have an SUV and don’t want a Range Rover Sport, this is as good as it gets

AUDI Q7, FROM £51,425

A much bigger and more imposing vehicle beloved by the nouveau riche and sporting stars. The interior is probably the pick of the class, but there’s an awful lot of it. A bit of a lummox on the road, but Audi’s V6 turbodiesel is a lovely, refined engine and the mechanical quattro system is the cleverest all-wheel-drive set-up.

RANGE ROVER SPORT, FROM £61,645

The original was a boat anchor, but this second generation is an expensive, mainly aluminium SUV from the masters of the art. Drives beautifully on the road and not bad off it. Classy, but the V6 diesel is heavy, thirsty and gruff. gear in the middle apportioning 50 per cent of torque to each end of the car, the GLE now has a multi-plate clutch system that normally sends 100 per cent of the torque to the rear wheels, but can send up to 40 per cent to the fronts when required. This is standard on all except the 300d, which retains the fixed gear system.

In addition the £1,695 off-road pack (again not on the 300d) provides a two-speed transfer box within the multi-plate clutch casing.

Air suspension is standard on all cars except the 300d, which rides on steel springs. There’s also an E-Active body control option, which uses electric motors to pump up the four individual air-suspension dampers, which actively lift and put down each wheel. While this weighs an additional 55kg, it benefits ride quality as cameras scan the road ahead to work out the depth and severity of bumps and potholes. The system then “places” each wheel into the pothole, or lifts it over the bump, allowing the car to glide over the worst surfaces. There’s also a function that props up the body and even leans it into a bend like a motorcycle, which feels plain weird. Another benefit is that when stuck in snow or sand the GLE will bounce itself to enhance each wheel’s traction. And it can also be jumped up and down like a slammed custom car on suspension rams; in other words, it dances.

Since it requires a 48-volt electrical system to provide enough grunt, this system is mainly an option with the 450 with its Integrated Starter motor/ Generator (ISG), though the 400d can also be fitted with the system. E-Active costs about £6,000, but Mercedes is not planning to offer it in the UK, which seems mean; what’s not to love about a car that dances like a robot?

The cabin exudes an impression of high-quality digital graphics, switchgear and materials. The rectangular themes start with the dual binnacle screens and are echoed with the six oblong ventilators across the facia – it’s kind of dated but classy.

The seats are comfortable and supportive, although the rearmost are really small and it’s a bit of a scramble to get in there, especially since the motorised middle seat folds with the speed of a creaking crypt door.

Boot space is 630 litres with the middle seats up and 2,055 litres with the rearmost two rows folded. And the deletion of a capstan-style interface control for the car’s systems in favour of a midget-sized touchscreen is a minor tragedy. You also get a voice control system of dubious ethics, which eavesdrops on your conversations and continually butts in until you have to tell it to “bugger off ”.