Test drive Mercedes Benz R-class since 2010 Minivan
Either a buffalo, or a bull, or a tour
Be sure that there was still no such rare combination of a variety of talents in one car. I have never seen him yet, but I was already somehow uneasy. Yes, you yourself judge the giant with a width of two meters and is good at five meters long. He can serve his owner with a representative sedan, a suburban super -ruff, with a capacity of more than 4.5 cubic meters, a minivan for children and households and even ... an all -resistant.
The ancient Greeks called such vagaries of nature to chimeras something with the head of a lion, a body of a goat, a snake tail and a dragon stomach. The designers of the Mercedes Benza dubbed their brainchild in an unheard of the name of the R-class and attributed to the clan few people who were nearly known Grand Sport Turers.
Not as terrible as he is painted
But nothing ... It was my first thought when I finally saw R 350. There was something thorough, solid, which immediately reminded of a well-known car quote from Mayakovsky: ... and when is a whale! In fact, this is a really big station wagon. A long hood is what representative sedans have. The massive grille of the radiator, the impressive area of \u200b\u200bglazing and high -profile wheels repeat the same parts of the ML all -terrain vehicle. And the very curved roof line plus a rather futuristic look of the rear racks and lanterns seemed to be spied on some kind of conceptual sports coup. Only the triangles of the sprouters of the front optics look funny, as if by chance attached to the usual oval headlights familiar to the Stuttgart machines. As with such design fantasy, they achieved the integrity of the appearance, the mind is incomprehensible.
A minute ... And how is it a huge, but rather low -set car on the ground on the sidewalk, towering above the road for twenty centimeters?
Do not please worry, the eyes of the manager of the car dealership glowed with cheerful sparks, for him this is a couple of trifles! And he himself got behind the wheel. At first, the feed was raised, then the nose, and for five seconds between the top of the arches and the look much more than they really are, 17-inch high-profile wheels organized a reserve with a heroic fist. Then, noblely puffing out of two pipes, the car imposingly, like an alligator crawling from the shore to the river, crossed the curve that seemed impregnable to me. It turns out that the R-class is endowed with air suspension. In the usual state, under the card, 17 cm. By the will of the driver, the body can be raised by as much as 5 centimeters.
If this guy is so capable, why should I be afraid of him? He is not at all a fiery boar.
Eyes are afraid, and hands do
I don’t know whether it was a matter of aristocratic comfort, or that much in the cabin seemed to me familiar, but I myself did not notice how quickly my fears evaporated about this machine. And how quickly she began to like it! The electric drive of the chair and the steering column without unnecessary efforts allowed us to take a convenient landing. In vain, I was afraid not to squeeze out between the rows of tightly parked cars, looking around a huge, width of a meter sixty salon, two rear rows of seats and notable where the end of the stern is notable. Parctronics, taking care of the preservation of both front and rear bumper, allows you to choose millimeters.
The steering wheel drive, which controls a 7-speed automatic, is the same as, for example, on the new S- and M-classes. I pressed this a bit familiar drive slightly. The back speed is turned on up. The central position is neutral, and for transfer to the parking mode, it is enough to touch the button in the end. Easy peasy. It turned out a little more difficult to get comfortable with the Mercedes tradition on the left -wing steering wheel by the control of not only the far lamp and the turnover, but also the wiper. There are three of these left switches. There is still the upper control of the cruise control (you periodically hook it when you turn on the turn signal) and the lower joystick of the steering column electric drive.
Three steering wheel switches and small side mirrors trifles clouding excellent ergonomics
There is a wide and deep two-tier armrest on all R-classes
This convenient, small lever is responsible for managing a 7-speed automatic transmission
The buttons above the mirror allow you to control the light above any of the three rows of seats
For internal upholstery, the glove box did not regret dark soft tissue
But as soon as I went to the operational scope, and I forgot about these trifles.
Do not take off and fuse The beauty on a nasty snow porridge, which is covered with a suburban road, vigorous accelerations, starts without the slightest departure to the side. Thank you, I must say advanced anti -wings and trajectory stabilization systems. But the main thing is all -wheel drive. So I specifically squeeze the gas with a cold, driving on an uncleaned strip of the road. The machine responds with a cheerful transition at once two steps lower, ESP with a pair of winks in response to a very inconspicuous slip. A few seconds, and the huge Makhina, as if nothing had happened, leaves the entire stream again.
And all this with all the great Mercedes Boys, the ability to not annoy the driver with the troubles of the road. A wide track, a large base, impressive, for two tons, mass, multiplied by a branded Air Matic and an excellent layer of soundproofing, turn a ride into a serene swimming and remarkably concealed the speed. The capabilities of the 272-horsepower six are enough to also accelerate the same serene to 140, and to 180 and longer. And the car does not bother at the same time, even if the road is far from a billiard table.
Well, dear, since you are really so capable of us, let's try, what a jeep you are. With such a suspension, all-wheel drive and with an increased to the maximum 22 cm, the clearance will you like the snow virgin land?
