Mercedes’ Sprinter delivers comfort and safety
CALL me a weirdo (and I’ve been called far worse) but sometimes I prefer driving vans to cars, especially over long distances.
It’s the view you get, innit? Take a four-hour, non-stop motorway trip for instance.
Pretty stressful, right?
Not in Merc’s new Sprinter it isn’t. And I know because I’ve just done it.
The lofty driving position makes even SUVs look low by comparison. This periscoped view of the motorway ahead can be a real stress-relieving godsend.
You can see five or six cars further down the road. So that first nervy dab of brake lights ahead, which can trigger an increasingly panicky chain reaction, is forewarned.
Like rubbish lane discipline, tailgating, poor spatial awareness and “wishdicating”, brake lights in the outside lane scare the living bejezus out of me. It’s what comes of people driving too close to the vehicle in front.
But when you can see over the cars ahead, you’re suddenly in a far better position to predict and react to any situation.
And, assuming you’re keeping a good gap to the car immediately ahead, that’s as good for the life of your brake pads as it is your blood pressure.
In this sense, the tall Sprinter is king of great views. The fact that it is also car-fast and car-frugal just adds extra cakey icing.
There are two other things which make the new Sprinter the ideal longdistance companion.
Man, it’s a comfy driving position. That new driver’s seat – adjustable in many planes – has amazing lateral and lumbar support and a delightful, erm, squidginess to its foam and fabric. I think that’s a word. If not, it is now. So the ergonomics are, I’d say, class leading. After a four-hour non-stop rush to north Wales, the van beeped at me and informed me, with a little steaming coffee cup icon, that I needed to take a break.
No chance, I was in the groove and super-relaxed.
It’s really quiet inside, too, as the standard-fit steel bulkhead keeps all the load-space booming at bay.
Wind, engine and tyre noise are at levels of car-like hush. In fact, the only time you’re aware of being propelled by a big diesel engine is at start-up and crawling pace. Which means that you can hear every note on the standard equipment DAB radio. Pay another £1,700 and you can also have the stonking 10in touchscreen and steering wheel controlled, sub-woofered infotainment system.
I can’t imagine many transport managers ticking that box, though.
The ride quality, empty or laden, belies the fact the Merc has a live-axle, leaf-sprung rear end.
It doesn’t have to be rear-wheel drive, though. You can plump for front-wheel drive. There are also two auto-box options with the RWD model getting seven ratios, while the FWD auto box treats you to nine forward cogs.
The choice of lengths and heights is equally munificent – three heights, four lengths.
The sky’s your limit really, including a chassis cab option if you fancy building your own tipper/motorhome/ mobile library/Pope-mobile or all five together.
Engine choice is less varied. There is one 2.1-litre diesel with a variety of different maps to give varying power and torque outputs and a three-litre for some proper heft.
My choice? I’m going to wait a few years and then I’m going to buy a clean, used LWB high roof 2018 Sprinter.
And then I’m going to build my own track-day specific motorhome with a garage for race bikes in the back.
It’ll have a king-sized memory foam bed above it along with a full-sized shower, an on-board silent generator, a kitchenette and a big awning on the side.
As far as I’m concerned, the new Sprinter is the only van to warrant all that time and effort.