Finally, I had an opportunity to make use of our R-Class wagon, as family members were in town over the weekend. These relatives are M-Class owners, so I was curious to see how they would react to this bigger M-B sport wagon. The funny thing was they didn't react. They didn't even know it was a Mercedes until I told them... they just assumed it was some kind of minivan. Of course, the gigantic optional double sunroof was a hit -- and it's probably my favorite feature on our R500.
My second favorite feature is the superb passing power made possible by the teamwork of the 5.0-liter V8 and sharp-shifting 7-speed automatic transmission. But I still think the V8 sounds too coarse at idle. And the cruising range on this family vehicle is laughable: The fuel light came on at 255 miles. I'd wait it out for a slightly used R320 CDI (since you can't buy 'em new in California). Or maybe I wouldn't. The R500's handling is fine, but I challenge Mercedes engineers to drive a U.S. market Honda Odyssey and see if they don't prefer its crisper steering response and tighter body control.
Lots of rain and driving in the dark over the weekend gave me time to evaluate the R500's standard headlights, and guess what? They're not very good at all. Dim. Limited range. The $900 Lighting Package (which provides bi-xenons with auto-cornering control) is evidently a must on the R-Class.
I also don't like having the wiper controls (front and rear) on the turn signal stalk, because I kept turning on the signals when fiddling with the wiper speed. Through it all, the front passenger was having a fit trying to enter an address into the navigation system. His main complaint was that the "OK" button on the tip of the joystick wasn't sensitive enough -- forcing him to press it repeatedly before COMAND would acknowledge it.
On the plus side, I find the driver seat very comfortable for hour-long drives and visibility (in all directions) is extremely good for a vehicle of this size -- exactly as it should be $62K.
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor, 18,506 miles
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