Pulled up to the service bay today to have a flat repaired and out comes Ron (NevedaJack and my sales rep) in a new R500 Pewter/Black. What luck! It was awesome looking. He had a big grin on his face. I immediately handed over my keys to service and jumped in for a ride with Ron to run a few errands. It never fails that when he and I got out for a test drive we seem to find trouble and we did this time too but I'll save that story for another day....The R still had plastic in the seats and was filthy but we headed to the gas station where we encountered not one but three problems! This thing draws attention and attention in a big way. I've driven many new cars of various styles but I have never attracted so much attention as this thing did pulling up at a gas station. Remember these people just came through the worst natural diaster in US history so new cars is not the first thing on their minds. While Ron was paying I had a couple come up and open the door to look around. Another stared at me and the car while I was pumping the gas and yet another asked about it while Ron paid inside. It was amazing. Oh yea, the test drive? It was great. This is color combo was the best I've seen and indentical to my ML350. Tons of room on the inside for 1st and 2nd row. 3rd isn't as big as I had hoped but then again my other vehicle is a Sienna. If I had the $. I'd own one today. And it is big, very big! Sharp car and definately going to be a long waiting list as they start to hit the streets.
__________________ Jack - MS Gulf Coast Resident and Katrina Survivor
Thanks for posting Jack...glad you liked what you saw and drove. I went to the local dealer today and re-inspected the R350 I drove earlier and came away more convinced than ever that this is a great car. Can't wait until late October for mine.
__________________ 2008 SL550. Black on Black. AMG Pkg., Parktronic, P1 Pkg.
BTW...my dealer called today to indicate that my Final Inspection would be Oct 25th and expects it about a week after that...or November 1st or so. What is your scheduled delivery situation?
Mine was a 1st decade October build and I did not get an actual build date but was told it would finish Final Inspection on Oct 25 with delivery from Vance to Gulfport MS in about a week or so. I think it all depends on truck availability or rail depending on where you are located.
Your dealer should be able to give you some time frame for delivery so you can plan your sale.
My issues with the R when I drove a R350 was that you could not see any of the front end...Parktronic is very needed for this vehicle...other problem was that at about 6000 lb the normally stellar V6 felt very sluggish..I would go for the V8 for sure...at 6'3" in height I did like the room that I had in the rear of the vehicle but I kinda felt cramped in the driver's seat...but that might be just me...
Yes, at 6'5" I want the seat to driver's seat to have one more inch of movement to the rear... I will be able to find someone to modify this I am sure. Not a big deal, unless you are leasing.
As far as the 350 being sluggish is concerned.... I think it is plenty peppy for my needs... I just don't need the acceleration I had on my 740 and my 540... It would only get me in trouble with the R class.... Brakes are more important in my neck of the woods.
Linear Mode
