After spending 2,228 miles behind the wheel of our R Class last week I'm convinced it's got the best cupholders in the world. And I should know. Many of those miles were spent at more than 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains where hydrating means the difference between living with a constant headache and actually enjoying the scenery. Over the course of four days in Leadville, Colorado I sucked back somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 ounces of water...
The brilliance of the cupholders' design are four little "fingers" which snugly hold a cup or bottle in place regardless of its diameter. If it will fit in the hole, it will stay in the hole. These are, perhaps, as good as cupholders can get. And they're in a German car. Amazing.
Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot @ 7,390 miles
jerrywimer says:
09:27 AM, 08/17/06
Those are smaller but otherwise similar in appearance to the rubber fingers in the front console of the new GM SUVs. GM also has this same setup in several other product lines, but not all. Which is too bad.
On the other hand, the rear seat cupholders, especially the ones that drop out of the rear of the center console, are some of the worst I've ever seen. I refuse to use them after learning the hard way.
jerrywimer says:
09:27 AM, 08/17/06
Forgot to add- those in that car *do* appear to be extra deep. No doubt that adds quite a bit to the ability to keep liquids in their containers rather than allowing them to tip when you take a corner too hard.
rsholland says:
09:30 AM, 08/17/06
Well, considering the price of the R500, I would hope the cupholders are best in the world.
actualsize says:
04:25 PM, 08/17/06
It gets even better: Did you notice that if you snap out that dogbone center section, it's a bottle opener? I guess there are no twist-offs in Deutschland!
tirthankar_b says:
11:03 AM, 08/18/06
I saw this design even on my friend's 2006 civic
dotsara says:
07:51 PM, 08/20/06
Yupyup, my '06 Si has similar cup holders; they're pretty deep, though I'm not sure they're deep as the R500's. And I'll just say: drinks stay right where they should when I take a corner too-- er.. at the right speed. (;