2006 Mercedes-Benz R-Class

We know that many people are getting out of their SUVs, but where they go from there though is anybody's guess. It's a topic of more than merely passing interest to automakers, whose livelihoods depend on meeting market demands. Just reacting isn't enough: If a manufacturer waits until sales trends appear, it will already be too late to respond. The key is to anticipate, to figure out what buyers will want three of four years from now, and have it ready and waiting for them.


Easy to say—hard to do. As a result, trendsetters in autodom have been few and far between. Chrysler had a hit in 1984 with the minivan, some of that market migrated to SUVs in the 1990s. More rugged than minivans, they combined cargo capacity with snow-belt-sympathetic four-wheel drive. In recent years, as buyers have shown signs of SUF (Sport-Utility Fatigue), cagey carmakers have cast about, looking for "The Next Big Thing."

Sport Touring

If Sport Tourers are it, then no one should be happier than the folks at Daimler-Chrysler, because they're already in on the ground floor. On the Chrysler side, the Pacifica emerged as the first of the new-age wagons while Dodge redefined the traditional station wagon segment with Magnum, the macho minivan alternative.


Now, Mercedes-Benz follows suit with the R-Class. If you excuse Pacifica from the discussion (as Mercedes does because of differences in price and powertrain), then the closest thing to direct competition that the R-Class has right now is the Cadillac SRX. The Cadillac is a fine driver; it's refined, roomy and athletic. Size-wise, however, it doesn't measure up to the R-Class, unless you're measuring in metric units. While Europe will get a shorter wheelbased version of the R-Class, here in the U.S., naturally enough, the vehicle will be super-sized.


The tale of the tape reveals that the R-Class is 77.5 inches wide and sits at a car-like 65.2 inches high. Weighing in at 4,766-4,845 pounds (depending on the model), R-Class is sneaky when it comes to size. In pictures, it doesn't appear as large as it is in real life. Stretching 203 inches long over a 126.6-inch wheelbase, it's actually 10 inches longer than the SRX sport tourer, 14 inches longer than the Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV, and even four inches longer than the standard wheelbased Cadillac Escalade.