Discussion
We had a 2007 320 cdi LWB as a kind of pooled family car and overall it was a great car/barge to own. To sum up, it could seat 7 comfortably, had all the gadgets you'd need, although a lot of the swtichgear might seem dated now - they might have changed it doe the newer models I suppose.
The engine wasn't bad, you could get just over 30mpg on a motorway run but the gearbox can hunt around a bit and there was sometimes a bit of lag when pulling out of junctions from a stand still. It's not very quick but you probably aren't expecting it to be.
On a continental trip it cruised happily at 120mph and on a couple of occasions I managed to get it to do a four wheel drift through some faily low speed hairpin bends although the ESP put paid to my fun.
It's definitely a niche car, it's got better body control than most proper SUVs but it's not as luxuriously fitted out as a GL. Have you looked at them as well?
The engine wasn't bad, you could get just over 30mpg on a motorway run but the gearbox can hunt around a bit and there was sometimes a bit of lag when pulling out of junctions from a stand still. It's not very quick but you probably aren't expecting it to be.
On a continental trip it cruised happily at 120mph and on a couple of occasions I managed to get it to do a four wheel drift through some faily low speed hairpin bends although the ESP put paid to my fun.
It's definitely a niche car, it's got better body control than most proper SUVs but it's not as luxuriously fitted out as a GL. Have you looked at them as well?
I bought one for the family bus a couple of years ago. It was available as a new registration in UK, but very cheap, via stock of a dealer in Ireland that had gone bust.
We have 4 kids and went for the 6 seat version, as they all have a proper seat. There's even an aisle, if I can find a small air hostess to look after them!
It is a very solid car, and I mainly bought it because i didn't like having 2 kids in the back row of MPVs like s-Max, with not much distance to back of car in an accident.
My wife likes it, because it looks more like a car than a Chelsea tractor, and I can't see us selling it for years, as it does the job perfectly and is very solid and well built. (I would quite like to stick an AMG motor in the front at some point though!).
We have 4 kids and went for the 6 seat version, as they all have a proper seat. There's even an aisle, if I can find a small air hostess to look after them!
It is a very solid car, and I mainly bought it because i didn't like having 2 kids in the back row of MPVs like s-Max, with not much distance to back of car in an accident.
My wife likes it, because it looks more like a car than a Chelsea tractor, and I can't see us selling it for years, as it does the job perfectly and is very solid and well built. (I would quite like to stick an AMG motor in the front at some point though!).
Booyakajon said:
Thanks. Haven't considered the GL, mainly because of worse fuel economy.
The fuel economy isn't much different between the R and the GL in my experience. They're both big lumps and I don't think there would be more than 10% difference overall. That said, I think residuals might be better on the GL so the R probably looks more attractive.Gassing Station | Mercedes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff