Merc makes a nice urban minivan. Wait, Mercedes-Benz?
IT MAKES sense, the MercedesBenz Metris urban van.
I call it “urban” because it is small enough to fit in most city garages, park on most city streets and easily navigate through congested city traffic.
In the United States, we classify such vans as “mini.” The Metris - introduced in 2016 to compete against models such as Ford’s Transit Connect, Nissan’s NV200 and the Dodge Ram ProMaster City Minivan - came to market later than, but a bit above, its rivals.
The Metris, gifted with a turbocharged four- cylinder, 208-horsepower petrol engine, has more oomph than its rivals. It is smoother and easier to manoeuvre.
At a maximum utility of 186 cubic feet in the base Worker Cargo model to 38 cubic feet in the fully loaded Passenger Van 126 model used for this column, it offers more usable passenger and cargo space than its rivals.
It also is reasonably fuelefficient for a compact van, although the turbocharged inline four- cylinder engine requires more expensive premium fuel to drive its rear wheels. It gets 20 miles per gallon in the city and 23 miles per gallon ( 9.8 km per litre) on the highway - decent, not great.
The Metris is available in four trim levels - base Cargo, Worker Cargo, Passenger and Worker Passenger.
The Passenger models also can be outfitted with onboard navigation and a 5.5-inch info screen controlled by a rather obsolete toggle- cursor.
But, when all is said and done, it is an easy, fun van to drive.
Bottom line: The Metris provides good transportation for small businesses or large families. — Washington Post.