We video test the 2019 Mercedes Benz Sprinter.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has long been a favourite van here at NZ Company Vehicle, and with good reason. It’s practical, safe, swift and surprisingly, for all its prodigious size, the most car-like of all the vans to drive.

It is also something of a trendsetter, much like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class of the passenger line, inasmuch as the Sprinter has historically introduced industry firsts for a commercial vehicle. With this incarnation of the Sprinter, Mercedes-Benz has kept up the trend.

Sprinter is powered by a 2.2 diesel with turbocharger and the top-of-the-line diesel 3-litre V6. The 2.2 generates 120kW and 360Nm of torque and is the engine we are most used to seeing.  Matched to the superb 7 G-Tronic transmission, it is most likely to remain the Sprinter engine of choice in this country.

There are over 1700 variations available for the 2019 model Sprinter, including its drive trains, wheelbases, engine sizes, transmissions, body lengths and roof heights. Well, those are the major categories and that’s only six of them…there’s another 1694 to option up. Within those 1694 variations you will find a raft of advanced safety features, including, but not limited to lane keep assist, DISTRONIC distance keeping assist, Crosswind assist, and more besides.

Some of the features which had been optional extras in the past are – in this generation – standard fare. In addition, the 2019 model Sprinter has seen more than a few features come from the passenger line. The most obvious is the adoption of the MBUX driver/vehicle interface with ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice activation powered by artificial intelligence.

This is by far and away the most sophisticated feature yet seen on a commercial vehicle in this country and with it, Mercedes-Benz has once again, set the benchmark for other van manufacturers to follow. 

For more information go to https://www.mercedes-benz.co.nz/vans/en/sprinter