R-Class Mercedes R-Class Facelift - First Drives (CarEnthusiast, Autoblog, …)

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| First Drive | New York, USA | Mercedes-Benz R-Class |

Take a bit of G-Class SUV, a chunk of S-Class luxury saloon and a pinch of A-Class and you might come up the R-Class. Mercedes' big seven-seat R was an anomaly when it was introduced in 2006 and it remains so today. It's been improved with more kit, revamped styling, greater power and sizeable leaps in economy and emissions though it remains something of a space oddity. Yet it's certainly not without its qualities.

[SIZE=-1]In the Metal[/SIZE]

The rather unusual looks of the previous R-Class have been thoroughly worked over at the front. Sharper, shapelier lights, LED driving lamps housed in a new lower bumper and a far bolder and more upright grille combine to make the R-Class significantly more handsome than its predecessor.

Inside, the changes are very minor, with two-tone trims and some additional standard kit being about the sum of the changes. It's massive though - in either standard or long wheelbase versions - with seating for seven on all models.

[SIZE=-1]What you get for your Money[/SIZE]

Aside from the massive amount of metal and plentiful seating, Mercedes has chucked plenty of equipment at the R-Class. Given its size the parking sensors are welcome, other kit including bi-xenon lights with Active Light Function, electrically adjusted and heated front seats, iPod connectivity, a seven-speed automatic transmission, Bluetooth telephony, privacy glass, climate control and satellite navigation. With the 350 CDI model as tested you also get 4MATIC four-wheel drive, while the R 300 CDI makes do with rear-wheel drive.

[SIZE=-1]Driving it[/SIZE]

Consider the R-Class as a tool for carrying people, as otherwise you'll be disappointed. If you need something to carry up to seven people in real comfort then the R-Class is very effective indeed. Refinement is impressive, with the diesel only vocal when it's really pushed, while wind noise is well suppressed too. The suspension lets it down a bit, with the air springs struggling sometimes to smother bumps, lessening the otherwise excellent comfort.

Sitting high you get an SUV-rivalling view of the road ahead and the parallels don't stop there. The R-Class feels rather SUV in its driving dynamics, with a fair bit of roll and pitch apparent, while the steering is lacking in information at the wheel. What is evident though is how easy the R-Class is to drive, it shrugging off enormous mileages with impunity. The 261bhp V6 CDI turbodiesel provides excellent flexibility thanks to 457lb.ft of torque, while emissions and economy - these improving by nine percent despite a 40bhp increase in power - are reasonable given the R 350 CDI 4MATIC's performance. Underlining its potency is a 7.6-second 0-62mph time.

[SIZE=-1]Worth Noting[/SIZE]

Two wheelbases are offered, with both coming as standard with seven seats. If you want less you can choose individual seating in the rear, giving six large and comfortable chairs and easing access to the rearmost ones. Use all the seats and luggage space is pretty tight in each, but that's true of most cars offering a third row of seating.

[SIZE=-1]Summary[/SIZE]

It's unlikely that the changes Mercedes has made will have many more people rushing to the showrooms to buy an R. However, they do make it more appealing for those replacing the original, or those who were put off previously by its strange looks. Seemingly existing in a niche of its own, the R-Class isn't for everyone, but for those attracted by its mixed qualities of SUV, luxury car and MPV then this revised model is better than ever.

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Car reviews | Mercedes-Benz R-Class | First Drive: Mercedes-Benz R-Class | by Car Enthusiast

 

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Autoblog - First Drive: 2011 R-Class

Not too long ago, there was a time when all of the vehicles in an automaker's portfolio weren't required to wear the same uniform. Each model could be its own unique expression of the brand's strengths without being forced to schedule an appointment with the corporate plastic surgeon. Granted, some marques lost a bit of identity with scads of mismatched children running around the lot, but the world's automotive variety pack was considerably more interesting. If you didn't like the face on one product, but wanted to stick with the brand, there were a plethora of options to choose from.

