JEDDAH, 23 February 2006 — Demand for family cars have been growing across Saudi Arabia. “Cars, especially with features including luxury, sports and four-wheel drive, are now exceptionally in demand, according to a senior executive of a major luxury car dealer.
“What’s also in demand, thanks to the booming economy, is a family car with all such features combined with those of a van,” Farouk Sughayyar, national sales manager, Mercedes-Benz Car Group at Juffali Automotive Company, told Arab News on the sidelines of the launch of Mercedes-Benz’s new Grand Sports Tourer, a six-seater R-Class luxury and sports car at the Juffali Automotive Company showroom on Madinah road yesterday. In fact, in the new R-Class, Mercedes-Benz has created a whole new genre of vehicles, he added.
The R-Class’s exciting styling combines dynamism with luxurious size. “It has been created for all those who want to combine mobility with comfort,” he said, adding that the car will provide a smooth, comfortable and luxurious ride for families undertaking intercity travel
The R 500 version has all the virtues one would expect of a Grand Sports Tourer - concentrated power, smoothness and maximum refinement. Its engine comprises three valves per cylinder that create room for two spark plugs with staggered firing controlled by an engine load and driving style. “This results in more efficient fuel utilization and thus improved fuel consumption and exhaust emissions,” he said, adding that the R 500 is equipped with the 7G-Tronic automatic transmission as standard. The 7G-Tronic marks the culmination of 40 years of the manufacturer’s building over 11 million automatic transmissions. Its other features include the all-wheel drive and “Airmatic” package for a comfortable ride on all roads. “The car can never get stuck in the sands when driving along off-road stretches,” Sughayyar said.
Chenghez Ahmed Khan, marketing manager of Mercedes-Benz Car Group at JAC, said 2005 marked a significant increase for Mercedes-Benz cars. “We hope to further increase our market share here by 35 percent in 2006,” he said, adding that the R 350, especially will be a big attraction for families. It has a four-valve V6 engine with continuously variable camshaft timing. “In fact, it is one of the most powerful engines in its class,” he added.
