2007 Mercedes-Benz R-Class

Call it what you will, the R-Class certainly is intriguing.

"People look at the R-Class and just don't know what to call it because the market in which it fits hasn't been defined," said Ron Mueller, manager of Luxury Sport Utility and Touring vehicles for Mercedes-Benz USA at an R-Class media preview in California's Carmel Valley.

Numerous Personalities
The 2006 R-Class isn't a sports sedan, station wagon, minivan or sport-utility vehicle, although this Mercedes has features of all those vehicles—and maybe a few vehicles I can't think of at the moment.

But Mercedes didn't make the R-Class overly complicated, Mercedes-Benz USA President Paul Halata said at the preview. Halata said Mercedes "overdid it" by giving some fairly recent Mercedes models technical features not well received in America—a move that has resulted in lower quality ratings in national, independent surveys.

"We found our American customers don't want as many technical features as those in Europe," Halata said. "We don't feel like we're taking a chance with the R-Class because it's been popular in concept form at auto shows and in consumer clinics. Being long, it's also an American-sized vehicle."

Handles Tough Test Drive
A 160-mile test drive on narrow, curving mountain roads, backroads and freeways during the preview showed the R-Class could easily handle all of them while coddling occupants in its posh, feature-loaded interior. The drive didn't cause me to break a sweat, thanks largely to the vehicle's standard full-time all-wheel-drive system, electronic traction control, all-independent suspension and powerful anti-lock brakes.

The R-Class looks like a Mercedes sports coupe or sedan from the front, a long station wagon or modified minivan from the side and an SUV from the rear.

Distinctive Appearance
The different styling elements make the R-Class distinctive from anything on the road. Its shape is reminiscent of lowered custom cars of the 1950s. Only the R-Class profile shows the extreme 203-inch length of this wedge-shaped, aggressive looking vehicle.

"The R-Class acts like a car, so drivers forget that they have all those seats behind them," Mueller said. That was my impression, although a rear wheel hit a curb once when I was making a tight turn because I forgot about the R-Class length.

The closest competitors are the Cadillac SRX and Chrysler Pacifica, which have a 116-inch wheelbase, or distance between axles. The R-Class has an incredibly long 126.6-inch wheelbase, which allows lots of occupant and cargo room, besides a smooth ride.

The R-Class is lower than the SRX and Pacifica and is 4.2 inches longer overall than the Pacifica and fully 8 inches longer than the SRX. The R-Class is even 14.5 inches longer overall than Mercedes' revamped midsize M-Class sport-utility vehicle.

Two Trim Levels
The R-Class comes as the R350, which costs $48,000 with its new 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower V6. The list price is $55,500 for the R500, which has an older 5.0-liter, 302-horsepower V8 that propels a variety of Mercedes models.

The R-Class is packed with comfort and convenience items. It also has many safety features because Mercedes long has been as big on safety as Volvo.

Options include a height-adjustable air suspension, regular power sunroof and fixed panoramic sunroof over the second- and third-row seats with a glass panel nearly six feet long that floods the interior with light.

World's First
The smooth engines are hooked to the world's first production 7-speed automatic transmission, instead of the usual 4-, 5- or still fairly rare 6-speed automatics.

The transmission works so well with the V6 that many will feel they don't really need the costlier V8 version. However, the V8 doesn't work as hard to move the R-Class, which weighs a hefty 4,766 pounds with the V6 and 4,845 pounds with the V8.

The R350 sprints to 60 mph from a standing start in 7.8 seconds, while the R500 reaches that speed in 6.5 seconds. High-speed cruising is effortless, with both versions loafing at 80 mph. Top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph.

Mercedes estimates that 75 percent of buyers will opt for the R350 because the R-Class mostly is a practical, luxurious, prestigious vehicle, not one bought for the fastest acceleration.

No Fuel Miser
Mercedes said tests show fuel economy of the R350 to be 21 mpg on the highway, with the R500 delivering 18 mpg. City figures are probably in the mid-teens. Halata indicated that the R-Class will likely be offered with a more economical diesel engine, perhaps by 2007.

A small steering column stalk—really an electrical switch—controls the transmission. A driver just moves the stalk up or down a short distance to get reverse and drive gears and taps the end of it to put the transmission in park model. Manual shift buttons on the steering wheel also can be used to change gears. They work OK, but I felt little need to use them, even on mountain roads.

Turn Signal Confusion
Most controls in the wood-and-leather interior are easy to reach and operate. But it's too easy to confuse the cruise control stalk on the left side of the steering column with the nearby turn signal lever.

Here's a nice low-tech touch: The built-in bottle/can opener that surrounds the front console cupholders is beautifully disguised as a shiny trim piece. Mercedes once felt—and probably still does—that drinking beverages while driving is a distraction and never would have put an item such as the opener in a vehicle.

But things change—Mueller said Mercedes put the small automatic transmission lever in the R-Class partly because it allows installation of the large front console beverage containers.

Separate Seats
Mercedes says the R-Class is a "brand new way for six adults to travel." Each occupant has a window seat because there are three pairs of single seats, allowing individual seats for all.

Getting to all seats is easy through wide doors, and each occupant can "create their own sense of space" with individual reading lights, armrests, air vents and cupholders, along with adjustments for each seat and separate-source audio plugs. There's also an optional iPod integration kit and dual-screen video entertainment system. One passenger can watch a movie on one screen, while another can watch another DVD or play a video game.

Large Cargo Area
Both rear seat rows can be folded down to allow an impressive 85 cubic feet of cargo room. But there is only modest cargo space with the third-row seats in their normal upright position.

I sat in the right front, middle and rear seats while being driven and found the ride comfortable in all of them, even though the third-row seats are above the rear axle. That location causes a bouncy ride in some vehicles.

Variety of Buyers
Buyers of the R-Class mainly will be "affluent baby boomers aged 40 to 54, late-forming families with two to three children and empty nesters," Mercedes product specialist Vince Piarulli said at the preview. "They'll be trend-setters and early adopters—well-educated, emotionally rational decision makers, but influenced heavily by style and design."

The R-Class is made in the Alabama plant that produces the M-Class SUV. Alabama plant boss Bill Taylor said R-Class production is starting slow to ensure good quality.

"We've got assembly line robots, but it all comes down to our workers in the end to get a quality product," Taylor said.

Breaking New Ground
Mercedes traditionally has been more conservative than major rivals such as BMW, although it has come up with innovative cars such as its still-sensational 1954-57 300SL sports car, which had a winning race-car design with flip-up doors and the first use of auto fuel-injection.

Mercedes has become increasingly adventuresome in recent years because of more intense competition, and the R-Class is one of its most daring models.