Mercedes-Benz Vito Reviews

The latest MY25 Vito van range brings updated styling and numerous standard equipment upgrades. However, is our 119 LWB Panel Van test vehicle worth its high purchase price and servicing costs?

Mercedes-Benz has earned its reputation as a maker of premium passenger cars, but the three-pointed star also produces a huge variety of light- and heavy-commercial vehicles. The Vito van lines up against the market-dominant Toyota HiAce, however cost-of-entry is appreciably higher. Does the extra spend deliver value-for-money? Our TradieGuide review aims to answer that question.

The Mercedes-Benz Vito van range has benefited from safety and multi-media upgrades, as well as design alterations, which are aimed at making these work vehicles even more appealing to buyers in what is a hotly contested work vehicle market.But those improvements have brought a price increase across the range.

Crew vans offer alternatives to dual cab utes and heavy-duty wagons for work or play, if you're prepared to trade rugged looks and off-road prowess for the ability to carry up to five or six occupants in more spacious comfort with unmatched internal load volume.

The Mercedes-Benz Vito 119 Crew Cab can carry up to five occupants and a mountain of cargo under a shared roof, with greater theft/weather protection than a premium dual cab ute for similar money.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Mercedes-Benz Vito 116CDI with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

...in the Classic Adelaide rally The Porsche 911 Turbo is just too fast in a straight line for me to get past.I've caught up, despite starting 30 seconds behind, but there is no way I can pass him. You see, I'm in a diesel Mercedes-Benz Vito.  When the PR bloke at Mercedes-Benz asks me to drive a van in the Classic Adelaide tarmac rally, I fear he has lost his mind. Of course I agree because I'll race anything, even a wheelie bin, especially if it belongs to someone else.The Classic Adelaide is the rally for fantastic sportscars in Australia. The gallery of precious metal this year includes priceless flawless Mercedes Gullwings from the 1950s, stunning Jaguar Le Mans specials, classic Ferraris, De Tomasos, Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Supras, AMGs...and my van.Drivetrain This isn't any old van though, it's a Vito with a 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6.  The figures suggest it should get along ok. The engine produces 150kW and 440Nm of torque. It is linked up to a five-speed automatic and the power goes to the rear wheels.Size and fit-outI can't lie though. When I first see it in the car park with all the exotic machinery I am worried. It's an Extra Long crew cab and it is massive. I am pretty sure that it is the only vehicle longer than 5m in the event (5223mm). It stands out like an elephant in the loungeroom parked next to the low slung Aston Martins and Porsches that also run in the Thoroughbred Touring class.  The Vito has a second row of seats, which means it can carry five people comfortably as well as a rear cargo area best described as cavernous.There's 3.65m2 of load area and, if you take out the second seat row, that swells to 5.68m2.Driving The Vito would make a perfect support vehicle for one of the race cars — and that is what all the officials think it is.  Every time we roll up to the start of a stage, the officials wave us away. Support vehicles go that way, they shout.My co-driver, Tom Morrison, and I point to the numbers on the side of the van and explain we are actually in the event.  After a few seconds, the officials get it, but usually ask something like: Why?  It's a good question. Mercedes thought this van could go quite fast, and they were right.  Holding down the brake and building up the revs at the same time means the Vito shoots off the line.  It doesn't sling away from the start like the AMG rockets in front of me, but it is impressive for something you can move house with.The engine has plenty of go from 1500-2500rpm, but then it's time to start changing gears. There is no revving this engine out to the red-line. It's all very quiet in here, especially with a helmet on. That's good because I can hear Tom's warnings about tricky corners coming up, but strange because racing is usually accompanied by an awesome soundtrack of engine noise.Corners are a bit of a problem. The van is so tall and winning tarmac rallies wasn't all that high on the priority list when it was being developed.  The standard suspension is soft and the Vito does lean a fair amount. You get the feeling that if you push too hard it will just fall over. It is the first van to be sold in Australia with a five star crash protection rating, but I'd still rather not crash, especially as it doesn't have a roll cage.At least the suspension is predictable and the (standard) tyres have a lot of grip.  I turn off the traction control system, but the Electronic Stability Control is on all the time.  It comes on a few times, usually in the tight bends, but isn't too intrusive.No cars catch me on the first few stages, so I press a bit harder.  Maintaining high corner speeds is the key. While the torque is impressive, this engine doesn't have a heap of power to play with, so you don't want to wash off any speed unnecessarily.  I'm really pressing hard on the last stage before lunch and after about 6km I see a flash of red up ahead. It looks very much like the Porsche 911 Turbo that left the line 30 seconds ahead.  It is. He isn't so quick through the corners, but has enough grunt to keep me behind for the next two kilometres before the stage finish.Our class isn't timed, but we sneak in a stopwatch to compare with the cars in some of the other classes. We're limited to a top speed of 130km/h, but these other cars can go as fast as they want and most also have full pace notes.After the event I check some of our times and realise the big Vito has beaten some pretty impressive machinery, especially on the second day when the roads with quite slippery after some morning rain.  On one stage, our van was faster than a Lancia Delta Integrale, a 1995 BMW M3, and a Mitsubishi EVO IV, on another we are quicker than a 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera. Not bad for a stock standard delivery van.Mercedes Vito Extra Long Crew CabPrice: $58,490Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo dieselPower: 150kW at 3800rpmTorque: 440Nm at 1600-2400 revsTransmission: Five-speed automatic, rear-wheel driveFuel economy: 9.2L/100km combined 