That's not the case anymore. We live in a world of increasingly unified automotive design, and while that's resulted in a few products missing the mark in a big way (we're looking at you, Acura), just as many manufacturers have created some real winners by spreading the corporate face among its progeny. Dodge's decision to share the Ram grille across its line was one of the best moves the company has made in recent history, and Ford and Chevrolet have similarly benefited from strong familial design cues.

Now Mercedes-Benz is looking to walk down the same path by spreading its upright grille to the 2011 R-Class. The move isn't so much of a shot in the arm as a shot of espresso for the Silver Arrow's awkward duckling, but it should help the luxury people mover blend in amongst its more beautiful brethren.

With all-new sheetmetal from the A-pillar forward, it would be easy to mistake the 2011 R-Class as a new generation instead of a warmed-over version of last year's crossover, but the truth is, not much else has changed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Up front, the R-Class now wears a stand-up grille borrowed from the likes of the GLK and SLS AMG, and it looks pretty sharp on the high-riding long-roof. New LED daytime running lights are nestled low into the front fascia, and swept HID headlamps stick close to the fender line. A chrome accent strip along the lower bumper adds a touch of flash.

From the side, the new nose does wonders for the overall profile of the vehicle. Whereas the 2010 R-Class suffered from a terminally droopy face, the vertical look lends a little bit more pride to the R twins. Instead of borrowing from the Pontiac Trans Sport playbook, the R-Class now looks like it belongs with the rest of the Mercedes-Benz clan. Never underestimate the power of a nose job. The rest of the exterior remains largely untouched by the refresh pen, though a faux diffuser has cropped up on the rear bumper and trapezoidal exhaust tips have replaced the round bits of the 2010 model.

Likewise, those familiar with the interior from last year won't find too many shocking revelations. The dash has been mildly restyled with frosted silver air vents and a two-tone leather option has popped up as well. We're not complaining, though. The cabin is still a comfortable place to spend a road trip no matter where you're sitting. Mercedes-Benz is particularly proud of the fact that the vehicle's third row is actually functional, and it's true that full-grown adults who are less than five-foot-eleven can fit in the way back seats without suffering a cramped neck or bruised knees. The bottom line is that unlike many other three-row creations out there, the final thrones in the new R-Class are actually good for something other than child cruelty.

While everything is plenty comfortable from a passenger stand point, we did run into a few issues behind the wheel. Our biggest gripe is that the nav screen is still located low on the dash, meaning the driver has to spend too much time staring down and away from the road to get an idea of where he or she is headed. It's a distraction that would require a significant redesign of the dash to fix. Otherwise, our only qualm is an awkwardly placed cruise control lever that dangles over the turning indicator stalk. After accidentally decelerating five times instead of initiating the left turn signal, we just gave up on the cruise control all together.

Buyers hoping to find a host of new drivetrain options in the 2011 R-Class will be disappointed. M-B has made one big change to the lineup by making all-wheel drive standard on both available versions of the crossover, but engine choices will stay the same. That means a 3.5-liter gasoline V6 with 272 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and a 3.0-liter diesel V6 with 211 horsepower will both find their way behind the headlights, but sadly, the bonkers R63 AMG version with its 6.2-liter V8 hasn't resurfaced. The diesel does have one big trick up its sleeves, though – Mercedes has managed to pull a beefy 400 lb-ft of twist from the sixer, and it makes a huge difference the crossover's driveability.

While Mercedes-Benz technically offers a total of nine variations on the R-Class formula around the world, Americans will only be able to get their hands on two – the R 350 4MATIC and the R 350 BlueTEC 4MATIC in long-wheelbase guise. Both vehicles put power to the all-wheel-drive system by a seven-speed automatic transmission, and the Silver Arrow claims to have (marginally) increased fuel economy in both vehicles. The gasoline R is expected to return around 15 mpg city and 19 mpg highway, while its diesel counterpart should deliver around 18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. If those figures seem a little low for what's essentially a big, German minivan, keep in mind that R 350 BlueTEC 4MATIC hits the scales at a mind-boggling 5,145 pounds.……

First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class is better by a nose — Autoblog

I have to say, that I really like the interior. Especially the bright or grey/black leather combinations. Looks really spacious…

 

[Merc1]

It looks like the finish and build quality have been upgraded quite a bit for 2011. I still hate the cheap one sided wood steering wheel. If you're going to do wood (which is a old-folks thing) at least do it right.

