2009 Mercedes-Benz R-Class User Reviews

Pros

Good value compared to minivans if you can find a deal

Cons

7 seats should be standard

Purchased As New

We bought one of these this week brand new. I'll be honest, we got about $17k off sticker for a brand new '09. We got the base model + appearance package, so no NAV, but standard bluetooth and almost everything else (including pano roof which is awesome!). Nice looking wheels with appearance package, but had to get rear tinted today for $180 as there's too much glass in that car to not be tinted. We had shopped around and were primarily looking at the Odyssey and Sienna vans. Then, we happened to go to the MB dealer, and wife fell in love with this car after test drive! At the price we negotiated, it was several thousand cheaper than an Odyssey touring so we pulled the trigger!
I drove it also and was impressed. This car is leaps and bounds ahead of the Honda or Toyota vans, although the Odyssey Touring edition (at about $40k) is nice. This vehicle had more standard features than any of those other vehicles, and felt a lot more solid. Plus, the 4matic standard puts it over the top. Have had a decent history with MB products over the last 10-15 years and found them to be good and reliable, albeit a little expensive to service. So I am basing my reliability expectations on that history. The dealer said that all we need to worry about is Service A/B every 10k miles or year at about $200 or less, so that wasn't horrible. Sounded like a glorified oil change, but whatever.
So far the car drives very well and feels very solid. It happened to rain a couple days after buying it and have to admit felt planted and very nimble with the inclement weather, almost was built for it. Am looking forward to taking it up the mountains this winter. I really like the styling and look of this car, much more so than the boxy Odyssey. Very sleek and well proportioned, with nice chrome accents and classic MB looks in the front. Car has very comfortable interior including middle seats (captain chair configuration unless you get P1 package) and rear seats comfortable enough for teenagers even on a long haul (out of state), or adults on short to medium drives. I plan to purchase an aftermarket rear entertainment system at some point with a budget of $1500, which will probably be far superior to anything the factory would provide. All in all, if you can get this thing for a deal and stick with base model, you will be far ahead of the competition. Add as you go, aftermarket tom-toms and rear entertainment etc can be had for cheap now days don't pay $10k + for factory options! I do, however, highly recommend the $1200 panoramic roof option, as it really makes the car funner and cannot be retrofitted like other options.