Along with the flood of imported passenger cars we’ve seen in the last decade or so has come a wave of imported light commercial vans. With them has been the Mercedes-Benz Vito, a semi-bonneted van that has delivered a new deal to long suffering light commercial drivers, with a blend of comfort, safety, agility and performance.Before the European vans, like the Vito, arrived local van drivers had to endure the discomforts of driving cab-over-engine vans, most of which came from Japan at an unbeatable price.European semi-bonneted vans struggle to compete on price, but they’re winning sales on the basis of their features, performance, safety, comfort, and handling, which leave the old style COE vans for dead.Most of the sales are going to small business operators who have to drive the vans themselves rather than the big fleet operators who still mostly buy on price alone.Increasingly tradesman are finding the Euro semi-bonneted vans ideal for work and play. They can carry their tools of trade to the work site on weekdays, then carry their sporting or camping gear on weekends getaways.MODEL WATCHThe Vito is a mid-sized one-tonne payload front-wheel drive van. With its sloping bonnet and windscreen, and neat van proportions, the Vito is an attractive light commercial, one that presents your business well when out and about on the job.Big grey plastic bumpers provided important bump protection for the front and rear, while wide rub strips protected the sides.The SBV design provided occupant protection through front crumple zones, and in the case of the Vito there was also a driver’s airbag.Throw in disc brakes front and rear, independent suspension front and rear, and power-assisted rack and pinion steering, and you have an impressive primary safety package helping to keep the secondary crash protection system out of play.Antilock braking, which came with traction control and electronic brake force distribution, added to primary safety on petrol engine models, and was optional on diesels.Hop into the driver’s seat and the advantages of the SBV design are immediately apparent. You simply slide into the seat, there’s no climbing up over the wheel arch, as you must in a COE van.Once inside the Vito was nicely equipped with a neat dash layout, lots of pockets to store the workday needs, and a two-speaker sound system.On the road the Vito was comfortable, another virtue of the SBV design, the ride supple and absorbent, the handling precise and balanced, the brakes powerful despite a fairly soft pedal that sometimes caused concern.Power came from one of two engines at launch, one petrol and one diesel. The petrol engine was a double overhead cam 2.0-litre four-cylinder, which with fuel-injection put out 95 kW at 5300 revs, and 186 Nm at 4500 revs, and injected the Vito with a decent amount of grunt.The diesel was a 2.3-litre four-cylinder unit that delivered a modest 58 kW at 3800 revs, but which was very economical if lacking legs.The real change came in 1999 when Mercedes released a double overhead camshaft 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel engine that transformed the Vito. The 108 CDi delivered 60 kW at 3800 revs, and 200 Nm at 2400 revs, which gave the base van smooth purposeful performance and miserly economy.In 2001 it was joined by the 112 CDi, which gave 90 kW at 3800 revs, and 300 Nm at 2500 revs, for even more zip.Vito also came with a choice of a nice shifting five-speed manual gearbox, or optional four-speed auto with manual select option, with final drive through the front wheels.The Vito came in one size. It had a payload of 1.1 tonnes, a payload volume of 4.9 cubic metres, with load zone measuring 2300 mm long, 1630 mm wide, and 1390 mm high.Tracks on the roof were fitted standard to allow operators to fit roof racks for addition carrying capacity.Access to the work area was through a tail gate, and sliding doors on both sides. Rear barn doors were optional.Air-conditioning came standard on the 112 CDi, but was optional on other models.IN THE SHOPThe Vito is a worker so it has to be checked for signs of hard work when inspected. Look at door hinges and latches for wear and looseness, the sliding door mechanisms have been known to fail completely.Also look for damage inside the load zone where poorly restrained loads have been allowed to slide around and bump into the body sides.Mechanically look for evidence of regular servicing. Dip the oil and look for contamination and sludge, check the cooling system.The clutch can be a problem if the Vito is worked hard at close to full load capacity so look for signs of slippage.Also check the body work for general signs of neglect in the form of bumps, scrapes, paint touch-ups etc. Also look for mismatched paint, uneven panel gaps, wobbly doors etc. that might indicate a crash.Generally the Vito is owned and operated by small business operators and tradesmen that often use it as family transport, so they tend to get better looked after than some fleet vehicles.OWNER’S VIEWSFormer courier driver Dennis Cleghorn bought a 2003 112CDi Vito for use in his boarding kennel business. The sliding door had to be repaired, done under warranty, but overall he’s very happy with the Vito, citing its comfort, safety and performance as standout features.Roger Fox drives a 2002 Vito 112CDI. He says it’s a good long distance cruiser, handles well, rides like a car, and has a good auto, but he isn’t happy with the non-factory power windows and central locking fitted by the dealer when he thought he was getting genuine ‘Benz items.Andrew Dixon’s company, Apex Rental Workwear, has three Vitos. Two were bought in 1998, and have been trouble free apart from a clutch failure in one after 80,000 km. He says they have been reliable and economical. The latest is a 112CDi, which he says is even better.Jeff Dadds has had an ongoing braking problem with his 1999 Vito, which seems to have been caused by a faulty brake master cylinder. He has also had problems with a fuel pump and engine fan among a number of issues that appear to have been caused by faulty electrical connections. He is also critical of the passenger seating, a blind spot caused by the windscreen pillars, and the headlights which he describes as dreadful. Against that he rates the handling and fuel consumption good.LOOK FOR• smooth fuel efficient common rail diesel engines• comfortable ride• safe handling• reliable operation• good resale value• attractive stylingVERDICTGood looking, comfortable, safe workhorse with plenty of zip and fuel efficiency.RATING85/100

