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Range Rover versus Mercedes-Benz: Which makes a more appealing SUV?

From time to time — truth be told, all the time — the Autoblog staff enjoys a good debate on the merits and demerits of the cars and trucks we drive each week. This week, we spent some time in a brand-new Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged SUV, a model some of us think sits at the pinnacle of the luxury utility vehicle segment. Others disagree. The following is a real-life online debate that took place over the course of a few hours. Have a read, and feel free to take sides. There's a poll at the end so you can make your voice heard. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Strange as it may sound, Jeremy Clarkson and I have a few things in common, most obvious of which is that we share a given name. But we also both love cars so much that we decided to turn our automotive passion into a career — with varying degrees of success, of course — and we both have come to realize over time that there's no point in trying to topple the Land Rover Range Rover as the world's best luxury off-road utility vehicle. Thing is, this universal truth isn't quite as universally shared as I think it should be. In fact, my esteemed colleague Alex Kierstein believes that Mercedes-Benz makes the most desirable four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles. He's clearly wrong, but I feel obligated to let him explain his choice, though it won't go without a rebuttal. Senior Editor Alex Kierstein: That's correct, and so am I in this regard. I'm sorry, Jeremy, but it's an irrefutable fact that Mercedes-Benz is doing the best interiors in the business now. And the interior is where you're going to spend most of your time, at least when the thing's running. The Range Rover's interior simply isn't as special, and frankly it'll be in the shop enough that you won't enjoy it. Now, stepping into pretty much any contemporary Mercedes sedan interior is a "wow" moment. They seem special — posh, exclusive, luxurious. The SUVs, all older vehicles coming due for total redesigns at some point in the future, are lagging a bit, but it's still a premium and upscale experience. Especially since performance is almost academic at this point. Anything in this class is going to be powerful, almost absurdly so. So why not go for the one that makes you feel like royalty, rather than your mechanic? JK: I just want to point out that it was you who brought reliability into this discussion.

F1's Vettel leads, Verstappen and Grosjean crash at Silverstone

SILVERSTONE, England — Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel pushed Formula One title rival and home race favorite Lewis Hamilton off the top of the British Grand Prix practice timesheets on Friday while Max Verstappen crashed. Hamilton, winner for the past four years at Silverstone, had started the day by leading a Mercedes one-two in the sunny opening session. Vettel, who leads the Briton by a point in the championship after nine races, put in a lap of 1 minute 27.552 seconds in the afternoon to end the session 0.187 faster than his fellow-four-times world champion. That was still slower than Hamilton's morning time of 1:27.487, however, with Vettel third then and half a second slower. Hamilton's Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas, with a new engine in his car after last weekend's mechanical retirement in Austria, was second and third fastest respectively in the two sessions. Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen traded fourth and fifth places while Max Verstappen, winner in Austria for Red Bull, was sixth in the morning but crashed after lunch without setting a time. The 20-year-old Dutchman had ended the first session early after he was told to stop the car. Haas's Romain Grosjean had a heavy crash at the fast first corner, slamming into the tire barriers after failing to close the drag reduction system (DRS), in the morning and did not take part in practice two. "The car is destroyed," the Frenchman, who was unhurt in the impact, said over the radio. "I'm very, very sorry guys. I think it was the bump. I missed the (DRS) button." Team boss Guenther Steiner said the team needed to rebuild the chassis. Grosjean's team mate Kevin Magnussen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso were called to see stewards for a "potentially dangerous maneuver" after an incident between them early on but stewards ruled there was no further action needed. "Magnussen tried to hit me two times - in one and three," Alonso reported over the radio. "Very dangerous."Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Reuters Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Racing Vehicles F1 Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Raikkonen silverstone Max Verstappen british grand prix Romain Grosjean

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class leads this month's list of discounts

Like last month, the biggest discounts car buyers will find on new vehicles are all applied to expensive luxury sedans. Unlike last month when there were two, there isn't a single Rolls-Royce to be found anywhere in the top five. Sorry, one-percenters. But just because the pinnacle of European luxury isn't represented doesn't mean there aren't big discounts to be found on lovely luxury sedans. In fact, this month's list is led by the 2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a technological wonder that coddles its driver and passengers with all the bells and whistles the German brand has to offer. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is offered in many shapes and sizes with several powertrain options. That means there will be a huge variance in prices across the model range, but on average, 2020 S-Class buyers are seeing $11,803 lopped off the car's $109,447 sticker price, leaving an average transaction price of $97,644. That's a savings of nearly 11%. It's worth noting that there's a new S-Class for 2021, but the 2020 edition is still a lovely machine. Up next is the Porsche Taycan, sitting in second place just like it did last month. Buyers are seeing average sticker prices of $125,736 but are paying $113,938. That's a savings of $11,798 — or about 9.4% — off the price on the window sticker. As was the case last month, we're not sure how many of the Taycan's buyers will be able to claim tax rebates due to the Taycan's status as an electric vehicle, but that could potentially represent a further cut off the car's sticker. Rounding out the top three for the month of July is the Maserati Ghibli. With an average discount of $10,161 that represents a whopping 14.3% of the car's sticker price, this Italian luxury sedan actually leads the list of vehicle discounts when ranked by percentage. And if you're a Maserati fan but the Ghibli isn't your cup of espresso, the Levante crossover and larger Quattroporte sedan are also seeing very large discounts. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS Edition One revealed