When I first heard that I was getting the R320 CDI to review, I wasn't overly enthusiastic to be honest. You see, from the first time that I saw the R Series, it wasn't exactly love at first sight for me.

For that reason, I hadn't taken much interest in the vehicle. So when I learned that a week long tester had been organized for me, it was a bit like going on a blind date!

Now I'm sure that many of you have experienced one or two of those, usually put together by some well meaning friend who hasn't got a clue whether the two of you are actually suited.

Anyway, the day came for me to pick up my R320 CDI, and I hastily approached the vehicle, and rather quickly climbed in. I had a good reason behind this, as it was the exterior of the R Series which I'd had trouble warming to in the first place. To be honest, I thought that it slightly resembled an out of proportion station wagon, and its long wheelbase brought to mind those ancient torture racks which were once used to stretch confessions out of people.

Never mind, because as I climbed aboard, I remembered something once told to me about dating, and that was, "It's what's on the inside that counts"! (Now that may well be true in some cases of sexual attraction, but with cars, give me the SLR McClaren with the vinyl interior over the leather clad Lada any day!).

However, as I sat there in the R320, I started to think that maybe I had been a tad hasty in making my earlier judgment, as I was quite impressed with the inside of the vehicle.

Full leather, GPS, Panoramic sunroof, rain sensing wipers, Parktronic, Keyless-Go, Electronic Tilt and Telescopic steering, the list goes on and on. It even had the odd unexpected feature, such as the heated steering wheel.

It was then that I broke my golden rule, and instead of waiting to get home before opening my press package and fishing for the price of the vehicle, I opened it then and there... $69,200 as tested (Base price $65,000).

To be honest, I had to think about that for a second. OK fair enough, that's not exactly small change, at least in my book it's not. However, when you consider that it's a Mercedes-Benz 7 passenger product, loaded with everything your heart could desire, which also features the brands famous 4-Matic AWD system, it sounds like a deal. Then add to that, the fact that it is powered by one of the company's world renowned diesel power plants, and it starts to sound quite reasonable, if not downright, dare I say it, "cheap" for what you actually get.

Let me expand on that a little.

Take a look and see what you'd expect to pay for any decent sized 7 passenger premium level gas-powered vehicle with full leather and an AWD system today. I'd be surprised if you're not floating up around the R320's price tag already.

Let's just for now say that you're still a tad shy. So we then add in the diesel element. With any vehicle today that offers Hybrid or diesel technology, you naturally expect to pay slightly more than for a gas-powered model. After all, the fuel savings should return that extra investment over the course of ownership.

So with that in mind, let's deduct a few thousand dollars off the price of the R320 to level up the playing field with the others.

Can you now see how the value starts to add up on the R320 CDI? Certainly I can.

Then of course, there's the hood ornament to take into consideration. When totting up perceived value, what journalist in his/her right mind could fail to mention the prestige behind the Mercedes-Benz nameplate? In fact, there used to be an old saying amongst Mercedes-Benz owners that, "You purchased the 3 pointed star and they threw in the rest of the vehicle for free".

There is no denying the fact that the company has the reputation, not only for producing well built automobiles, but also, products that people like to be seen in.