Eric's Autos: Reviewing the 2015 Mercedes Sprinter van
I live just two miles away from one of the most popular recreational roads in America - the Blue Ridge Parkway. So I see a lot of recreational vehicles. And lately, I've been seeing a lot of Benz Sprinters.
Nominally, it's a commercial van - in the same class (and useful for the same purposes) as the Nissan NV van (and the new Ram ProMaster van). But what differentiates it from those utilitarian appliances is that it's also nice. The difference between a plain white 'fridge - and a stainless steel SubZero. Not everyone needs the extra niceness, of course. But it's nice that it's available.
And because it starts out nicer - even in the basest of trims it's still a Mercedes, after all - it is a much sounder basis for an RV conversion. Big, but not too big. A step down from a Winnebago, footprint-wise. But - potentially - a lot ritzier (and more manageable) as a home on wheels. The almost cab forward layout, for instance - which I'll get into more below. And then there's the other side of the coin - the utilitarian side. The Sprinter is taller inside than the competition - so you can fit more things more easily inside than in the competition.
It also comes standard with a diesel engine (unavailable at all in the Nissan NV, which comes only with thirsty and thirstier gas engines). And it's heavy duty, built on a rear-wheel-drive layout (unlike the FWD Dodge Ram ProMaster, which is based on the European Fiat Ducato). Naturlich, there is a price to be paid - literally.
The Sprinter's base price is about $8-$10k higher than the base prices of its plebian-badged rivals and loaded, it can easily knock on $50k. After all, it is a Mercedes.
WHAT IT IS
The Sprinter is a very large (up to 12 passenger) commercial/utility van, available in two lengths (144 and 170 inch wheelbases) and tall - or taller - roof heights.
Base price for the 144-inch standard wheelbase Cargo Van equipped with 2.1 liter turbo-diesel four cylinder engine and seven-speed automatic is $35,920. A top-of-the-range 2500 "High Roof" Sprinter riding on the 170 inch wheelbase and with a more powerful turbo-diesel 3 liter V-6 under the hood lists for $45,000.
The other two vehicles in this class are the Nissan NV, which starts at $26,000 and tops out at $31,470 for a "High Roof" 2500 with V-8 (gas) engine - and the new Dodge Ram ProMaster van, which arrives in the U.S. courtesy of the Chrysler-Fiat partnership. It starts at $28,630 - and tops out at $36,150 for an "extended length" model.
WHAT'S NEW
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