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LOO
Time was when the Japanese were seen as the movers and shakers in the automotive world. If there was a new market niche it probably originated out east, leaving the Europeans to follow,
Vans were no exception. Products designed for Japanese urban width restrictions made their way here, offering new options to prospective buyers.
Now it's a different story A strong Yen, driving up the price of Japanese imports, has combined with quota restrictions to squeeze Japanese light CV imports hard. Most importers have preferred to concentrate on more profitable car sales. Impending European crash restrictions have also played a part—the favoured forward-control design of many Japanese vans is unlikely to get through the crash tests due at the end of the century.
European manufacturers have exploited this situation and over the past five years the market has been completely restructured. High-cube vans have virtually replaced the car-derived variety—only the Escort remains in quantity. Competition has hotted up further with the arrival of the Peugeot Partner and Citroen Berlingo, offering a unique high-cube body on a small car platform. This has left the Japanese as followers rather than leaders. Nissan axed the Vanette, Urvan and Sunny van a couple of years ago, while Toyota discarded the Liteace at about the same time. In came the Nissan Serenabased Vanette Cargo and Toyota Hiace Power Van. Like their European competitors, both are semi-forward-control layouts designed for Europe.
Local competitors will ensure that they have a fight on their hands. First came the "mini-Sevel" Citroen Dispatch, Peugeot Express and Fiat Scudo; all built at the SevelNord plant in northern France. Now the Mercedes Vito has joined the fray. Like the Vanette Cargo, these contenders are all based on passenger-carrying multi-purpose vehicles (M.PVs)—a smart way of cutting the cost of van design and production by sharing the platform with more profitable models.
So can the Merc mix it with the rest, or is the design too compromised by its V-Class :V1PV needs?
• PRODUCT PROFILE
The Vito is new for the UK but in other European countries it replaced the MB100, which was only available in left-hand drive. Like the MB100 the Vito is built in Spain and 110"
right-hookers are only available with petrol and naturally aspirated diesel engines: lefthand-drive models also come with a 96hp (72kW) charge-cooled diesel, badged 11011 So where's the 110D right-hooker then? According to Mercedes, the steering column would foul the turbocharger and associated plumbing. In the days of computer-aided design that's a pathetic excuse—mini-Sevel buyers can have a turbo-diesel in the Vito's most direct competitors. It's worse still for VClass MPV buyers who don't get a choice as UK models are not available with diesels.
So Brit Vito buyers can choose between the 108D with the 78hp (56kW) naturally aspirated diesel and the 113 with a 127hp (95kW) two-litre petrol. The diesel is the trusty 2.3litre four-cylinder block which first saw van service in the T1. Suitably modified for future emissions requirements, it produces maximum power at 3,800rpm with a healthy 112Ibft (152Nm) of torque between 2,300 and 3,000rpm. That's more than most of its naturally aspirated competitors can muster, although the Mere engine is bigger than most rivals.
The same engine can also be found under Sprinter bonnets where it drives the rear wheels, Mounted transversely in the lighter Vito, it drives the front wheels via a Getrag five-speed all-indirect overdrive gearbox.
This layout allows for a lower loading height than we are used to in Mercedes vans. Our test vehicle came with the standard bonded resin load floor and six sturdy looking tiedown eyes. The side walls are also boarded with hardboard to waist height.
Even a few years ago, sliding side doors were still on the Mercedes options list. The Vito breaks new ground with a sliding door each side and they're both standard! There's no option at the back though; it's a tailgate whether you like it or not (and if you load by forklift, you probably won't).
With five doors to the body, central locking becomes a necessity for a van, but it's a £420 option on the Vito.
Mercedes claims a 5.0m3 load volume for the Vito, so presumably it's grown since its European launch in 1995, when the claimed figure was only 4.86m3. The lower figure is still notably ahead of the 4.0m3 of the miniSevels and fractionally more than the Vanette Cargo's 4.80m3 but VW's Transporter has the edge with 5.4m3, measured to the VDA standard.
Without knowing how the Mercedes was measured, it's hard to tell accurately how it
compares but we suspect that 4.86m3 is also a
VDA figure.
Load restraining frames were fitted behind each seat, while a full bulkhead is available at additional cost. Other factory options include a fridge compressor, rear air suspension and roof rails. If prying eyes are a problem, the rear window can be omitted too.
• PRODUCTIVITY
Our laden fuel figure of 30.1mpg (9.401it/100Iun) is not bad from an indirect-injection engine and was better than we man aged from the Nissan Vanette Cargo or VW Transporter 800 Special. The Fiat Scud° recorded a creditable 35.5mpg but that was from a smaller, less powerful engine. Unladen the Vito returned 34.0mpg. Neither figure sets new standards so we'll have to wait until Mercedes unveils its new light diesel range before the Vito can be expected to show its full potential here. A switch to direct injection using a common rail could offer significant fuel-consumption benefits.
The Vito can pull its weight better than some of its competitors. With a 75kg driver on board the little Mere can take 925kg of cargo. That's nearly 200kg more than the miniSevels and fractionally more than the Vanette Cargo. VW's Transporter 800 Special, as its name suggests, will pack 800kg but the 1000 models will match the Vito. Mercedes has built in a respectable 150kg loading tolerance but some care may be needed at maximum weight to avoid overloading the back axle.
The side doors should make kerbside loading easy. We found the claimed 2.0m standing headroom under the tailgate reduced to 1.89m fully laden. Anyone much over six foot would have to stoop, particularly if they were stepping off a kerb. On the plus side, the tailgate does act as a giant umbrella in wet weather.
