A PASSION FOR PEOPLE CARRIERS IN THE MERCEDES BENZ V-CLASS

You’rereading this because you have a group of people you need to transport – a family, a sports team, a board of directors. These are people who have meaning to you and warrant a really comfortable, safe ride.  On balance, the Mercedes V-class comes out on top in evaluating ‘group transport’ demands.

The Mercedes-Benz V-Class is the new version of the ageing Viano; however, it is almost completely different to its native engineering.  The modernized appearance – luxurious and featuring softer geometries, it integrates business and aesthetic in a handsome package. The V-class is a long vehicle – 5 metres and 5.2 metres in the ‘extra-long’ version, is 2.2 metres wide and weighs 2,155kg, yet it still produces smooth maneuverability.  It comes in Sport and AMG trims and there are two power outputs: (1) the V 220 d with 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission, urban/extra-urban/combined fuel consumption: 7.3/6.4/6.8 l/100 km and combined CO² emissions: 179 g/km; efficiency category: B and (2) the V 250 d with 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission, urban/extra-urban/combined fuel consumption: 7.1/6.6/6.8 l/100 km; combined CO² emissions: 179 g/km, also an efficiency category: B.  You can specify 6, 7 or 8 seats in a variety of configurations, including face-to-face.  The V250 gets from 0-100 in 9.1 seconds – not to be sneezed at for a behemoth such as this.

The steering is easy and smooth and seat height is high, which goes to adding to the surprising maneuverability mentioned before.  It is rather noisy for a Merc and doesn’t like bumps in the paving, otherwise it is a pleasant way to get from A to B.  Brakes are sharply – and unexpectedly – taken up halfway down the pedal, but this is to accommodate the shape, size and weight.

Internally,the driver will enjoy an expansive display, an intuitive layout and ergonomic access to all controls.  The comfort and luxury is, to an extent translated to the back seats; however, the front seats are heated, there’s a 3-zone climate control and half decent surround sound system if you opt for it.

All in all, placing passenger carriers in another league from its competitors, once you get past the hefty price tag, you will have an easy-maintenance, robust vehicle, to your endless advantage.  Once you own one, you suddenly discover how many of your friends need to transport hordes of people.