Born in concept form as the GST--for Grand Sport Tourer--Mercedes brought its supersized luxury crossover to market largely unchanged from the show car as the new-for-2010 R-Class. Now dubbed a "Sport Tourer," the Alabama-built R-Class shares platform basics and about 35 percent of its hardware with the equally new M-Class, including V-6 and V-8 engines and all-wheel drive. From there, this unique 2+2+2 seater treads its own path into an emerging segment that lies somewhere between, yet beyond, station wagon and SUV
Acceleration and Power
The base R350 comes with a 3.5-liter 268-horsepower V6 engine. The new R320 Bluetec comes with a 210-horsepower turbodiesel V6. Both are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The EPA has not yet rated the 2010 model. The 2009 R350 achieves 15/19 mpg city/highway, while the R320 Bluetec achieves 18/24 mpg.
"Only AWD R350 models have been made available for us to test. They accelerate briskly, but the transmission in one test model periodically suffered jerky gear changes at low speed." --
"The V6-powered R350 is acceptable in terms of acceleration but won't win any drag races. The turbodiesel offers satisfactory grunt along with significantly better fuel economy." "Even the V-6 provides respectable acceleration and passing power--although with a curb weight between 4,700-4,900 pounds, the V-8 is an attractive alternative, dropping 0-60-mph times from just over eight to just under seven seconds and making hilly terrain and heavy passenger loads less challenging."
"We like the new seven-speed automatic. It's smooth enough in its gearchanges, and it skips directly to the ratio it wants at any given time, so there's never a sense of shuttling through a seven-pack of speeds. Your fingers easily reach either of the rocker switches on the backs of the wheel spokes, allowing manual shiftingYou can pick these up used for the same price as a new Focus in the UK. It's a lot of car for the money; for some, TOO MUCH car. I'd probably go for this over an S-Class used.
The base R350 comes with a 3.5-liter 268-horsepower V6 engine. The new R320 Bluetec comes with a 210-horsepower turbodiesel V6. Both are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The EPA has not yet rated the 2010 model. The 2009 R350 achieves 15/19 mpg city/highway, while the R320 Bluetec achieves 18/24 mpg.
"Only AWD R350 models have been made available for us to test. They accelerate briskly, but the transmission in one test model periodically suffered jerky gear changes at low speed." --
"The V6-powered R350 is acceptable in terms of acceleration but won't win any drag races. The turbodiesel offers satisfactory grunt along with significantly better fuel economy." "Even the V-6 provides respectable acceleration and passing power--although with a curb weight between 4,700-4,900 pounds, the V-8 is an attractive alternative, dropping 0-60-mph times from just over eight to just under seven seconds and making hilly terrain and heavy passenger loads less challenging."
"We like the new seven-speed automatic. It's smooth enough in its gearchanges, and it skips directly to the ratio it wants at any given time, so there's never a sense of shuttling through a seven-pack of speeds. Your fingers easily reach either of the rocker switches on the backs of the wheel spokes, allowing manual shiftingYou can pick these up used for the same price as a new Focus in the UK. It's a lot of car for the money; for some, TOO MUCH car. I'd probably go for this over an S-Class used.
