Price: From R577 400
Want the ultimate in luxury and comfort? This magnificent Merc, available with five or seven seats, is akin to first class air travel, sans any turbulence. And you never need worry about being overweight or having too much luggage; in the standard-wheelbase versions the luggage compartment has space for 1 950 litres, while the long-wheelbase version boasts 2 385 litres. In all five-seat variants there is a separate stowage compartment beneath the load compartment floor. If you want a vehicle in which to travel vast distances and you can afford the R-Class, don’t even consider anything else.
The “R” could very well stand for “recreational” as this is very much a cross-over vehicle. It is part saloon, part estate, SUV and MPV. All things to all people? The saloon part comes from the four doors with the estate adding an extended roof and a tailgate. The SUV bit means all-wheel drive and, for the MPV side of things you have seven seats.
Mercedes doesn’t like using the term 4×4 for this vehicle, since this is not a pukka off-roader with low range. Only two models are making the journey to our shores, all the way from the factory in Tuscaloosa in Alabama, USA. The R320 CDI, selling for R640 000 and the R500 at R735 000. The diesel will provide 165 kW and 510 N.m of torque while the petrol V8 offers 285 kW and 530 N.m. Gearboxes on both are the 7G Tronic automatic with seven forward and two reverse ratios. Manual override is possible using the handy gearchange buttons behond the steering wheel. The all-wheel drive system 18-inch wheel are fitted to the R320 CDI and 19-inch to the R500.
Although based on the ML platform, this is a looong vehicle with a limo-style wheelbase of 3 215 mm and a total length of 5 173 mm. Of course, this means space and the interior is luxuriously appointed with real wood and leather plus all the bells and whistles one would expect at this price level. The front seats are electrically adjusted, as is the steering wheel. Oh, and the tailgate is motor-driven, too. Legroom is better than expected and is even enhanced (don’t think it needs it) by scalloped knee mouldings in the back of the front seats. The “middle” row is tailored for two, with a huge armrest in-between that can be flipped up to form a rather narrow third seat, while the last two fold-up seats offer surprisingly decent space including legroom. Air-conditioning is dual zone up-front with an individual temperature control for the rest of the passengers and vents are supplied for the rearmost seats as well. A six-CD changer is standard fitment.
Air suspension is standard at the rear and optional in the front, a sunroof is standard on the R500, optional on the R320 CDI. Other options include a reversing camera, harman kardon Logic7 sound system, bi-Xenon lighting, navigation and a rear seat entertainment system with DVD screens built into the front seat headrests. Other interesting technological features are brakes that dry themselves periodically when rain is detected, brake lights that flash in an emergency braking situation. Another sensor detects on which side of the car the sun is and, in auto air-con mode, will increase cooling on that side of the compartment.
We had the chance to drive both versions for many hundreds of kilometres through Mpumalanga and the vehicle certainly is smooth, quiet and all but ignores poor surfaces and potholes. Mind you, we did have a puncture on a particularly nasty stretch of gravel road, strewn with rocks, holes bumps and ditches. Definitely pukka 4×4 terrain! As a space-saver spare is fitted to the R-class, we would have been limited to 80 km/h, but managed to borrow a spare wheel as a couple of spare tyres were taken with. Fortunately the puncture was in the tread, not the sidewall, so would have been repairable. Those who buy this type of vehicle will no doubt do a good deal of long distance trips, so it would be wise to pack some puncture sealant. No need to worry about a mini compressor- the toolkit contains one.
Handling and steering are fine and we achieved a fuel consumption on the R500 of around 13,4 litres/100 km and around 10 litres/100 km with the diesel which is not at all bad, considering that these vehicles weigh in at 2,3 tons1
So, the R-class is a very comfortable cruising wagon for the family that likes to travel in luxury. Competitors are few. Mercedes-Benz Divisional manager, Eckart Mayer singled only one out, the Audi Q7.
