Dodge Sprinter.. uhhh! MB Sprinter
 

Has anybody driven or tried the Sprinter. It is apparently the cheapest way to drive a brand new diesel mercedes in the USA...

Yahoo has a Sprinter Group. I've owned a couple of the pre-Sprinter vans.

A buddy of mine just bought a Sprinter van for his coffee roasting company. I drove it off the lot and it was amazing. I couldnt believe how easy it was to drive... it felt tall and huge sitting in it with the high roof line and all, but in reality it is probably the best handling cargo van on the market - easy to manuever, park, and drive. Mercedes definitely knows how to make vans.

Power is quite good- of course theres ample torque at all speeds with the diesel engine, and it can handle hills and highway spees with ease and it feels super solid. Definitely a quality commercial grade piece of engineening that has had alot of thought put into its design. I love the rear doors that swing all the way open, and lock up against the sides of the van with magnets, the roof height allows for a tall guy like me (6ft2") to walk through the cargo bay without straining, no-slip grip floor coating, etc..

The cabin of the van is super comfortable and is all mercedes... fit and finish, and features hark back to the build quality of the early 90's. The climate control features the REST mode for cold weather, and the transmission features the clutchless shift... I thought it was odd to offer the option on a cargo van, but it certainly adds to the uniqueness and provides a certain form of novelty entertainment.

Neat vans!

I am going to be ordering the Mercedes trim conversion kit and installing it within the next week or two.

The ones I owned were clearly the most fun handling vans I have ever driven. The turning radius was smaller than the 123's. They're designed to make deliveries on European micro-streets.

i have driven sprinters for the car rental company, between Paris and Heilbronn......they are excellent highway vehicles, they go over 200 k's......

I see more and more of them in the construction trade. Mostly good reviews when I ask. I also ask any FedEx, UPS, etc. driver when I see them what they think. Again, most like them. The complaints I hear are Sprinters go through brakes and tires pretty quick. My guess is the brakes are typical MB, use soft pads and make the rotors last, replace pads often. Regarding the tires, anything that tall and heavy will use up tires quickly if driven anything more than sedately. I don't know many US drivers that drive sedately.... If I could swing the $30K price tag I would consider buying one. RT

i love the design but have no use for one.

durn!

tom w

UPS bought a bunch of them and we got a few at my old center. EVERYONE liked them and in aggressive service they delivered 20mpg. One thing that I noted is that the bodies are TINNIE!! I think that UPS will have structural issues with the bodies. They literally run them until they drop.

I'm surprised that Click and Clack recommended against one a few months ago when a caller wanted a larger vehicle to haul dogs and sleep in.
I'm guessing they weren't familiar with the smaller sized one and were only thinking of the larger ones like UPS and FedEx use.
They have small tires for such a large van and always have.

i convinced a driver at the company i used to work for to buy one after his Chevy Astro was getting long in the tooth. He bought it at the beginning of 2005 and by March of 06 had over 100K miles on the thing. He had one problem with it that was not usual, the weld that held one of the driver's door hinges somehow broke and the door nearly came off the van. He had over 80K miles on that van when he took it to the dealer to be repaired and they decided to repair it for free. Not at first mind you but after he *****ed loud enough about his $38K van having the door almost fall off. And that guy really could ***** loudly and clearly. I would say he was a pro almost.

Unfortunately, he had a collision with an 18 wheeler last month and was killed.

http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/147/story/15875.html

The amt of options and features avail on the Sprinter continues to amaze me. Low roof, tall roof, LWB, SWB, diving wall, the plethora of accessories, etc.. The one my buddy bought has a dividing wall between the cockpit and cargo bay... certainly makes heating and cooling the cockpit more efficient, and reduces any noise that might otherwise obstruct the drivers peace of mind when carrying rattling cargo.

Another ingenious simple feature are the steps integrated into the front and rear bumpers, cockpit storage & organization, and so forth. Very ingenious, very mercedes. I never thought I could be so impressed by a cargo van!

There are a few companies that specialize in Sprinter conversions- luxury passenger vans, campers, heck even Westfalia does Sprinter conversions.

I sell auto parts, and I can tell you the Sprinter is a disaster to get parts for. Mercedes engine, Freightliner chassis, and everything else is Dodge on-offs. PITA.

I have driven sprinter vans and found them very capable. The options available make it a strong contender in the service van market. The cargo area is tall enough to stand in and get work done. The dash layout and headlight aiming are also a plus. The tire size used makes tire replacement far more inexpensive then a slew of 16 inch tires. It's a well thought out vehicle.




Sorry about your loss Bill.

I would take one of those Westy conversion in a heartbeat. Beat a VW Westy hands down, even though I have a special place in my heart for them.

I doubt you could get a Westy Sprinter conversion in the States, probably Winne Conversions.

Edit: Looks like Westfalia teamed up with Airstream to offer Sprinter conversions in the US. Guess what the MSRP is? $84,650 :eek: :eek:

Yes exactly, the Airstream Westfalia Sprinter. A bit pricey, yes. Underneath the horribly cheesy typical RV color and graphics it is a very neat camper. I have to admit I was a little unimpressed with the cosmetic treatment Airstream carried out on the thing, but its nothing a paintjob and perhaps a simpler stripe couldnt change. The silver paint isnt too bad i guess. The Airstream/Sprinter Interstate and Parkway coaches are neat too.