05 Mar 07
Indeed only three problems surfaced as a result of such a heavy dump of snow, the first being the need to substitute wife for wipers as a means of clearing the snow from the windscreen; the second being the wedge of snow that gets compacted in the folding door mirror mechanism, preventing them from opening fully; and the third being the mysterious absence of an outside temperature gauge anywhere in the Mercedes' on-screen-information armoury.
Bracing myself for the 'it's right there, numbskull' call from Mercedes, I've religiously scrolled through menu after menu to no effect, so am absolutely convinced the R-Class doesn't offer this basic service. It may be that this particular version's all-singing, all-dancing interior specification inadvertently overlooks such trivia, but, so sublimely isolated from the cruelties of a rural winter by most current car interiors, I've been surprised at how often I've come to be grateful for a humble frost warning.
That I had completely forgotten the R-Class' foul weather credentials is testament, once again, to the car's deliciously discreet couture. This was recently reinforced by the visit of an Audi Q7 which, though undoubtedly equally able in matters off-road, is about as subtle as a robber's cosh. Not-the-car-it's-the-box-it-came-in packaging, allied to a face like an inflatable doll wearing chrome lipstick, does nothing to belie the Audi's considerable bulk.
So, though the two cars are, I suspect, very similar in overall size, the Mercedes not only looks decidedly more compact, but also completely fails to attract the ever burgeoning ire of a small, badly educated section of society that sees fit to actively penalise car ownership choice while turning a blind eye to the fact that even cows do more environmental damage, and that China currently builds one new fossil fuelled power station very week.
