The new Mercedes V-Class is surprisingly agile. Photo: Deniz Calagan/Mercedes-Benz Mercedes V-Class's plush interior. Photo: Deniz Calagan/Mercedes-Benz AG I have a new-found admiration for a certain brotherhood of drivers after testing this week’s “extra long” Mercedes.
I’m talking about those who drive large vans on all sorts of roads, but particularly on narrow city streets. They have won my unequivocal respect for the job they do. You see, I had this new seven-seater people carrier (MPV), the Mercedes V-Class, for test.
It may be a high-end luxury vehicle but it is based on the Vito van – hence my acknowledgement of the skills van drivers need every day. But this people carrier V-Class is not your ordinary MPV. As if it wasn’t long enough already, they have stretched it even more to a whopping 5.
37 metres: the wheelbase extends to 3,430mm and it weighs 3,100kg. It’s a lot of car. People were genuinely surprised at how far it stretched from a normal parking slot into the one behind it.
I had it from Friday to Tuesday and drove it far and wide. I was grand with the wide bits but sweated blood in a couple of truly awkward city parking situations and negotiating narrow country roads in Wicklow. It was ideal for a nice run to Wexford on the open road, but I took more deep breaths as I crept through a thronged Malahide on Monday.
Still, it was great to have it to take some special people for a spin around north county Dublin. I would hate to have scraped it or for anything bad to befall it, so I took my time and all went well. Luckily, there were several parking aids and warning beeps, and an excellent bird’s eye view monitor to show how I was getting on.
As the kilometres went by, I began to really enjoy it. We were soaking in Lugano leather upholstery and soft, soft materials throughout the cabin. The dashboard had a “leather look” with stitching and the ambient lighting boasted 64 colours.
The MBUX infotainment system display also set off the front of the cabin to great effect. However, the 18-inch light-alloy wheels, with a 10-spoke design, looked disproportionately small. I think they spoiled the look of the car and took from what is, despite its length, quite slimline in terms of visuals.
Mercedes V-Class's plush interior. Photo: Deniz Calagan/Mercedes-Benz AG Now to the shocking bit. If you think the car is big you should look at the price – but maybe you should sit down first.
It’s an eyewatering €138,333 (including VAT and VRT) for the seven-seater version V250d in Avantgarde trim I had on test. Powered by a 1,950cc, 190PS diesel engine, it was surprisingly agile over a range of roads and highways given that it is based, though modified with an agility control suspension, on a commercial van. The nine-speed automatic transmission was flawless in shifting up and down but I used the paddles on the steering wheel to give me quicker acceleration when I needed it, or just wanted to do it for the fun of it.
A really important element from a passenger’s perspective was the sliding doors on either side. They made access to the second and third rows exceptionally easy for young and not-so-young limbs to negotiate. For such a large vehicle, fuel (diesel) consumption of around the 7.
5 litres/100km mark is not bad at all. But there are substantial emissions of 196 g/km. You are probably asking the question that was on everyone’s lips: “Great car, but who would buy it?” Well, it has always been the case that cars of this luxury ilk would be used as an executive motor for an upmarket taxi service, a shuttle car for hotels etc, and used for conveying personalities and pop stars to and from venues.
Maybe a small number of families might be tempted because the space inside is truly enormous. And there is so much room left over for luggage. Two cases, one absolutely huge and a smaller one (for a young woman heading off to Australia) were gobbled up at the rear.
We could have taken that much again and still have managed not to go looking for space in the middle row. Bolstering comfort, parking and nearly whatever else you can think of were a plethora of “packages”. For example, there was an aerodynamics package (for such a large car, there was little wind noise), a parking package with 360 degree camera (worth every cent of its inclusive cost), an upholstery package, efficiency package and more.
The climate control buttons are cleverly and practically laid out but for the life of me, I could not get the level of fresh air I, and my passengers, craved. It was either a tad too strong or too weak. Rear-seat passengers complained.
A small but enduring quibble in a big car on a humid afternoon. Would I buy it? The question doesn’t arise, really, does it? But in the event of winning the Lotto and yielded to a whim, I think I’d get a van driver to ferry me around in it. Mercedes V-Class V250d, people carrier (MPV) Avantgarde trim 1,950cc diesel, 7.
5-litres/100kms. Extra Long body, rear-wheel drive, three rows of seats. Price: €138,333.
Huge spread of comfort, technical and entertainment systems; high trim, several ‘packages’. Seven seats, automatic climate control, centre console with sliding cover, intelligent speed assistant, emergency brake, collision warning, drowsiness warning. Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
