Thinking of an R Class - any coments?

[tpt]

Hi

More children are on the way - arrgh - so I need a six seater. My W211 Estate is perfect but we do need 6 seats now. I test drove an XC90 D5 - it was 'orrible and noisy, really unrefined and cheaply made, but had 7 seats, even if the 2 in back were tiny and hard to get to.

So anybody had any experience of this car? Especially practicality such as parking, running costs ... anything else?

I see lots out there at the 20K mark with 35000 miles and good specs? Also, is the electrics the same as the W211 - ie the CAN-Bus, does it take the same COMAND system as the E-class?

Also what else is there in this space assuming that I want to avoid the obvious galaxy type people carriers...

cheers

tpt

 

[Cole@MBS]

Brillant under rated car, on my 2nd now! command and all the toys, 57000 miles in my first one in 1 year!! never had a fault! new one covered 17000 miles in 3 months, no problems!

Love them to bits!

 

[stumpy]

Hi

More children are on the way - arrgh - so I need a six seater. My W211 Estate is perfect but we do need 6 seats now. I test drove an XC90 D5 - it was 'orrible and noisy, really unrefined and cheaply made, but had 7 seats, even if the 2 in back were tiny and hard to get to.

So anybody had any experience of this car? Especially practicality such as parking, running costs ... anything else?

I see lots out there at the 20K mark with 35000 miles and good specs? Also, is the electrics the same as the W211 - ie the CAN-Bus, does it take the same COMAND system as the E-class?

Also what else is there in this space assuming that I want to avoid the obvious galaxy type people carriers...

cheers

tpt

It's a big car but then a 211 estate isn't small either so you should be used to parking it. I like the GL I must say.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hi Also what else is there in this space assuming that I want to avoid the obvious galaxy type people carriers...

Hi tpt. It is worth noting that at least two motorists are doing time in the UK as we speak for causing death by dangerous driving. Each hit a people carrier and all the occupants were killed in both cases. This I see more as a design problem with people carriers than any expertise on the part of the drivers who hit them.

When looking to accommodate more passengers - especially the extremely precious ones you have in mind - I think vehicle integrity is a top consideration. The Volvo would do it, but you have rationalised discounting that. R Class may not be cheap, but it would sure be on my short list for this situation.

As for the rest, S-A-M has said it all!

 

[television]

They are a practical vehicle, and handy if you run a business.

I have been out in SAM's and it is very nice, how well they do in the N cap I do not know compared to a Volvo I do not know

 

[mattsurf]

Can you get a 7 seat R class - They look like great value compared to an E class. But with 3 kids, I really need 3 rear seats

Matt

 

[Cole@MBS]

They do a 7 seater now! mile-per-gallon, mine does aveage of 30mpg but thats up to its weight limit of 3 tons!! so not bad! shed loads of space! carry weight without fault, had both air suspension and springs, both give a smooth ride! i would buy one my-self (if i had the money) ! And both havent ever played up! shouldnt have said that!!!

 

[st4]

Alex correctly identifies a safety issue with MPVs although I am not so sure it applies to the front 2 rows of the R class.

1) The R class does have a bonnet and the engine mounted infront of the driver, not below them, like in a normal car. Safety in this regard is comparible to an E class or ML

2) the R class middle rows are okay, they are in the middle of the vehicle. Its the 3rd back row that Alexs argument holds the most weight, and this applies to any 3rd row seating in any car. It really isn't suitable for occupant protection in the worst. Those up front, or in the middle should be okay.

3) the R class has a higher bumper hieght than most conventional cars, and so it has a natural advantage in a collision with a lower car, but with a low enough CofG not to roll over. However collision with a SUV with not be so good but GL is likely to roll over, and a car like car (E class not so)

Remember, the R class is heavily based on the ML/GL cars. If I needed a large people carrier type car, an R would get my nod. But an E is better for me

 

[Ashley H]

I've been half-thinking about one myself. I understand you need to go for the LWB model which is the seven seater.

Unfortunately - to my taste - they only seem to be available in silver or black with black or or grey interior respectively!

 

[hawk20]

I've been half-thinking about one myself. I understand you need to go for the LWB model which is the seven seater.

Unfortunately - to my taste - they only seem to be available in silver or black with black or or grey interior respectively!

In normal paint available in Black or White. In metallic paint available in 9 different colours. But over 60% of MBs are some version of silver or some version of black.

Plenty of SWB one's in the UK as it is less of a parking problem.

