Wednesday, August 24, 2005
New Launch Mercedes-Benz R class
YOU may have drivers on your fleet who, buried within them, have a deep-seated subconscious desire to drive around in a grand sports tourer.
They will not know it yet, but the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz R-class could trigger this dormant urge and send them to your door. Car Rental uk
That’s because the R-class is the answer to a question not yet posed. It is an estate/MPV/saloon/hearse hybrid, with six seats, four-wheel drive, big engines and lots of space. Mercedes-Benz calls it a Grand Sports Tourer, or GST.
We were here with the Renault Vel Satis and Avantime a few years back – minus one seat – and nobody could work them out then. car rental uk
But Mercedes-Benz has ploughed on with its own crossover vehicle and there is enough early evidence to suggest that, on a global basis at least, it will be a success.
That’s because the R-class is designed with the US in mind. Its size, six chairs, huge cupholders, blacked-out windows and drivetrain configuration suggest it is pitched at Americans tiring of SUVs. It is even built in the US, at the Tuscaloosa plant, home of the M-class.
Apparently, US buyers want four-wheel drive for the extra safety it brings and that is why this odd choice is the only option, rather than Mercedes-Benz’s more traditional rear-wheel drive set-up. car rental uk
The fact is that the heavier, thirstier four-wheel drive system makes no sense at all, until you consider that the US market will take most of the volume, and it is a lot cheaper to build it on the M-class platform in the States rather than ship S- or E-class modules over from Europe.
Mercedes-Benz reckons on selling 1,800 in a full year in the UK with half of these being the diesel version, but by the very nature of the car this has to have been somewhat plucked out of thin air. True, there is nothing like it on the market but, after spending some time with the R, the multitude of abilities it has slowly dawn on you.
For a start, anything of this vastness is going to find some friends looking for ultimate carrying ability. car rental uk
At more than five metres long and nearly two metres wide for the long wheelbase version, the R-class is a big hulking piece of metal and head-turning elegance is certainly not a strength.
But interior adaptability is. In the long-wheelbase version we drove, with the four rear seats doubled over to create a flattish floor, there is an incredible 2,385 litres of volume with a load length of 2.2 metres. The E-class estate, previously the leader in the space race, manages 1,910 litres.
Unfortunately, there are to be none of the clever load restraints and rails offered in the E-class, so stopping shopping bags from rolling about the cavernous interior could be a problem.
The seats all slide and fold simply to create more or less legroom depending on what you need, to the point that those of a leggy frame in the second row can have nearly a metre of legroom.
Three engines will be available: two petrol and one diesel. The most powerful is the 306bhp 5.0-litre V8, followed by the 272bhp 3.5-litre V6. Both are fantastically thirsty, tasked as they are with heaving 2.2 tonnes about and drivers will be lucky to see the right side of 20mpg. Even gentle driving got us nowhere near that claimed figure. car rental uk
This should make the diesel the most popular choice, as is the case with most big luxury vehicles, and the R-class will be offered with the 224bhp 320 CDI unit, which it is claimed will do 30mpg. None were available at the launch but even hitting a real-world 25mpg will be a big improvement over the petrol cars.
The R-class will go on sale in spring next year and although prices are likely to be between £42,000 and £55,000, specifications are not yet finalised. Long-wheelbase models should be around £1,500 more expensive. car rental uk
They will not know it yet, but the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz R-class could trigger this dormant urge and send them to your door. Car Rental uk
That’s because the R-class is the answer to a question not yet posed. It is an estate/MPV/saloon/hearse hybrid, with six seats, four-wheel drive, big engines and lots of space. Mercedes-Benz calls it a Grand Sports Tourer, or GST.
We were here with the Renault Vel Satis and Avantime a few years back – minus one seat – and nobody could work them out then. car rental uk
But Mercedes-Benz has ploughed on with its own crossover vehicle and there is enough early evidence to suggest that, on a global basis at least, it will be a success.
That’s because the R-class is designed with the US in mind. Its size, six chairs, huge cupholders, blacked-out windows and drivetrain configuration suggest it is pitched at Americans tiring of SUVs. It is even built in the US, at the Tuscaloosa plant, home of the M-class.
Apparently, US buyers want four-wheel drive for the extra safety it brings and that is why this odd choice is the only option, rather than Mercedes-Benz’s more traditional rear-wheel drive set-up. car rental uk
The fact is that the heavier, thirstier four-wheel drive system makes no sense at all, until you consider that the US market will take most of the volume, and it is a lot cheaper to build it on the M-class platform in the States rather than ship S- or E-class modules over from Europe.
Mercedes-Benz reckons on selling 1,800 in a full year in the UK with half of these being the diesel version, but by the very nature of the car this has to have been somewhat plucked out of thin air. True, there is nothing like it on the market but, after spending some time with the R, the multitude of abilities it has slowly dawn on you.
For a start, anything of this vastness is going to find some friends looking for ultimate carrying ability. car rental uk
At more than five metres long and nearly two metres wide for the long wheelbase version, the R-class is a big hulking piece of metal and head-turning elegance is certainly not a strength.
But interior adaptability is. In the long-wheelbase version we drove, with the four rear seats doubled over to create a flattish floor, there is an incredible 2,385 litres of volume with a load length of 2.2 metres. The E-class estate, previously the leader in the space race, manages 1,910 litres.
Unfortunately, there are to be none of the clever load restraints and rails offered in the E-class, so stopping shopping bags from rolling about the cavernous interior could be a problem.
The seats all slide and fold simply to create more or less legroom depending on what you need, to the point that those of a leggy frame in the second row can have nearly a metre of legroom.
Three engines will be available: two petrol and one diesel. The most powerful is the 306bhp 5.0-litre V8, followed by the 272bhp 3.5-litre V6. Both are fantastically thirsty, tasked as they are with heaving 2.2 tonnes about and drivers will be lucky to see the right side of 20mpg. Even gentle driving got us nowhere near that claimed figure. car rental uk
This should make the diesel the most popular choice, as is the case with most big luxury vehicles, and the R-class will be offered with the 224bhp 320 CDI unit, which it is claimed will do 30mpg. None were available at the launch but even hitting a real-world 25mpg will be a big improvement over the petrol cars.
The R-class will go on sale in spring next year and although prices are likely to be between £42,000 and £55,000, specifications are not yet finalised. Long-wheelbase models should be around £1,500 more expensive. car rental uk
# posted by Liz Laurie @ 1:10 AM 
