7 Seater Cars 2012 
Mercedes R-Class – 7 Seater Car
The usual excellent Mercedes-Benz build quality and luxury touches fail to cover up the fact that this is one funky-looking beast. And beast it is – not only is the R-Class beastly expensive to buy and run but its gargantuan size combines with an odd shape to make it beastly to drive in town, which makes the relatively cramped interior, well... rather a beastly shock. Prices for the 7-Seater LWB Mercedes start at £44,915. Second hand Mercedes-Benz R-Class's can be bought for much less.
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Mercedes R-Class – Car Tax Band (VED)
Given how much it costs to buy an R-Class, it seems rather perverse to then worry about car tax. Detail though car tax might seem in this context, it remains an important detail for some. Even in its ‘greenest’ form the BlueEFFICIENCY model belches out 199g/km of CO2. Suffice to say the R-Class just manages to avoid the most expensive car tax band by falling into Band J. Band J is currently £245 a year with an expensive £445 showroom tax. Larger models fall into higher Car Tax brackets.
Mercedes R-Class – C02 Emissions
If you’re going to insist on tooling around in something the size and weight of the R-Class, you’ll have to accept that you’re pumping a lot of carbon gasses into the atmosphere despite the fact that this Mercedes-Benz complies with EU5 regulations. With the low rolling resistance tyres and BlueEfficiency ethos the Co2 emissions are a reasonable 199 g/km considering the size of the car.
Mercedes R-Class – Safety Features
Typical of vehicles from this German maker of luxury automaker, the Mercedes R-Class comes with an excellent array of safety features. Dual-stage airbags and side bags protect people in the front seats. Window airbags protect all occupants. A variety of technical gadgetry helps the R-Class avoid collisions.
Mercedes R-Class – Higher Running Costs
Once you factor in the purchase price, the expected low residuals, the whopping showroom tax, the high car tax, the high insurance, the poor fuel economy and tyre wear, you can expect running costs to be at an eye-watering level. Motorists seeking anything that approaches the ‘economy’ end of the scale should definitely look elsewhere. Servicing packages can cost from £23 a month. The average MPG varies between 37MPG upwards.
Mercedes R-Class – Comfort
The question of comfort is a tough call in a vehicle like this. Given the car’s mammoth weight and exterior dimensions, there’s a shocking lack of real room inside. A long-wheelbase version adds a huge amount of passenger and cargo room but then the driver will definitely find urban manoeuvring uncomfortable. With an option for air-bag suspension, the R-Class provides pretty good ride comfort and of course, the cabin comes with plenty of nice touches to keep people comfy.
Mercedes R-Class –Luxury with Gadgets
It’s not easy to find quality issues in Mercedes-Benz products. The engineering and manufacturing is top-notch, though the overall design loses plenty of points for being so compromised. The R-Class does, however, offer a nice mix of traditional luxury and upmarket gadgetry, which is probably as it should be given the fact that it costs more than £40,000.
Mercedes R-Class – Performance
In terms of performance, the R-Class manages a reasonable compromise between speed, comfort and environmental costs. To call it ‘green’ is probably a bit disingenuous but if you insist on enjoying such luxury without rubbing Mother Nature’s nose in a puddle of acid rain, you could do worse than invest in the R-Class.
The BlueEFFICIENCY model manages 0-100kph in less than 10 seconds while reaching nearly 40mpg on the combined economy cycle. The R 350 CDI L will stay with many little hot hatches on both the drag strip and the autobahn.
Mercedes R-Class – Interior Space
The Mercedes-Benz R-Class fails to deliver true practicality. Yes, it’s a people mover that (in LWB form) can shift a large group of people and plenty of cargo but it is huge. Interior space is nowhere near as good as it should be for such a big vehicle, especially in the short wheelbase model. The giant size of the R-Class also makes it a pain to manoeuvre around town.
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Mercedes R-Class – 4x4 (4WD)
Mercedes-Benz is being a bit cheeky when it calls this a ‘sports tourer’. Yes you can tour in it and yes, it’s actually quite good, but it is far from sporting. The R-Class gets the four-wheel drive underpinnings of the M-class SUV, so it enjoys good handling balance. You’re unlikely to be throwing this vehicle around on twisty roads, however.
