If you’re looking for versatility in a model range, the Mercedes-Benz ‘V’ family of mid-sized vans offers more than most – and the brand’s just updated them for 2024 and beyond with a new look and improved tech all round.
The V range caters to commercial buyers with the Vito panel van, plus its fully electric eVito sibling. It fills the MPV niche with the V-Class and EQV people-carriers. And it provides a real rival to the most premium campervans out there with the V-Class Marco Polo, which has now been shown to the public for the first time at the 2023 Dusseldorf Caravan Salon.
Rivals for these vehicles include extensive model lineups of Ford and Volkswagen. For the former, there’s the Transit Custom, Tourneo Custom and the Transit Custom Nugget. Volkswagen’s range comprises the Transporter, Multivan and California.
These vans will be the last before Mercedes introduces its new bespoke platform for the fully-electric future. The new VAN.EA platform will see the smaller vans on the same platform as these mid-sized models. Mercedes will continue to produce combustion-engined vans for a few years yet, but the electric variants will be discontinued in favour of models on this new platform.
V-Class Marco Polo
> Clever new control panel plus companion app
> Self-levelling air suspension optional
> Camping furniture unchanged
This is a less comprehensive update than other Vitos, mainly because the living/passenger compartment of the Marco Polo was already exceptionally good, even compared to the likes of Volkswagen’s California. However, it does benefit from the same updated cab as the V-Class, bringing in a pair of large digital screens and instantly modernising the driving experience, while at the back the lower bed is now electrically operated.
There are two camping-specific changes that make us very excited, though. The first comes if you option air suspension – it’s an automatic self-levelling system that’ll compensate if you park the van on a slope and raise or lower each corner until they’re perfectly level. This is usually the preserve of full-sized luxury motor caravans, and it’s seriously impressive to have it on a mid-sized camper.
Merc’s also placed all of the camping functions within the van’s infotainment system. Similar to Volkswagen’s camping panel found on the California vehicles, this allows you to control heating and lighting, check the levels of both fresh and waste water, turn the fridge on and off, and check the battery charge.
You can also control all of this through the Marco Polo app, allowing you to check on the van while you’re out and about or set it up ready for your return.
Mercedes Vito and eVito
> New front-end styling
> Seriously updated dashboard
> MBUX infotainment as standard
All Vito vans get a new grille and front bumper with a larger Mercedes logo, flanked by standard LED headlights. Five new colours are available, including the attractive ‘Vintage Blue’ and ‘Kalahari Gold’. It’s familiar, but definitely an update.
Inside it’s all change, though. Gone is the seriously dated centre console of the current model, replaced by something much more similar to the larger Sprinter. It consists of a standard 10.25-inch infotainment screen with a wide aspect ratio, plus a 5.5-inch colour display between the analogue dials for driver information.
There will be three trim levels – an unnamed base model, Pro, and Select, though these may be something different in the UK as we rarely tend to be offered the base models. For Europe, at least, entry-level vans get unpainted bumpers for the proper commercial look, while the upper two have body-coloured bumpers as standard. As before, there’ll be panel van, crew cab and minibus variants, plus the option of barn doors or a rising tailgate at the back – the latter can even be electrically operated. Plus, a really clever touch shows on the reversing camera how much room the tailgate requires to open – handy if you’re parking in tight quarters.
Equipment levels have been bolstered for all models, with all vans getting air-conditioning, automatic headlights, a multifunction haptic steering wheel, and that brand-new MBUX infotainment system. Safety kit is also impressive, with lane-keeping assist, autonomous emergency braking and a reversing camera.
Pro vans gain a 70-litre fuel tank and lumbar support for the seats, while the Select trim adds adaptive headlights, a standard automatic gearbox, smartphone connectivity and a chrome grille.
Wireless charging is also available, and there’ll be the option of a single or a double passenger seat with a slightly altered centre console to allow room for the middle passenger’s legs.
For the eVito, the infotainment will give access to Mercedes’ own charging network with useful features such as planning routes around charging stops. Though range details are still very much under wraps, the pre-production van we sat in displayed a maximum range figure of 196 miles – an improvement on the current van’s 162-mile WLTP figure, though this may not be at all representative of the finished model.
Mercedes V-Class and EQV
> New infotainment echoes passenger cars
> Exclusive model has upright grille
> Four trim levels plus appearance packs
More style upgrades here, plus a rather eye-catching new grille for the top trim level. V-Class trims run base, Style, Avantgarde and Exclusive, with AMG Line and Black styling packs available for the middle two trims to give them a bit more pizzazz.
The top Exclusive trim gets a unique upright grille with the proper Mercedes-Benz bonnet ornament, and the brand confirmed it would be coming to the UK thus equipped – joining the S-Class as the only models still wearing the traditional Merc front end. All other V-Classes get the more familiar grille with the inset star.
That grille gains a rather gaudy LED strip surrounding it on some models, plus every chrome point within is actually a smaller three-pointed star.
Round the rear, you’ll find redesigned taillights plus what we’re sure must be the biggest rear window on sale today. It opens, too, with a two-level boot floor dividing the space and making this a practical way to sling smaller items into the van.
You can have the V-Class with four, six, seven, or eight seats. The lesser variants feature fairly standard rear seating, with the option of a natty sliding table almost exactly like the one in Volkswagen’s Multivan – it moves back and forth between all three rows of seats, and at the press of a button rises up with tabletops folding out. It’s especially useful when the seats are in conference mode.
Top-spec exclusive models rival a luxury limo more than they do any other van. You only get two rear seats, but they slide, recline, heat and cool, and massage their occupants. They also get S-Class-style pillows and electrically-operated footrests for the full business-class experience, plus fantastically over-engineered tables on the front seatbacks.
Up front, there’s a redesigned dash distinct from that in the Vito with a pair of 10.25-inch screens set under a seamless piece of glass for the full widescreen effect. A huge swathe of dash to the side of these can be had in a variety of finishes including olive wood or polished carbon fibre. There’s also new 64-colour ambient lighting, replacing the paltry three colours of the pre-facelift van.
The EQV gets a unique ‘dark mask’ filled-in grille with the aforementioned LED strip surrounding it. As before, the charging point remains somewhat inconveniently located at the front of the van. As with the eVito, the infotainment’s been upgraded with the latest convenience features relating to charging. The dashboard of this (again, pre-production) model indicated a maximum range of about 210 miles, which is similar to the pre-facelift van.