M

 

[Wolfgang]

SWB






LWB






Autocar First Drive: Mercedes R350 CDI

What is it?

For a while there signs were that Mercedes-Benz was set to give up on the R-class. Launched in 2005, the big MPV has never really managed to fulfill the hype placed on it. It was, or so we thought, destined to be abandoned as part of the German car maker’s cost cutting efforts.

And yet now, despite worldwide sales of less than half those originally projected – many of them at heavily discounted prices, Mercedes-Benz is giving the R-class a second chance – prompted, it says, by efforts of rivals, most notably BMW with the 5-series GT, to muscle in the market it had become used to calling its own.

At the heart of the R-class’s renewed push to win over buyers is a heavily revised appearance. Gone is the odd combination of styling cues adorning the original model, replaced by a more cohesive looking design that gives it an instantly more confident air, especially the front-end which benefits from new headlamps, grille, bonnet and bumper – all reflecting the latest Mercedes-Benz lineage.

The revised R-class continues to come in both short and long-wheel base guise – the latter stretching to 5157mm and supporting a third row of seats to provide space for up to seven in a largely unchanged interior. It’s impressively spacious and versatile.

However, finding a parking space large enough to accommodate its exceptional width of 1922mm can prove difficult and begs the question as to why Mercedes-Benz hasn’t seen fit to equip it with side parking sensors like those available on the 5-series GT.

In a move that is crucial to its prospects of gaining sales momentum in the UK, Mercedes-Benz has also given its up-market MPV a new range of diesel engines in a line-up that supports both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models, including the latest, high power version of its 3.0-litre V6 common rail unit.

With a gutsy 261bhp and 457lb ft of torque, it is clearly the pick of the engines offered in the heavily facelifted R-class, kicking out 40bhp and 81lb ft more than before while bringing a 2.9mpg reduction in overall consumption at 33.2mpg in the four-wheel drive R350 CDI 4Matic driven here.

The R-class is also among the first models to benefit from a revised version of Mercedes-Benz’s 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic gearbox. Standard across the line-up, it gets a faster acting torque converter that now automatically decouples the engine at standstill for added fuel savings among other detailed changes.

What's it like?

Together, the new engine and gearbox provide the R350 CDI 4Matic with an energetic step off and good turn of speed away from the traffic lights – the prodigious torque making light weight of its 2175kg kerb weight. Indeed, for such a big car it is quite lively and impressively smooth in continual stop/start conditions.

But with those oversize dimensions and a large turning circle, city driving is not where it excels. It is at a steady cruise out on the motorway where the luxury MPV finds itself most at home. With all that torque at just 800rpm above idle, it devours distance with consummate ease. But while mechanical refinement is always impressive there is a fair amount of wind noise around the large exterior mirrors at speed.

With four-wheel drive helping and a whole armada of electronic driving aids, the R-class hangs on remarkably well when driven hard over winding roads – better than the M-class and GL with which it shares its underpinnings and is build alongside at Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa plant in the US.

And with air springs and adaptive damping, it also rides with aplomb; the comfort setting provides with a pleasingly relaxed nature while the sport setting gives it a noticeably tauter feel. However, it should never be considered sporting. That role is left to the E-class estate, which is a good deal more agile at all times.

Should I buy one?

If you’re in the market for a large SUV or upmarket estate, it’s definitely worth considering the revised R-class. The various changes, particularly the new top-of-the-line diesel engine, make it a good deal more desirable than before.

Granted, it is not a car that appears to make great sense but it grows on you the more you drive it, especially over longer distances. As always, though, continues to have its limitations around town.

Greg Kable



Mercedes R350 CDI - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

The R-class seems to fit the bill a whole deal better than the 5GT. It's actually usefull! Unfortunately, it's interior is entirely dated and it's not going to help it's cause against the beautiful 5GT interior.

 

[Wolfgang]

great review with 5 stars for usability, 3 for handling

Mercedes R350 CDI L (2011) CAR review

By Ben Barry

Mercedes R350 CDI L (2011) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online