Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £36,970 to £53,630
Refined engine, imposing, badge, spacious cabin, huge boot.
Looks, lack of air suspension, no seven-seat option, pricey.
A classy, if expensive way of transporting people. It's blunted by the absence of extra rear seats.
Mercedes rarely skimps on safety features and despite untested by leading crash authority Euro NCAP we would expect the R-class to perform with flying colours.
All models, for example, receive six airbags as standard with the driver and passenger benefiting from two-stage airbags that distinguish and act less violently in minor collisions.
Front seats are also fitted with an anti-whiplash device that prepares the head restraints to an optimum setting during an accident.
As well as crash-sensitive headrests, the whole R-class range has PRE-SAFE. This system prepares the car if it thinks an accident is imminent - tensioning seatbelts, adjusting the position of the front passenger seat and closing a sunroof if it's open.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes R-Class
wrote on 01 05 2007