Whilst I am in no possible capacity a professional car reviewer, I have had experience driving a number of vehicles, including rather randomly two variants of the current generation Kia Ceed, so I rather foolishly believe that my comments are worthwhile sharing here.
These driving notes were produced following a three day spell with a Mercedes Vito Tourer 114CDI 9 speed automatic long wheel base PRO model. No editorial input has been received for this - after all, who would waste their time reading this?
Back to the van itself, it was oddly familiar on first impressions. Having had thousands of miles behind the wheel of a 2017 Mercedes C Class 350e, the steering wheel and stalks were pretty much identical, save for a small change in the button design on the wheel due to the gauge cluster having a different user interface. There is something to be said for the driving position too; it was comfortable and nice and high up, with adjustment in both the rake and reach of the steering wheel – Alan Partridge would have no complaints here! The mirrors were of a large size and easily positioned, whilst both windows were automatic, something that isn’t always a given.
Focusing more on the actual driving experience; these are driving notes after all (whatever that means), power is provided by a 2.0 litre inline 4 turbodiesel regardless of which spec you get. This was apparently revised from a 2.1 litre model in earlier model years, which can be differentiated by the different redline.
Power output does vary between the models, but I had the base 134bhp 114CDI, rather than the more powerful 163bhp in the 116CDI. This power value doesn’t sound like much, but the torque figure of 330Nm is far more impressive in comparison and what’s more, peak torque is available from 1400rpm, so the throttle response is quite lively. Combine the early torque delivery with an incredible 9 speed torque convertor automatic gearbox and rear wheel drive and what you get is a commercial vehicle that is surprisingly fun and engaging to drive. Limited soundproofing in the front of the cabin also means that the diesel engine’s low rumble is quite audible when accelerating, so it is surprisingly fun to pull away from the lights or merge onto the motorway.
Rather hilariously, Mercedes opted to include flappy paddles on the steering wheel, which I did actually make use of when descending quite a steep hill to control the vehicle speed without riding the brakes as much. Other than these admittedly rare scenarios, they are definitely more of a gimmick and I wouldn’t expect to make daily use of these. The gearbox did seem nice and responsive when using these paddles though, in contrast to the paddles on the C350e I’ve driven which are so slow and jerky I just wouldn’t bother.
I also cannot praise the inclusion of 9 gears enough. Mercedes have clearly thought about the gear ratios a fair amount (shocking that isn’t it?!) and the 9th gear was long enough to keep the engine revs just above 1500rpm whilst making progress at 70mph, something that led to real world economy figures in the mid-40s range on those longer motorway stretches, even fully loaded with 9 passengers and luggage.
I’ll take the chance to just briefly touch upon handling and the chassis before writing the all important summary. Handling wise, it’s a mid-size van and the long wheelbase variant thereof, so there was a lot of weight and general height to contend with. That being said, it was a genuine pleasure to drive and was surefooted in all the corners. Brakes and steering were sharp and I wouldn’t have any qualms about driving one loaded closer to its GMVW of 3.5 tonnes. In car parks and on the narrow streets of residential Leeds, manoeuvring was effortless, with the torque convertor automatic having a reasonable “creep” speed and the mirrors affording plenty of visibility to the side of the vehicle. The rear-view mirror is quickly useless once you have passengers, especially tall ones, so you do have to be careful that car drivers don’t disappear behind you if they position themselves straight behind you.
So, in summary, it was one of the more fun vehicles I’ve ever driven. It felt and more importantly sounded reasonably quick and the rear wheel drive system is very slick, especially in the corners. I’d genuinely recommend this as an experience, even if I can’t comment on long term costs of operation or anything like that. Fuel economy was excellent as well, I average just over 32 MPG, which is incredible given the first hour of driving I subjected it to had an average speed of 9 MPH.
Kind regards,
CS @ N2S
editor(at)needlesstosay.live
Any comments you think I’d like to read? Driven a Vito yourself? Or any other van? Or even a car? Well please get in touch in the comments below or e-mail and I’ll try and get back to you someday!
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