Why is she so heavily opposed to gasser engines? I am quite sure that a toyota or honda gas motor is going to pretty easily match most modern diesels in at least the reliability/durability category. Maybe not in MPG, but if your modern diesel needs multi thousand dollar repairs, the fuel savings are moot.

My wife has similar requirements for no minivan, but she's not 100% tied to diesel (but does like them), and I'm sure if we had 4 kids she'd break the minivan rule or go for a sprinter. Sprinter's are quite awesome and reliable....probably WAY cheaper to own than an R-class or ML-class diesel. Just sayin..... So far our TDI hasn't had any issues, but who knows. I don't really plan to keep it past warranty....might trade it for a GLA or ML in a few years.

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