Without much seat time in the R500 I was a little suspicious of other editors who whined about its hard seats. Every time I took a short trip they felt just fine, great even. This weekend I finally took a nice long trip in the big Benz and you know what? The whiners were right. The R-Class chairs start feeling a little stiff after a good chunk of miles and from there on our you're left wishing for something a little more Lexus-like. If it were a sedan I would cut the R500 some slack, but there's nothing sporty about this minivan wannabe.
Along with the stiff seats, I also noticed the R500's lack of isolation. Hit a bump and you get a big thunk through the chassis and even over slightly rough pavement there's too much booming in the cabin. Again, if it were the least bit sporty I wouldn't mind, but this vehicle should be comfortable above all else.
On the plus side, the R-Class does have decent road feel and its turning circle is surprisingly tight. The stereo sounds great and it gets up to speed quickly for such a big vehicle. I won't pass final judgment until I get more miles behind the wheel, but for now I would consider its performance a mixed bag.
On the plus side, the R-Class does have decent road feel and its turning circle is surprisingly tight. The stereo sounds great and it gets up to speed quickly for such a big vehicle. I won't pass final judgment until I get more miles behind the wheel, but for now I would consider its performance a mixed bag.
ravinj says:
09:26 AM, 11/30/06
I agree about the hard seats and lack of road noise isolation. After a 3 hour trip from NJ to MD in my R350, my bu** was hurting and I was squirming in my seat. On certain road surfaces, this vehicle seems to rattle. I now appreciate my 2004 Camry more and more - its quiet V6 engine and soft seats are amazing. Compared with my Camry's 22k price tag, the 46.5k I paid for my R350 seems a bit excessive. This is my first and (probably) last Mercedes. Will be back to Lexus next time.