SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.

We go cruising in the 2011 Mercedes Benz R300.

Relaxed, long distance cruiser

Mercedes-Benz's R-class family car is a bit difficult to pigeonhole. It's bigger than a station wagon, but doesn’t quite qualify as an SUV, so one could call it an MPV. That's fine for the short wheelbase, R300 petrol and diesel 4x2 variants, but what about the longer R500 with all-wheel drive? That is surely an SUV? Whatever the case, Mercedes-Benz calls them premium long-distance saloons.

Three models are available. These are petrol or diesel powered five-seat 3,0 litre V6s in swb form, with 4x2 drive and 7-Gmatic transmission and a 5,0 litre lwb petrol powered seven-seater with 4Matic awd. An additional two seats and self-levelling air suspension for the rear are available as an R11 000 option on the V6s. We drove the petrol powered 3,0 litre with five seats.

Facelifted last year, the new R300 borrows design elements from both the sedan and SUV ranges, making it more modern in appearance while upgrading the interior and making better use of space. An example, borrowed from other Mercedes models, is the Direct Select gear lever on the steering column and paddles for manual selection. This frees up space on the centre console for an ashtray, a pair of cup holders and a storage box.

I used the paddles fairly often, because my overall impression of the 7-Gmatic transmission on this car was that it felt very relaxed. There was no sense of urgency in its behaviour, changing up or down when it was apparently good and ready. Whether it was an adjustment problem on this particular car or it's what MB meant by the description: "ideally suited as a touring vehicle," I do not know.  To be fair, though, it kicked down readily on demand at freeway speeds. The hesitancy appeared most often in city driving conditions.

Being a Mercedes, safety is paramount. Apart from the usual braking and stability aids, the PreSafe anticipatory occupant protection system is now standard on all MB sport utilities.  It detects typical pre-collision behaviour like panic braking, hard swerving and skidding, so the onboard systems can tighten front seat belts and move the driver's chair and any other powered seat into a position offering better protection. Should the system detect an impending rollover, the sunroof closes automatically.

So what's it like as a day-to-day mover of people? Starting from the back, the big hatch door lifts easily revealing 550 litres of luggage space that expands to 1 950 litres when the rear seats are folded down. A generous stash box under the load floor hides valuables but the spare is one of those skinny devices needing the services of the air pump provided. Maximum roof loading capacity is 100 kg and braked towing ability is 2 100 kg.

Head- and legroom in the back seat is good for taller passengers, who enjoy additional vents and air controls. Entry and exit is easy thanks to there being foot space under the front seats and practically no sills. For the driver, automatic headlights, rain detecting wipers, folding outside mirrors, automatic climate control, park assist and multifunction steering wheel with electrical adjustment are just some of the toys. Mind you, one expects these kinds of things in MB products doesn't one?

A welcome change from earlier Mercedes' is that the parking brake is released by means of a handle rather than a second kick, while hill start assist takes care of that awkward moment when taking off on an incline. The optional sunroof fitted to the test car did not allow any buffeting but was only average in terms of noise at cruising speed. If it's any consolation, the R300 behaved impeccably on my SUV-mandatory dirt road test.

Possibly because it is hard to categorise this car, worldwide sales have not met initial expectations and I admit this was the first one I have ever seen. One of the functions of reviews is to tell the public what's available though, so should your family or business transportation needs include a five- or seven-seater luxury bus, give it a look.

The numbers
Price: R577 400
Engine: 2 996 cc V6 petrol, naturally aspirated
Power: 170 kW at 6 000 rpm
Torque: 300 Nm between 2 500 and 5 000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9,6 seconds
Maximum speed: 222 km/h
Fuel index: 13,4 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Maintenance plan: MobiloDrive 120, with partial customer contributions after  60 000 km

What we do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.