Mercedes-Benz has announced a series of design and product updates for its range of midsize passenger and commercial vans which includes the V-Class, V-Class Marco Polo Camper, EQV, Vito and eVito.
There are significant cosmetic changes to the front and rear design of the vehicles and the top-spec V-Class Exclusive luxury MPV now proudly wears an old-school style Tri Star ornament on its engine bonnet.
Inside the vehicles, the cockpits have also received an extensive makeover to enable greater use of digital connectivity, wireless charging, and cloud based services.
Production of right-hand-drive vehicles for Australasia will commence in early 2024, as Mercedes-Benz Vans focuses on a more premium strategy targeting both the private MPV market as well as the commercial vans with passenger car registration.
The German brand is aiming for 20% of its van production to be fully battery electric by 2026 and 50% by 2023 thanks to its Van.EA (electric architecture) platform.
Australasian specification is yet to be finalised but in the European markets, in addition to the entry level model the V-Class offers three equipment lines (Style, Avantgarde and Exclusive) in addition to the entry-level model AMG Line package and the Night package.
The Vito is available in three variants as a panel van, Mixto and Tourer and in three equipment lines each (Base, Pro and Select). The V-Class and the Vito are also available in three compact, long and extra-long), the EQV and the eVito in two body lengths.
The V-Class and EQV MPV models can accommodate up to eight people on request.
The Marco Polo V-Class camper sleeps up to four people. There is also sufficient storage space for clothing, cooking utensils and leisure equipment.
In the illuminated frame of the radiator grille of the EQV, V-Class and V-Class Marco Polo there are two light guides behind the chrome strips. Light is fed into the glass fibre bundles via LED modules.
The optional ambient lighting in the EQV, V-Class and V-Class Marco Polo offers 64 colours that are split into ten colour worlds – for a homely atmosphere with atmospheric light changes.
Mercedes-Benz Vans says there are five trim elements are available for the V-Class: piano lacquer look, open-pore dark gray olive wood look, dark aluminum, brushed aluminum and carbon look.
Twin sliding doors in the V-Class and EQV increases comfort and makes it easier to get in and out.
The air suspension can be adjusted via the MBAC (Mercedes-Benz Advanced Control) camper operating unit to make the V-Class Marco Polo level.
The Vito and eVito offer a maximum loading volume of 6.6 cubic metres as a panel van and up to nine seats in the touring variant on request.
The Vito and eVito have been upgraded with the MBUX infotainment system, bringing state-of-the-art digital networking to the medium-sized commercial van segment. Both models have a 10.25-inch central display that can be operated intuitively by touch. The instrument cluster has a colour display that clearly shows all relevant information. It can be conveniently operated using the touch control panels on the new steering wheel.
For the first time yet, the electric tailgate package is available for the Vito Tourer, the Vito Mixto and the eVito Tourer for convenient loading and unloading.
More driver assistance functions are available for the new midsize vans. In addition, 11 airbags come as standard in the private MPVs and 6 in the commercial vans with passenger car registration.
There are 84 high-performance LED chips in each of the adaptive headlights. The individually controllable LEDs switch the light on where it is needed. Four control units calculate the ideal light pattern 100 times per second. They use the information from the camera behind the windscreen and the navigation system.
Up to seven profiles can be created in the MBUX infotainment system directly in the vehicle. Personal preferences such as your favourite radio station and default settings can be loaded into the vehicle via your own Mercedes me profile.
The optional inductive charging surface in the new centre console supports wireless charging of smartphones.
New exterior colours for the EQV, V-Class, V-Class Marco Polo, Vito and eVito: include high-tech silver metallic, Kalahari gold metallic, alpine gray, vintage blue, and also new for the Vito and the eVito sodalite blue metallic.
There are five new aerodynamically optimised alloy wheels for the MPVs and three for commercial vans bring a fresh design in 17-, 18- and 19-inch formats.
