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My dirges were sung too early. The formerly moribund Mercedes-Benz R-Class, the world’s most luxurious minivan, lives.

I was sure it was a goner after 2009, when a paltry 2,825 units were sold in the United States. It figures, I thought. Who wants to spend big bucks on what essentially is a minivan?

But Germany’s Daimler, maker of the R-Class, refused to pull the plug. Instead, it invested in revival, substantially beautifying the once slab-sided body and unattractive face of the R-Class.

The old model looked like a cargo van with a Mercedes-Benz tri-star stuck on the grille. The new R-Class looks like a Mercedes-Benz should look: stately, elegant and rich.

The new design makes the R-Class more amenable to the fanciful product designation nomenclature preferred by Mercedes-Benz’s marketers, who frown upon the terms “minivan” and “station wagon.” Their preference is “sports cruiser,” or “family tourer” or “luxury crossover.”

Whatever you choose to call the 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-350 BlueTEC, the model driven for this column, matters not. Just know that it works and works well.

I employed it as both a people hauler and a refuse truck. It has that kind of versatility, although it works much better as a people hauler.

There are seats for seven adults. Even the two rear-most seats reasonably accommodate adult arms and legs. The R-350 BlueTEC is perfect for long runs. There is a super-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system serving front and rear passengers. An optional rear-seat audio/visual system keeps bored passengers entertained. Seats bedecked with the finest “pleather,” vinyl that resembles supple leather, feel and look plush. Burl walnut wood-grain accents on the instrument panel and interior door panels complete the feeling of wealth and privilege.

But converting the R-350 BlueTEC into a hauler of stuff takes some doing. Although other minivans and crossover utility vehicles have made this job easy with automatically, totally collapsible middle and rear seats, such as those in the Chrysler Town & Country minivan, Mercedes-Benz insists that R-Class owners do it the old-fashioned way. You have to manually remove headrests, pull up bottom cushions and work levers to pull down seat backs. Compared with the automatically lowered, stored, and raised seats offered by the competition, it’s a chore.

But, once done, the R-350 BlueTEC becomes a full-fledged workhorse. Credit here goes to the turbocharged diesel, 3-liter, V-6 engine (210 horsepower, 400 foot-pounds of torque). It’s nobody’s racer. It was never intended to be one. But it can pull a load (estimated 1,200 pounds payload and 3,500 towing capacity) with ease.

But after using it as a hauler of construction debris and dismantled office furniture, I felt guilty. To make something so beautiful do such dirty work!

I took it home, vacuumed it, buffed and polished it up. I restored all seats and headrests to their original positions. I then invited my wife, Mary Anne, for a long highway run down westbound Interstate 66 capped by dinner.

“This is a beautiful machine,” said Mary Anne, relaxing in the front passenger seat. “It feels like a Mercedes-Benz. It even smells like one.”

That said it all.