girlroad

But, why in heavens name would Audi not compete here in the USA with the allroad...the article rants about this MB is the ONLY thing in its class and then the comparison brings up only the RX330 or the SRX (mentions the Pacifica in the review but doesn't find it "worthy" of comparison) doesn't even mention the Audi A6 Avant...does mention the Q7 and some future others but emphasizes that this is a WAGON-type vehicle and not an SUV-type, duh I wish Audi would have thought of that!

Sorry I know I may be a little late to this rant but it just doesn't seem to make any good business sense at all and the more I try to find a potential replacement down the road the less I find that are even close and this MB would list out at over $55 for the lower end version and that wouldn't be with the bells and whistles that the allroad has. Oh well, not to stir things up again but it is also disappointing to see that Edmunds only has a place in their heart for MB and BMW and the rest don't even get mentioned, except grudgingly or in categories (vans) that I don't want.

allestraße

Are you still listening Dr de Nysschen?

TeddyBGame

we have a 2005 pacifica...and like it alot. OEM Nav, bluetooth and sirius. Pretty cool.

LenE

The R-class is built on the same platform as the new (W164) ML-class. I have both the allroad and the previous ML (W163) and have to say that the two are only comparable in that they are from high end german car companies. The SRX and RX330 are comparable to the new ML-class being uni-body, but neither is what the R-class is. They missed the mark, as the Pacifica is certainly the closest match as a "sports minivan". The Mercedes sales and marketing machine doesn't want anyone to make this connection, so they probably leaned on Edmunds to tone down the link.

For Audi to have an R-class-like vehicle, they would have to build a minivan on the Touareg/Q7 platform. I know they had a concept car a few years ago, that they called an "estate wagon" which fit this bill, but I hadn't heard any firm plans of building this beast. It was appointed like a Maybach, and would certainly be way out of the R-class price range as shown.

Personally, I blame the Chrysler acquisition for the R-Class. Sure, Mercedes made small vans in europe, but this thing is ridiculous. I have a feeling that they are pushing special programs to their dealer sales staffs to buy or lease them well below cost, similar to GM's efforts to push the Pontiac Aztec into America's conscious through forcing their operations to employ them as fleet vehicles. I could be wrong though. I thought the fugly Bangle redesigns of BMW's would drive away customers, too...

-- Len