Test drive Mercedes Benz R-class since 2010 Minivan

Mercedes-Benz R-class. Big original

At the end of the last beginning of this century, Mercedes took up the active development of the segment of the same crews, which this premium brand had not had before. In 1998, a small A-class appeared, in 2005 a B-class was born, and in 2006 the largest R-class was released. But the Germans could not make another barn? The image is not the same. So the original move was invented to cross the single -crew, crossover and representative sedan.


The updated R-class looks more advantageous than the predecessor. The company hopes that this will attract new customers

But with the third Van, the Mercedesians came out a puncture. Very expensive R-class did not go. The car was designed for a fairly narrow audience of wealthy people aged 40-55, who have a large family and love to travel. Moreover, it is desirable that the US family was the USA to be traditionally the main market for such models, and they also assembled the car in America.


At the back of the Wan has not changed much. Updated the contents of the lanterns, a metal overlapping appeared on the bumper

Something did not work out with the R-class design. A rounded face, a muddy gaze of fish eyes, and behind the car looked very dull. And only a light dynamic profile did not raise questions. At first they bought an R-class in America, and very willingly, but then the demand has fallen, and recently China has become the main market! About 75% of the machines produced were sold there.

There are several reasons for the relative failure (it is also difficult to call a frank failure of the R-class). The company itself believes that in recent years, the car diverged like frozen pies due to inexpressive design. Personally, I see the root of the problem in class uncertainty, and therefore, the absence of a clear target audience. In evidence of this version, one can cite the fact that the R-class still does not have direct competitors. Only recently something similar to BMW appeared (we are talking about 5 Series GT). As for Russia, we sold a little more than 1,100 cars over all the years, and almost everything in a long -drawn version. The originals that chose a short R-class turned out to be only four.

In general, a radical change in image and design was required. And preferably without serious financial investments. If the old model was made in the traditions of bio-design, then the restyled follower of the modern faceted style. Now the R-class began to resemble an ML SUV, which can generally be called the closest brother of Erka. Here are the headlights of a similar shape, and a powerful grill of a false radiator lattice, and the fog, and an evil bumper. We admit that there was nothing left of the former inexpressiveness.


The ergonomics of the car as a whole is well worked out. True, once again I had to get used to the abundance of buttons on the central console, overloaded with the left steering wheel switch, as well as the lack of a touch-screenshur function by the monitor

The sidewalls, however, remained untouched, and the back did not change as much as the front line (during modernization this is a completely normal phenomenon). Inside the lanterns now there are diodes that form characteristic brackets when glowing. From external decor, it is also worth noting optional overlays for polished metal in the lower part of the front and rear bumper. With this stroke, the developers, one must think, wanted to hint to customers that there are still features of the crossover in this all-wheel drive car. And, of course, speaking of appearance, it should be noted that Wan received new discs. The largest AMG with a diameter of 21 inches.


The profile as was and remained the stronger side of the appearance of the R-class. The car looks rapidly even in a long -drawn version from the side

In the cabin, first of all, you pay attention to a new contrasting finish. Combinations of gray or almond-beige with black are possible. From a definitely new one, only the steering wheel can be distinguished. Of course, you can’t call an avant-garde salon of the R-class. But he was still too early for his retirement. And if you provide the machine with options like a glass roof, monitors in the headrests of the front seats and so on, then the R-class is perceived as a rich and status car. He is so.


As you can see, the interior almost did not undergo architectural changes. It was refreshed at the expense of two -tone sections, and also screwed a new steering wheel

The most cool in our market will be R 500 4MATIC. There are no changes in technology in it. As before, under the hood there is a 5.5-liter eight with a capacity of 388 hp. The good old 7G-Tronic helps her. Of the additional amenities, you can note the AMG package (body kit, discs, rugs, black leather NAPPA), the presence of air suspension, glass roof, multimedia system monitors in the headrests. And if the basic version R 500 4MATIC is estimated at 3,550,000 rubles, then this one, at the expense of the options, is already 5,276,495 rubles! Agree, it is not suitable for family Van, even from Mercedes-Benz.