Unnoticed by many -and little publicised by MB- there is a version of the 280cdi which has emissions just below the top tax band.

 

[Mercedes 190E]

I don't like the styling of the "R" Class, I must admit.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Alex correctly identifies a safety issue with MPVs although I am not so sure it applies to the front 2 rows of the R class

Hi. I was trying to differentiate the R Class (which I suspect is robust, unlike MPVs - although as Malcolm rightly says we have no info on NCAP performance) - from the biscuit tins and converted vans in which people do seem to get killed all too readily.

I agree that an e-class estate with extra seats is probably the best formula.

We did have a canter on a separate thread about safety of occupants of row 3 and concluded that there is no evidence from UK or USA that MB or Volvo 3rd row passengers suffered any excess of harm.

 

[stuartmac]

Hi Alex,

We did have a canter on a separate thread about safety of occupants of row 3 and concluded that there is no evidence from UK or USA that MB or Volvo 3rd row passengers suffered any excess of harm.

Iirc, that thread dealt with passengers that'd be rear-facing in the 3rd row. The snag - as vividly demonstrated by 'Fifth Gear'(?) not long ago - with MPV's, and the 'R' class, is the 3rd row face forward, which puts particularly heads very close to the slope of the rear window - something apparently not covered by any NCAP or similar test.

The snag with the aforementioned demo. was that they ran a 7.5t tipper into the back of a 'Sharon', then banged on about how much damage had been done to the 3rd row (adult-height) passengers ... entirely missing the bigger point that, if you run any 7.5-tonner (unladen weight around 4t) into the back of any stationary car-type vehicle (1t - 2t-ish), no-one is likely to survive in the latter.

Hth.

Regards,

 

[tpt]

Thanks for all the input - we're gonna test drive one at the weekend - I think I'd like a LWB - but the SWB looks sportier... any comments on SWB vs LWB?

cheers

tpt

 

[roadhog]

The snag with the aforementioned demo. was that they ran a 7.5t tipper into the back of a 'Sharon', then banged on about how much damage had been done to the 3rd row (adult-height) passengers ... entirely missing the bigger point that, if you run any 7.5-tonner (unladen weight around 4t) into the back of any stationary car-type vehicle (1t - 2t-ish), no-one is likely to survive in the latter.

That's what I was thinking when I read the earlier post about a couple of people serving time for running into MPV's. I think they would have wiped out pretty much anything in their path not just an MPV.

I'm not sure but does NCAP even test for rear impact?

 

[gmcelroy]

The current Euro NCAP testing supprisingly doesn't cover rear impacts - So there's currently no scoring of that aspect. I believe they are updating it to include such a test in the future.

 

[mattsurf]

statistically passengers in the 3rd row are the safest in the car - I read somewhere that the majority of accidents are frontal impact, passengers in rear facing seats in the 3rd row are well protected in these accidents. The second most common is side impacts, again, due to the rear axle, passengers in the 3rd row have better protection. The least serious accidents are rear end - as the car is typically travelling forward, therefore the speed differential is less, also a car is more likely to be knocked forward (if it is stationary) therefor dissipating much of the energy.

Overall the safest place to be in a car is the 3rd row of seats

 

[DougCLK320]

.....I read somewhere that the majority of accidents are frontal impact, ...

Nearly every time there's a frontal accident - it's running into the back of someone else.
One man's frontal impact is other man's wallop from behind !!!
Doug

 

[mattsurf]

According to the research I read, this is not true, less than 25% of crashes involve running into the back of someone else, 90% of crashes involve a frontal impact

 

[Blobcat]

Hi tpt. It is worth noting that at least two motorists are doing time in the UK as we speak for causing death by dangerous driving. Each hit a people carrier and all the occupants were killed in both cases. This I see more as a design problem with people carriers than any expertise on the part of the drivers who hit them.

When looking to accommodate more passengers - especially the extremely precious ones you have in mind - I think vehicle integrity is a top consideration. The Volvo would do it, but you have rationalised discounting that. R Class may not be cheap, but it would sure be on my short list for this situation.

As for the rest, S-A-M has said it all!

I don't like how close to the rear window the seats are in most people carriers. We have a VW Caravelle and it is "big" there is still loads of luggage space even with all 7 seats occupied. We have 3 girls (2,5 & 7) and Claire is pregnant :-D. I also like that the seats have built in Kids seats and they can swivel around so they all face each other in the back.
I've ridden in a few R-Classes and they are nice, a lot smaller inside than the Caravelle but much nicer to drive (especially in 320 variant :smile