I'm thinking about downsizing the fleet a little and getting a Sprinter to replace my Dodge pickup and Suburban with one vehicle-which Mercedes diesel do you pros think would be the best one to get-the V-6 in the '07 or the inline in the older ones-the V-6 would probably have a little more power, but I think the inline would easier to work on (and as we all know, the inline M-B diesels are legendary performers, not sure about the V-6 ones yet) What do you guys (and girls) think?

__________________
1982 300DT 190K (Diesel Purge + synthetic oil=smoothness at last!!!)
2004 Ford E-350 6.0 L PSD 227K
2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW HO Cummins 4X4 48RE 42K (brute force tow vehicle)
2005 Scion xB wife's rolling pop can
1993 GMC Sierra C3500 6.2 142K

my neighbors father in law has one of the I-5 sprinters.. I drove it.. its awesome and pretty fast for a delivery van (he uses it for work and as a personal vehicle)

He had the glow plugs done at the dealer and one got stuck in the head.. mercedes ended up replacing the head no charger after a long drawn out complaint thing..

But. If you cant wait go for the I-5... Me.. I would wait for the V-6

You'll probably get an informed answer here:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sprintervan/?yguid=114678767

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I'd wait for the V6. It's the same engine as in the E/R/GL/ML320 CDI's so you know it can be tuned from it's ~160hp to over 200hp with simple chip tuning.

The Sprinters are nice, fairly lightweight, good fuel mileage, easy to drive. We're going to replace our '96 Ford E350 Powerstroke with a Sprinter 3500 High Roof 144". I didn't really want dual rears but we had to for carrying capacity. I've only driven a 5cyl. and it was fine but we're holding off for the 6.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

A number of Outdoor and SKi Reps. in the Northeast have bought the In-Line 2.7 litres and they are a rugged "work horse". Some of my retail accounts also have them now to use as distribution vans to move retail product out to their store locations. The 2.7 ltr. is a proven engine........

__________________
FRED

Daily Driver: 98 E300TD 199K
Hobby Car: 69 Austin Mini
Past Diesels: 84 300SD, 312K
87 300SDL, 251K
94 Chev. K-1500 6.5Ltr.TD, 373K

Tons of torque in the Sprinter version of the 2.7 I5 but because of that don't expect to go much faster than 80 mph on the highway. City and highway performance is really good...just that max speed problem if you like to drive fast.

The towing capacity is something ridiculous for such a small engine.

__________________
1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)