Topic: Is the Mercedes R-class a minivan?

[dorin]

No,it's a bulky,overpriced station wagon with questionable reliability

Seriously though,here's a thought....Is the second row a bench (SW) or captain's chairs (van)?

Captain's chairs.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Can the we get someone from Canadiandriver, to talk with MB and get their explansion on the R series

[jcon]

MB is clear in what they call the R Class: It's a Grand Sports Tourer. Whatever that is.

Sounds like a fancy minivan.

[tenpenny]

Interesting..I always thought it was a luxury "minivan" from Mercedes Benz, and so did my friends.
I still think it is a minivan. "Minivan" might not sound cool to R-Class buyers, but it is definitely a minivan without read sliding doors.
But, I guess I'm one of the few guys who actually quite like the style.

It surely doesn't look like a minivan - it's not nearly high enough.  It looks like a tweaked Chevy Caprice wagon.

[dorin]

It surely doesn't look like a minivan - it's not nearly high enough.  It looks like a tweaked Chevy Caprice wagon.

The R-class is 65.2" tall.  The first gen Honda Odyssey was 64.6" tall, the second gen Odyssey was 68.5" tall, and the current Odyssey has grown to 68.8" tall.  The R-class is definitely tall enough to be a minivan.  It's just really long as well so looks can be deceiving.

[sailor723]

Car based platform,3 rows of seating,2nd row captains chairs,giant sliding doors (that are prevented from sliding by being hinged on one side )....it's a minivan

In the same vein the SRX is Cadillac's first station wagon.

[UmroAyyar]

Consumer preception + Mercedes R-Class = Minivan.

In the same vein as Ford Edge and Toyota Highlander are SUVs.

[Ex-airbalancer]

It surely doesn't look like a minivan - it's not nearly high enough.  It looks like a tweaked Chevy Caprice wagon.

The R-class is 65.2" tall.  The first gen Honda Odyssey was 64.6" tall, the second gen Odyssey was 68.5" tall, and the current Odyssey has grown to 68.8" tall.  The R-class is definitely tall enough to be a minivan.  It's just really long as well so looks can be deceiving.

Germanes are taller then Japaneses so it has to be taller

[terry0703]

It surely doesn't look like a minivan - it's not nearly high enough.  It looks like a tweaked Chevy Caprice wagon.

The R-class is 65.2" tall.  The first gen Honda Odyssey was 64.6" tall, the second gen Odyssey was 68.5" tall, and the current Odyssey has grown to 68.8" tall.  The R-class is definitely tall enough to be a minivan.  It's just really long as well so looks can be deceiving.

Germanes are taller then Japaneses so it has to be taller

 

[dorin]

Or more like North Americans like oversized vehicles.  The current version of the international Odyssey is only 61" tall.

[safristi]

..and jest HOW is this Germain...

[HeliDriver]

I've also never thought of the R-Class as being a minivan. Then again, it's also not quite a wagon. 

To me, it's most similar to the Chrysler Pacifica. Not that I have any idea what exactly that is supposed to be, either.

[safristi]

  a POLYGAMISTS DREAM KAR.....

[Squishy]

A minivan is a unibody two-box vehicle that's taller than a sedan/saloon and generally has three rows of seating.

By that definition, every CUV that has 3rd row seat is a minivan.  See my explanation here why the R-class is NOT a minivan: http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,56249.60.html

Optical illusion.  An E-Class sedan is 58.4 inches tall.  An R-Class is 65.2 inches tall--much taller.  The R-Class is seven inches taller than an E-Class and only 3.7 inches shorter than a Sienna.

Aw damn.  From all the pictures I've seen I thought the R was sedan-height.  Based on that I called it a wagon.  CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? 

[safristi]

Squishy ya Goin' MorMon on me???