Now they’re here, the newly redesigned 2011 R350 4matic crossover and I’ve had a few days to absorb the new design, my thoughts are below along with a ver short history of the R class. This one just arrived into our regular inventory, and I’m glad we’ve got it. The new, redesigned R class has been creating a bit of a buzz and I’ve had to keep telling people that we don’t have them yet when they call in looking for them. The R class has been changed, and for the better I think, nicely updated.
The real difference is visible from the A pillar forward. The front fenders have been changed, the hood is slightly different, but it’s the grille that really sets is apart from the previous generation. The rear tailights have been changed to LED lamps, but that’s really about it. The grille has been made more upright, like you see on the SUV line up, a design cue that has trickled all the way down from the SLS AMG, it’s also visible in the new CL and CLS and it will make its way through to all the Mercedes-Benz models soon.
Front end detail: grille and lights.
The R class has had an interesting run over the past several years. It was introduced with much fanfare in 2006 and it sold briskly when introduced. Leases were cheap, it was a new model, it was marketed well to a public looking for something different. Into 2007 and 2008 I think it began to become difficlut to categorize. Mercedes-Benz wanted it to be an SUV, it was included in the 2008 SUV brochure along with the new GL, the ML and the G wagen, but it wasn’t really an SUV in most people’s minds.
Some people called it an SUV, some people called it a wagon, nobody was quite sure what to call it, but the people who had them, loved them. They can carry 6 – 7 adults comfortably and safely with style. The R class is great for the person who wouldn’t be caught dead in a mini van, needs space for passengers, but doesn’t want a big SUV. Speaking of dead… I even know a funeral home that bought two of them, to shuttle greiving family members from the church to the cemetary, not for carrying the casket!
If you need a safe, comfortable people mover with lots of cargo space and different seating configurations, the R class is an excellent choice. Mercedes-Benz did discontinue the diesel version as well as the V8 version for the 2011 model year, so you can get it with the trusty 350 V6 only, which was, by far, the most popular model over the years anyway.
This particluar example that we have in stock here at Feldmann Imports is nicely equipped with the Premium 1 Package (P1 Package), Panorama sunroof, etc. etc. see the original window sticker below all of the options listed. It’s Feldmann Imports’ stock #M9809.