The Vito's 15,000km (9,330 miles) and 45,0001on (27,990 miles) extended service intervals follow the practice of M-B's heavy trucks, An annual service downtime of 3.2 hours over 50,000Icm (31,100 miles) is the lowest in our comparison group by a healthy margin, which should keep the Vito out earning its keep for longer than any of its rivals. The first year's servicing comes for free too. By contrast, the one-year warranty is unspectacular by today's standards.
• ON THE ROAD At last this engine has found the Mercedes light CV that suits it best. As we commented in our roadtest of the 308D Sprinter (CM 7-13 March 1996), never did a van have a more inappropriate name. Even in the sleeker and lighter Vito it won't set the tarmac alight, but it is flexible enough to let the van keep up with the traffic when fully laden. For those who think they need more performance the only option is the petrol 113, but the fuel consumption penalty is likely to be heavy.
As might be expected from a Mercedes designed for car drivers, the Vito's road manners are very good. Power steering is standard, taking the effort out of parking manoeuvres with a full load on board, and it's
not over-assisted when unladen or at speed. Roll is well contained by the all-independent suspension, while the ride is firm but neither too harsh when unladen, nor too soft with a full load.
The 108D lacks the power to explore the limits of the vehicle's high speed handling but, like most front-wheel-drive vehicles, the Vito is understeered with a tendency to plough straight on when pushed in a corner.
Although we were unable to record our usual brake test results, the servo-assisted alldisc system is very effective. There was a tendency to lock up the wheels under full braking, but ABS is an option at £655.
Like the mini-Sevels, the gear lever is a short, stubby affair mounted at bottom centre of the dash. The change is fairly crisp, light and positive, complemented by a light clutch.
As with other open.cabbed vans, noise was ever present in the Vito. Road roar from the rear is the principal culprit at speed—a full bulkhead would make sense for long-distance users.
• CAB COMFORT
First impressions of the Vito are good, surveying the dash from the driving seat. Gone is Merc:'s old single stalk with too many functions for the minor controls; the sensible and stylish dash puts the gear lever in easy reach. There's plastic in abundance to cheapen the effect, but it's well assembled and rattle free.
Greater acquaintance does brings out one or two niggles, however. Take stowage. There are large door pockets each side—no complaints there—and a small compartment under the driver and passenger's seat which might he useful for gloves (but not much else).
But users will not appreciate the lack of a lidded glovebox as mobile phones, documentation or other valuables can't be hidden from view. The "glovebox" consists of two sizeable compartments which would hold a fair amount of paperwork. Besides this, the dashboard itself has few flat surfaces. A measure of Mercedes cost cutting is that a centre console with drinks holder is on the options list; yours for £90.
Mobile phone users will face another frustration. The cigarette lighter is hidden away in the slide-out ashtray at the bottom of the dash so if you need to plug the phone in it means driving around with the ashtray open. On top of that, there's nowhere to stow the phone in the dashboard within reach of the driver. We can't believe that the needs of the van driver differ so much from those of MPV buyers: this dash needs a rethink for all prospective customers.
It doesn't end there either. Having replaced that multi-function stalk with two logical column-mounted stalks, the Vito design team has built in some new irritants. For example, while the two stalks generally work well, the rear wipe will stay on intermittently unless the stalk is pulled again. The left-hand stalk has a rotating end which operates the lights but has a mystery parking-lamp position which didn't appear to switch anything on. Similarly there is a dash-mounted switch for the interior lights, but this did not appear to work either.
We needed the rear fog lights during the test and eventually found the switch hidden behind the right-hand wash/wipe stalk. There is a dim warning lamp in the middle of the switch but in any case it is completely invisible to the driver. It needs re-positioning with the others in the instrument binnacle.
Heating and ventilation earns high marks. Features include a pollen filter, four-speed fan and recirculation mode. Fresh air is available through two centre dash vents which point up at the screen but help to relieve stuffiness with the heater on.
The rear wash/wipe and demister helps with rear visibility but we found a blind spot on both sides in the door mirrors. They look big enough, but for a van they need to be bigger still, or incorporate a wide-angle glass on the driver's side.
We can't fault the large, clear instruments which are easily read at a glance and can be supplemented with an optional rev counter. Other cab options include electric windows, electrically heated and adjustable mirrors, driver and passenger airbags, air conditioning, an outside temperature gauge, adjustable steering column and higher spec seats.
• SUMMARY
There's a great deal to recommend the Vito. It's well built, has above-average payload and body volume for its class, decent performance and is a pleasant vehicle to drive. The 2.3-litre engine is tried and tested with a reputation for durability and reliability.
Although none of our criticisms of the cab rate as serious, we can't help but wonder how such basic flaws got past the design stage. None would be difficult to rectify so let's hope Mercedes-Benz takes this criticism seriously.
The three-pointed star should ensure good residual values too, but given its £12,300 (ex. VAT)asking price, so it should, The naturally aspirated mini-Sevels are priced from around £11,000, with slight variations between the Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot models. The Nissan Vanette Cargo is listed at £10,741 with power steering and the VW Transporter 800 Special at a similar £10,747.
Other competitors include the Transit 100 at £12,895, 2.6-tonne LDV Pilot at £11,455, Mitsubishi L300 at £11,909 and Renault Trafic Prima T1100 at £10,160.
It may be better than its Japanese competitors but it faces some stiff competition from the better European vans. The Vito would certainly be on our one-tonne van shortlist, but it doesn't really offer a significant advance in fuel consumption or vehicle dynamics over the six-year-old VW Transporter.
IL by John Kendall