Think of the Mercedes-Benz R-Class as a great people hauler that has lots of Mercedes luxury and features, but is not much of a looker. Bottom line: it's what inside that counts. Classified as a SUV/Crossover that can fit six or seven passenger, the R-Class is literally a large station wagon. It comes with a choice of engines: a 3.0 liter turbo-diesel V6 with 210 horsepower or a 3.5 liter V6 with 268 horsepower. A 7-speed automatic transmission is standard on both engines.

Almost 15 inches longer than the M-Class mid-size SUV, the R-Class is a much better family hauler. Even though it's based on the M-Class platform (which also underpins the current Jeep Grand Cherokee), it has a lot of generous cargo space. Just as important, it is very comfortable for long road trips, as it was originally marketed by Mercedes as a "family tourer".