REVIEW:

We love Mercedes here at Netcar, unique innovative designs and top quality at ever more affordable prices.

Mercedes-Benz, traditionally known as conservative designers, have really made us sit up and pay attention with this R-Class Grand Sports Tourer.

This car looks like the big brother of the newly launched B-Class. The clever people at Mercedes noticed that although a lot of people liked the space and utility offered by the M-Class 4x4, they didn’t really see themselves as 4x4 drivers.

What Mercedes have tried to do is combine the handling and styling of a luxury saloon with the versatility of a 4x4. Kind of an upmarket MPV.

Prices start at just under £40,000 and coming in at a lengthy 5.157m nose to tail there is nothing understated about the new R-Class. (It’s longer than the S-Class limousine).

With a total of 64% of the total body length available for its occupants, you can easily fit 6 people inside comfortably.

Options you can choose include, remote control open and close function on the tail gate, climate control with more than a dozen sensors around the cabin to keep the temperature just right and, get this, a separate air-conditioning unit for the third row of seats!!

A separate CD/DVD for the rear and a large, panoramic sun-roof. The R-Class isn’t all about extras though, and all the models come with an impressive array of equipment as standard.

Gear shift buttons on the steering wheel allows the driver to select the seven forward gears just like a Formula One race car.

Mercedes seem to be developing new vehicles at an alarming rate. They will have to slow down soon as there aren’t too many letters of the alphabet left for them to exploit.

It remains to be seen whether there truly is a market for this vehicle, but for invention, style and value all in its favour, we’d be surprised to see it fade away.