IN THIS FEATURE A real multi-tasker? 4x4 for the road Not the cheap option

The entry-level R350 will be powered by a 272bhp 3.5-litre V6, which feels out of its depth in the R-Class. Performance is sluggish - it feels slower even than the claimed 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and top whack of 143mph - and this engine is gruff and unpleasant when revved hard. And as we hinted at earlier, if you want to maintain swift progress, you'll need to call on the manual gear selection on offer with 7G-TRONIC, as in normal auto mode you'll almost always be in too high a gear for swift response.

We haven't driven it yet, but the pick of the range (if you can't stretch to the price or the fuel consumption of the R500) will undoubtedly be the R320 CDI. We've driven this engine in the C-Class and it's an absolute stormer, refined and supremely responsive from low revs. So this punchy diesel should be very good indeed in the R-Class, as well as quite frugal and tax friendly. In fact, Mercedes reckons that half of roughly 1800 R-Classes expected to sell in the UK each year will pack the diesel engine.

Engine range varies; R500 impressive but 320 CDI sure to be best pick

Prices will range from £42,000 to £55,000 when this stylish Merc goes on sale spring 2006, so this isn't the cheap option. The R-Class will be offered in both long and short wheelbase versions, but take it from us, the extra £1500 asked for the long wheelbase version is more than worth it, if for nothing else than how good the car looks with a few more inches on the wheelbase.

Build quality, which has been a bigger issue for Merc than it should have been recently, looks quite well sorted on the R-Class. And this is a great-looking car with huge presence and a profile that is low and slinky enough to keep misguided 'green' protesters and their infantile protest stickers away - this car doesn't look like an off-roader in spite of the huge space and ground clearance. And if the Euro-spec version drives as well as it should, Merc has a real winner on its hands. Shock-horror, the marketing men might actually be telling us the unalloyed truth this time.