Practicality is the strength of the R-class. With completely folded seats of two rows, its useful volume reaches 2385 liters

With the weather, snow was lucky with a wall at a slight negative temperature. As a result, the road is covered, icled in places, and where they managed to work reagents, lies a thick layer of snow porridge. However, you just don’t feel at the wheel of the R-Class of lawlessness under the wheels! Full -wheel drive is always full (moreover, in an unchanged proportion of 50: 50), and the mass of the car far over two tons is so well pressed by the wheel tread to the surface of the highway that the car literally gets into the coating. The trajectory stability is great! You will not feel blows on the steering wheel, while the steering is not very sharp with informativeness. This is very good with high -speed movement in a straight line. The car goes strictly at a given rate without nervousness, and restructuring and overtaking are easily performed. As a result, we go along a terrible road surprisingly quickly 120, 140, 160 km/h rejoing at the exceptional stability of the car.


Awesome stability and unshakability characterize this machine when it comes to riding unstable coatings

The air suspension in Comfort miraculously swallows waves and most of the road marriage. If you select the Sport mode, then the difference in the behavior of the car will become noticeable. It shakes more, the profile of the road is transmitted in more detail, but the reactions to the rulers become a little clearer and more acute. But just a little. Comfort as a whole suffers slightly, but on the waves it throws up to drink tea from a glass already problematic. I ask my colleague to turn on Comfort back. There is also Auto mode.


Very pretty externally and internally, R-ka risks remaining many misunderstood, since the type of universal body is not associated with buyers with the concept of luxury. Perhaps that is why the Mercedes people stubbornly call this car a sedan in their press releases

It is worth going to the winding suburban two-lane, as you immediately understand that it is better to drive quickly on this car in a straight line. There is little feedback on the steering wheel and the trajectory has to be felt, the machine is tangled significantly, and in stressful turns you feel a large mass. Do not escape from the laws of physics.


Optionally, you can install multi -circuit front seats on the car. There is heating, ventilation and even adjustment of the degree of lateral support

For the sake of the experiment, I sit back and try myself as a boss with a driver. What can you say here, of course, enough. Both in the knees and above the head. But the landing is far from sedane, more vertical. Comfort will be smaller, even than in the simplest Mercedes of the S-class. Therefore, it makes no sense to buy R-ku as a traveling office office.

And if the five millionth five -hundredth with all the bells and whistles looks like a car behind a reasonable line, like a kind of kitsch and a farce, then a simpler diesel version of the R350 CDI with 224 hp. And 510 Newton meters are more justified as a family friend. Largely because it costs almost half as much in the base from 2,690,000 rubles. In a special series with skin, three -zone climate, heated seats, parking sensors and other joys). Yes, she does not have air suspension, glass roof, monitors and unnecessary seats (for example, not very necessary side support, as on five hundred). Nevertheless, you do not feel damage. A simple spring suspension, coupled with higher-profile tires, reports a comparable level of comfort, but a very painful diesel, although it is not capable of a hurricane dynamics of a 5.5-liter version, it is lucky, allowing you to significantly save fuel. That is why, given the price tag, we can say that the diesel version liked more. And of course, it looks like a more rational purchase, given the car class (there is also a gasoline R 350 4Matic, having 272 hp and 350 nm, which costs as much as a diesel machine so here the diesel engine is also more interesting).

Yes, restyling can be considered quite successful. Only now something tells me that in demand it does not indulge fundamentally. Now it’s not the end of the nineties. Buyers have long voted for numerous crossovers, with which our R-class after restyling, of course, did not. Therefore, he will remain an unusual choice of aesthetic originals. What was always.


Text: Leonty Tyutelev
Photo: Mercedes-Benz and author



Competitors
We argued for a long time whether the R-class has direct rivals or not. We decided not. But we must at least write something in the section competitors, otherwise our antitrust service will start the company Mercedes. Saving the Germans from the FAS, we, as the main (and only) opponent, have chosen BMW GT as an updated R-class. And it turned out that the prices for two models are very similar.

535i gasoline with a 306-horsepower engine with a volume of 3.0 liters with a turbocharging costs from 2.6 million rubles, which is comparable to the R-class (2,690,000 rubles. For a version with a 272-horsepower gasoline unit). But such a model in the database has only a drive to one axis. A full -wheel drive BMW 535i XDRive is 2.74 million rubles. Diesel 530d (245 hp) with all -wheel drive 2,640,000 rubles. (R350 CDI with 265 hp 2 690 000 rub.). BMW 535D XDRive with 300 horses is 2,980,000 rubles. At the top of the gamma there is an all -wheel drive 550i XDRive with a power engine of 408 hp. 3 440 000 rub. (this is a little cheaper than a less powerful R500 4Matic)
 

Source: Auto.mail.ru