If I parked in a disabled or mother-and-child bay, that would be appalling, wouldn’t it? I am fit, able and neither a female nor a parent. But I was so tempted to park the R-Class in one because parking anywhere else is so immensely tricky. It is huge in the long-wheel base format (4,938 x 1,922 mm) and the steering lock isn’t much help. I don’t think anyone would have said anything about parking there because in the dark blue trim of the test car it bears more than a passing resemblance to a hearse.
A small steering lock, while frustrating when parking or turning in tight city spots, would be easily forgiven on the open road if the car delivered a relaxing, poised response to cornering. Sadly, the R-Class is a bit wobbly through S bends, the steering delivering unclear feedback that makes me think it’s going to under-steer just before it over-steers.
Of course, it’s unlikely you are going to travel that briskly when the car is fully laden with children or adults. Which is where this car scores. People often felt I was making a fuss when I said it was a big car because the flowing lines of the design do a good job of compacting its size. It was not until they climbed aboard and, at my urging, looked over their shoulder that they gasped at the enormity of the space. Which is why you can get a lot of people on board, even those with long legs. So if you want a 7-seat car for a family who forever need new shoes and trousers, this might be what you are looking for.
The use of space seems more practical than in some of the market rivals. You get a feeling that Mercedes has made every effort to give as much room to the passengers as possible. In contrast to cars such as the Renault Espace, you feel perched right on the front of the vehicle – like it’s a stage coach. While it takes a short time to adjust to the sensation of driving a car with so much metal behind you, it means the space is where you want it to be. The list of the world’s top 100 most infuriating things ever is overflowing with cars designed to take lots of people but offering no leg or luggage room – to such an extent that there is almost no room in the list for Katie Price and all the other vacuous celebs.
Laden with 7 bodies and their bags, far from wanting to belt through A road corners you are going to be quite pleased if it pulls away effortlessly and into the flow of busy traffic without making you yelp with fear. The 320 CDI engine delivers that effortless power. But I wish there were a manual version.
As with so many big automatics, there is a lot of delay when you stand on the throttle to pull into a very small gap; about as much as there is with any of the big automatics. It’s frustrating but everything in the market is about the same. If you live in a more rural environment, you probably won’t even notice it. Instead you will just enjoy the smooth roar as the CDI engine shoots up to speed because, believe me, once it goes, it really does go.
What’s the market like?
“I can’t afford that!”, I hear you cry. An understandable emotion. This is a £36,000-£40,000 car when new. With its soft leather interior, high levels of equipment and distinctive physical presence, it feels it, too. But a 2-year-old model can be found for £22,000-£26,000. For wannabe Mercedes buyers, the good news just keeps coming too, because the depreciation tales off after the initial drops of the first 2 years. A 3-year-old car is only £3,000 less. So this is a car that the family can run for a year or two and lose less than if they bought a new Ford Galaxy and ran that for a couple of years.
What else can this budget buy?
A budget of more than £20,000 means you can buy almost anything. But 7-seat cars are still quite rare, especially if you’re trying to avoid 4 x 4s like the Discovery or XC90. Audi’s Q7 would also be out on that basis, but it also lacks interior room. There are no direct ‘premium brand’ rivals, so it’s a question of weighing up whether a slightly newer top-end Ford Galaxy (an ex-demonstrator, say) will give you more pleasure.
Summary
A distinctive, enormous 5 or 7-seat people-mover with an expensive feel but that is in reach for a lot of families.
By: Matthew Tumbridge