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2006 Mercedes R-Class First Drive
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TO THE POINT
What’s New? By blending a sport-utility with a station wagon and a minivan, Mercedes-Benz is among the first to sell what it calls a ‘sport-tourer’ in the 2006 R-Class. Based on the M-Class platform and powered by the same V6 and V8 engines, the R-Class offers familiar Mercedes design, technology, and driving character is a fresh new package.
Selling Points: Lots of luxury, slick safety technology, first-class accommodations for six, excellent drivetrains
Deal Breakers: Price tag, funky design, some chintzy bits in the cabins
Our Advice: Hankering for a do-it-all Benz but don’t want the off-roading capability of the M-Class SUV and the E-Class wagon reminds you too much of the car your parents drove? Check out the new R-Class sport-tourer, crossover, minivan-SUV-wagon.
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Wrap-Up
The 2006 Mercedes-Benz R-Class combines the attributes of a sport utility vehicle and a sporty performance sedan with an elegant, modern-day luxury wagon.
Arriving in showrooms on October 1, 2005, the 2006 Mercedes-Benz R-Class successfully combines the attributes of an on-road sport-utility vehicle and a sporty performance sedan with an elegant, modern-day luxury wagon. Banking on trends that have moved upscale buyers of minivans into SUVs and, most recently, seen the migration of consumers from truck-based sport-utes to car-based crossovers, Mercedes believes the R-Class will appeal to as many as 30,000 ‘socialite empty nesters’ and ‘late forming families’ with two to three children. These successful Baby Boomers, aged 40-55 and equally split on gender, will likely have household incomes of more than $150,000, and will be well-educated trend setters and ‘early adopters’ who will find the cutting-edge style and utility of the new R-Class emotionally and rationally appealing.
Smart shoppers might point to the fact that the similarly-styled Chrysler Pacifica has more room in the most commonly used seats in the first and second rows, and is available fully loaded and discounted for nearly half the price of the R-Class. However, Mercedes-Benz marketers would assure you that converts and loyalists alike will not only buying the R-Class for luxury, but are also buying the cachet associated with the three-pointed star on the grille. For R-Class buyers, a Chrysler’s not going to cut it.
Mercedes expects that the luxury sports tourer segment will double over the next five years, and while it can be argued whether the R-Class creates a “brand new class of vehicle,” the all-new R350 and R500 are clearly ahead of an emerging class.
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