Mercedes-Benz has super-sized its Sprinter, giving the largest 3.5-tonner in the range a whopping great 17cu m load volume. But having just had one on test at Motor Transport I can’t help but wonder how good an idea this actually is.
The problem is the puny 1,170kg payload. While the super high-roof, extra-long wheelbase Sprinter may well be perfect for carrying breakfast cereals, feathers or foam – you aren’t going to be able to make use of its cavernous load space with many other products.
While this shouldn’t be a problem for reputable operators – unfortunately they aren’t all going to end up in the hands of such firms. Take the rental market for instance. The average person who rents a van for the weekend is totally ignorant when it comes to payloads. As far as he’s concerned a van is only running at capacity when every inch of space is filled. But as this photo shows – that’s far from the case. This cargo of sand weighs 600kg – that’s half the van’s payload.
600kg of sand makes little impression in the back of the 17cu m Sprinter.
But if the payload is abused, at least Mercedes-Benz has done its best to keep the van safe. The disc brakes are bigger on the latest generation Sprinter and it has an incredible number of three-letter safety acronyms.
Extra-long wheelbase, super-high roof Sprinter has 17cu m volume.