2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter review: A very tall luxury car

You know how a little something results in being almost invisible following you see it normally plenty of? Which is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in a nutshell. Get some time to appear close to, and you’ll discover an army of Sprinters crawling your community roadways, whether or not they’re offering offers or carrying roofing supplies to a occupation web page. These workhorses are ubiquitous for a purpose: They are seriously, seriously very good at what they do. And with a new technology now in the wild, the Sprinter helps make an even better scenario for itself.

New appear, similar capabilities

Mercedes-Benz’s vans never stray far too considerably from the relaxation of the loved ones in conditions of design and style. Most of that is evident in the front conclude, which picks up slimmer headlights that a lot more intently resemble the peepers on other Mercs. My tester’s unpainted lower human body panels actually appear quite boss towards shiny black paint — and in addition to, it can be a function motor vehicle, why paint the bumpers if they’re just likely to get dinged up? The black metal wheels are quite badass, far too.

If you truly feel like a very good laugh, enable me to level out that this van’s Jet Black paint occupation actually adds $1,015 to the Sprinter’s base line. Which is the Mercedes-Benz we all know and adore. It won’t make a difference if you’re the CEO or the guy driving the van — the automaker will nickel and dime you devoid of respect for socioeconomic strata. Then all over again, this is no paupermobile: My a hundred and forty four-inch 3500XD Crew 4×4 design starts off at $fifty one,885, but following alternatives, it can be pushing $seventy two,000.

Move up into the Sprinter — I am a tall guy, nevertheless I absolutely emitted Dad Groans climbing into and out of this issue — and you’re met with a astonishing mix of luxurious-car bits and correct function-all set trimmings. The floor seems quick to hose down, and the overall dashboard is manufactured of plastic that even GM may possibly feel twice about working with in its passenger automobiles, but that is because these issues need to have to withstand very long days of abuse. But, the leatherette seats have the similar truly feel as those on lower-conclude Mercs, and both equally the steering wheel and infotainment display screen are plucked straight from the passenger car phase, introducing a dose of fancy to an normally utilitarian getup. This specific steering wheel, by the way, is portion of a $1,210 Driver Convenience Package deal that also adds heated electric mirrors and blind-location checking.

Considering that this is the Crew design, my tester will come with a second row of seats, but those can be unbolted to make home for more… well, whatsoever. Not like there is just not home to spare behind that second row, however: Hauling a 50 {fb741301fcc9e6a089210a2d6dd4da375f6d1577f4d7524c5633222b81dec1ca}-dozen trees and topiaries back from the yard middle leaves gobs of home to spare. Those people who will seriously place this van to function will enjoy the number of tie-down places on the walls and floor, but the upfitting neighborhood will be a lot more than happy to step in and incorporate shelving or whatsoever else workers may well need to have. Front-row storage is the tops, far too, many thanks to overhead pockets, cubbies atop the dashboard panel and twice as several cup holders as there are seats.

Drives like a van, rocks tech like a Mercedes

My goal for my time with the Sprinter is clear-cut: Hauling crops that are far too tall or unwieldy for a crossover. Bear in head this is compact potatoes on the function-motor vehicle spectrum, but it accomplishes my job with relieve.

The Sprinter is never ever totally laden for the duration of my time with it, because I never have 5,000 lbs . of supplies just chillin’ in my backyard to max out the payload rating, but even when empty, the van is just not a undesirable generate. Yes, it can be loud, but that is because there usually are not any interior panels behind the front row. Yes, it can be bouncy, but that is because my tester rocks the optional 4×4 setup with a lot more floor clearance and capacity. Yes, it can be slow, but that is because its three.-liter turbodiesel V6, which is very good for 188 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, is a lot more anxious about hauling literal tons of stuff. The steering is light-weight and the brakes are self-assured.

Visibility is exceptional, as the Crew variant has glass on its sliding doorways and mirrors so you can see just about all the things. And for what you are unable to see, the Sprinter packs a roof-mounted backup digicam with extraordinary resolution, generating precision parking (or parking in basic, if you’re not applied to vans) a breeze. Blind-location checking, portion of the aforementioned Convenience Package deal, is a savior if you’re not applied to judging motor vehicle length in a van, but obtaining both equally straight and curved mirrors on every aspect is a significant assist, far too.

There are some other extraordinary passenger-car baubles on the Sprinter, far too. The High quality Package deal ($1,240) adds computerized crisis braking, energetic lane-keep support, the MBUX infotainment program and wiper blades that integrate fluid nozzles for a lot more helpful cleaning. Introducing to that, the $2,530 High quality Moreover Package deal enlarges the MBUX display screen whilst introducing embedded navigation and wireless device charging, in addition to enhancing the instrument cluster and putting in parking sensors.

Speaking of tech, it all is effective flawlessly. MBUX is 1 of the better luxurious-car telematics getups in the industry, and its responsiveness and natural-language voice recognition in good shape correct in here, even if you have to pay out a quite penny for it. The 10.25-inch display screen fills the dashboard nicely, and if you never opt for wireless charging, you can find a USB-C port for juicing purposes. Weirdly, however, Apple CarPlay and Android Automobile are both equally absent from this iteration of MBUX, and the similar goes for the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Previous calendar year, I was lucky plenty of to test all of the Sprinter’s new protection methods in a shut environment at a Mercedes-Benz Vans facility in Europe. A calendar year afterwards, I am happy to say that these methods function just as well in the actual environment. Adaptive cruise command is nice and sleek, whilst the brake-centered lane-trying to keep support is just not as harsh to engage as I bear in mind. Crosswind support is just not as weighty-handed as it was in my head, possibly, which actually received a little white-knuckle-y when my tester received blasted with some weighty gusts.

Considering that the Sprinter 3500XD Crew is a weighty-responsibility motor vehicle, the EPA won’t need gasoline-overall economy estimates. Going off the van’s internal laptop, however, I see freeway gasoline overall economy in between thirteen and eighteen miles for every gallon, with that determine decreasing in the metropolis. Throw a ton of applications in the back, however, and those quantities will not continue to be that higher for very long.

Down to brass tacks

Seeking at the competition, the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has gained the 3-pointed star on its grille. Its payload ratings are among the best in the phase (three,seven hundred to six,200 lbs ., dependent on trim), and it can be the only van to provide 4­-wheel generate with a low-vary transfer scenario, though the Ford Transit does make a much less robust AWD program out there. The Sprinter’s only weak location is towing, where its 5,000-lb optimum lags behind human body-on-body rivals like the Nissan NV, which virtually doubles that determine. And then there are the consolation and tech updates, which… well, I feel it can be clear how Fords, Nissans and Chevrolets fare there. Yes, Chevrolet nonetheless builds the Specific, and of course, it hardly seems unique than it did at the starting of the George W. Bush administration.

If you’re procuring these vans, it can be difficult to deny the allure of the Sprinter. It’s expensive, but that income is transformed into 1 of the hardest-operating mules on terra firma, with the optional capacity to serve those well off the crushed path.