The biggest change in the redesigned 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class is a critical one — its styling. The first generation is … I’ll just say it: ugly. Mercedes has overhauled the front end, enlarging the grille and replacing the ovoid headlights with angular ones to match the current design direction. Perhaps the taller grille will make it look less like a minivan, which has been a common complaint since the R made its debut in 2006. It doesn’t have sliding rear doors, but its size and nearly vertical liftgate make it look vanlike, even now.

It’s a shame the R-Class hasn’t sold better in the U.S. where large vehicles are beloved. Its first- and second-row seats are exceptionally roomy, and the second row slides forward and back for more flexibility. They also are designed to hop forward and then slide, granting access to the standard third-row seats. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’d be OK riding in the third row for short distances. There’s enough headroom, and because the second row has plenty of legroom, its occupants can be persuaded to scoot up. Folding the seats flat is a multistage process, which isn’t ideal, but the design seems to maximize space.

I’m surprised it took this long for Mercedes to restyle the R-Class because it’s been more than two years since Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche acknowledged that the model had fallen far short of expectations. I’m not sure the styling changes will help enough. The GL-Class has almost as much passenger and cargo volume. Sure, it costs about $10,000 more and gets slightly lower mileage, but that’s a price many people are willing to pay to avoid looking like they’re driving a minivan.