With front-wheel drive, a payload-giant and an expenses-dwarf. |
The Ford Transit showed the way: The new Vito versions in the lighter class now have front-wheel drive, the heavier models have, as before, rear-wheel drive or can be had with all-wheel drive. Basically, it's the front-wheel drive from the A-Class with the smallest engine from Renault. It now has a smaller cubic capacity than the former smallest Vito engine, it uses somewhat less fuel and is above all, much cheaper.
The Vito is produced in Vitoria (Spain). |
If one includes the Value Added Tax for private customers, the asking price is just under €21.500. This is considerably less than before, even compared with the special offers of that time. The Vito has been around since 1995 and hasn't always had a flawless reputation, indeed, 1,2 million were still sold. Perhaps the favourable price was the reason for offering them on the north- and Latin-American market. In contrast to the Sprinter-field, the Vito is only the no. 2 after the VW-T5, and this is exactly what they want to change.
The estate car is now called the 'Tourer'. |
The drag-coefficient of 0,32, although having nothing to do with the cross-sectional surface area, is nevertheless, quite astonishing for the largely box-form. The V6 Diesel engine has been replaced by a four-cylinder, which due to its complex exhaust gas technology, is one of the vehicles in this class, which fulfil the still quite rare Euro-6 standard. While this may be a little contra-productive as far as the consumption is concerned, the seven speed automatic, instead of the five speed, should be a savings factor.
The ladder goes until below the front seats (picture 8) |
This of course, is also valid for the electro-mechanical power steering, which is already widespread in motor cars. An extensive amount of assistance-systems have also been taken in from this segment. The safety-systems serve to protect this large, box-shaped transporter against the influences of cross-winds. Apart from that, the Mercedes-engineers never get tired of raving on about their new, ergonomic cockpit and its multitude of storage areas.
Diesel: Now only as a four-cylinder |
1,6 l | 65 kW (88 HP) |
84 kW (114 HP) |
2,15 l | 100 kW (136 HP) |
120 kW (163 HP) |
143 kW (190 HP) |
We had almost forgotten to mention one important safety feature. It really is a mild sensation, that a transporter has been given LED-lighting, which hasn't even been on the market for that long. We're not talking about the more or less unimportant daytime driving lights but a complete LED-system, dipped lights, high-beam and the cornering lights. To finish off, the extended service intervals, like with motor cars, of either two years or 40.000 km is an important factor, although in the motor car field, it's no longer a sensation. 07/14