Here we are confidently half a meter, the second. Somewhere under the bottom, something was worried ... Is we really getting stuck? No, a couple of meters for a small rise, and only when the snow becomes almost on the hub, the R-class, as if someone had grabbed it by the levers of the pendants from below, it is taken helplessly to polish the snow porridge with only one right front wheel. Alas, without differential locks (their function partially performs ESP), there is nothing to do here on the miraculous grand of the sports turla.
Well, we will write down. The R-class is not a jeep at all, it needs all-wheel drive exclusively for road driving. But at any time of the year. And how can this giant play the role of Minivan?
Will we realize the six?
Well, no, the owner will probably not dirty the heavy back door himself and dirty his hands. For 750 euros, he will order an electric drive of the fifth door. But for the wide possibilities of transformation and you do not need to pay extra. Start at least with how conveniently fold the seats of the third row. Pull the handle on the hand and, while it drops, the pillow automatically rises. True, if it is necessary to hide in the floor and the central row, you will have to remove the headrests and push the front seats ahead. Unknown.
On any of the six soft and wide armchairs with leather upholstery it will be convenient even to fat passengers
It is just as difficult to climb into a third row of seats as squeezing into the back seat of a compartment
For a separate block of climate control and heating the seats of the second row will have to pay extra
Vice transformation capabilities allow varying the volume of trunk from 244 to 1950 liters
It will be even less convenient for those who decide to travel in the third row. Any minivan with sliding doors and wider openings in this discipline will give the R-class a large head start. And the flowing roof also significantly limited the space in height. If your height is higher than 180 cm, on the third row it is better not to climb your head at the ceiling.
Who is he really? So, what kind of beast did the designers of the Mercedes-Benets get such outlandish? Talented car for a variety of purposes? This is how to say ... Yes, in general, he really has more trump cards than any particular SUV, sedan or compactwane. But whether they are needed in one and very expensive! bottle?
Our is quite generous, but still far from the maximum equipped R 350 costs 83,517 euros. As a minimum representative S-class, by the way. The company and adjustable clearance to him, as we found out, only for a more confident driving in the winter outside the city and the wider opportunities of parking, but not for the assault on the road. The use of R-class as a banal station wagon is also doubtful. Already if only because it dirty the snow -white villous upholstery of the trunk blasphemy. And those fans of the Mercedes-Benz, who need cargoes, will buy almost 20 thousand euros a cheaper, but no less spacious all-wheel drive station wagon of the E-class. The role of a corporate prestigious minivan remains. But here, as we have seen, there are many questions.
It turns out that the most likely role of this miracle is a comfortable styer for jeepponnavians who do not want to carry the family on a large sedan. Huge sizes of the machine, its non -trivial appearance and three -beam star, the owner will demonstrate his independence and viability. And the princesses, they say, do not need me for nothing ... There are few such people in today's Russia. But maybe this R-class will be valuable.
Half a kingdom per horse, the other for the harness
Even on the scale of the prices of the Mercedes-Benz R-class Roads: R 350 from E63 500, cars with an elongated base R 350L and 306-horsepower R 500L from 65 800 and 83,700 euros, respectively. The basic equipment consists of several dozen options (6 airbags, an abundance of insurance electronics, electric forces of mirrors, glass windows, partially front seats and the like). However, the usual Mercedes owners and traditionally very expensive pre -equipment raises the price bar to a sky -high height. For example, for the color of metallic, parking sensors, pneumatic suspension, stereo system, bixenon headlights and leather upholstery with inserts of chromium and wood will have to pay at least 13,964 euros.
PER
A high image, a wide, transk-formed salon, a comfortable suspension, adjustable clearance, excellent vibro, noise insulation, powerful, painful motor, high level of safety
VS
Appearance for an amateur, high cost of options, high fuel consumption, inconvenience of transformation of the seats of the second row and entrance/exit to the seats of the third row, flaws of ergonomics
Mercedes Benz R 350
general information
Body (number of places/doors)
Universal (6/5)
Equipped mass, kg
2155
Length x width x height, mm
4922x1922x1659
Base, mm
2980
Trunk volume, l (6/4/2 places)
244/888/1950
Acceleration time 0100 km/h, with
8.3
Speed, km/h
230
Fuel tank capacity, l
80
Average fuel consumption, l/100 km
11.6
Engine
Working volume, SMZ
3498
Power, L.S. at rpm
272/6000
Torque, kgsm at rpm
35.7/2400-5000
Chassis
Drive unit
Constant full
Transmission
Automatic, 7-speed
Suspension
independent Co stabilizers of the anti -resistance stability
front
Type McEzerson
behind
4-bombed
Steering
rack type with amplifier
Brakes
Disk ventilated
Tires
235/65 R17
Car
from $ 1.25/km
Alexey Sergeev, photo of Maxim Goncharov
A source: Magazine buy a car [05/2006]