When Mercedes-Benz launched the Vito in the late 1990s, they made the mistake of getting on the wrong side of taxi drivers.A group of taxivan cabbies had troubles with the automatic transmission, and this put them off the road and out of pocket. The bad word about the Vito spread and it still lingers despite Mercedes-Benz having sorted out the problem straight away.The Vitos may not have endeared themselves to cab drivers but it seems everyone else is warming to the German-designed van.Mercedes-Benz has boosted the Vito van range by adding the new Vito Wagon, which works during the week and plays on weekends.The buzz phrase the car marketing people have come up with for this van is a MPV — or a multi-purpose vehicle.It allows a tradesmen or courier to add seats to his weekday work vehicle and use it on weekends to shuffle the kids around to sports or the shops, however, it takes two people to lift the bench seat in and out if the wagon.There are eight seats as standard with a nine-seat option. There's also a luggage space at the back.I tested the new rear-wheeled-drive Vito wagon taking it through the hills of country Victoria and it handled well. It even handled better on open freeways, where it sat comfortably on 100km/h and could overtake without a whimper.Comfort in the back also measured up. A colleague claimed the ride in third row back, above the rear axle, was comfortable without any rocking or bumping, thanks to the independent suspension on all wheels with coil springs and shock absorbers doing the work at the back.Power steering was responsive and the turning circle was a sharp 11.8 metres for the short-wheel-based model.Safety involves ABS and ESP (electronic stability program). This ESP combined four braking technologies to improve direction and traction when forced into an emergency braking situation. Passenger airbags also are standard.The Vito Wagon comes in two engine variants, the 115 CDI is powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine used in the C-Class and Vito Panel Van (110kW at 3800rpm and 330Nm at 1800-2400rpm). The 119P has the 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine used in the Vito Panel Van and recently superseded Mercedes-Benz E320 (140kW at 5600rpm and 270Nm at 2750-4750rpm).Mercedes estimates most of the 200 sales in the new wagon will be in the diesel range and already 30 Wagons have been ordered in the past few weeks.The Vito is having another strong year with 900 sales in the first six months. It's sitting in fifth position behind the Toyota HiAce (2751), Kia Pregio (2359), Mitsubishi Express (1585) and Ford Transit (1080), according to industry statistician Vfacts.Mercedes-Benz boss Horst van Sanden says the Vito is also an introduction vehicle for many people to the Mercedes-Benz brand.A tradesman may use a Benz commercial van and somewhere down the track upgrade his passenger car to a Merc."The latest additions increase the variability and variety of our products and will enable us to reach more target groups in the future," he said.Prices start from $54,900 for the diesel-powered 2.2-litre and $58,500 for the petrol-powered 3.2-litre engine.However, you can tick all the option boxes and the price can go to $90,000.When Mercedes entered the light commercial market in 1998, it sold 1000 vans, made up of the discontinued MB, the bigger Sprinter and the Vito. Last year this figure was more than 4000, representing a major growth in the commercial range.It seems the three-pointed star's prestige pulling power is drawing tradesman and couriers.It also seems that nobody is listening to cabbies.

Along with the flood of imported passenger cars in the past decade or so has come a wave of imported light commercial vans.  With them is the Mercedes-Benz Vito, a semi-bonneted van that has delivered a new deal to long-suffering light commercial drivers, with a blend of comfort, safety, agility and performance.MODEL WATCHThe Vito is a mid-sized one-tonne payload front-wheel-drive van. With its sloping bonnet and windscreen, and neat van proportions, the Vito is an attractive light commercial, one that presents your business well when out and about on the job.  Big grey plastic bumpers provided important protection for the front and rear, while wide rub strips protected the sides.The SBV design provided occupant protection through front crumple zones and there was also a driver's airbag. Throw in disc brakes front and rear, independent suspension front and rear, and power-assisted rack and pinion steering, and you have an impressive primary safety package. Anti-lock braking, which came with traction control and electronic brake force distribution, enhanced the safety aspect.Hop into the driver's seat and the advantages of the SBV design are immediately apparent. You simply slide into the seat, there's no climbing up over the wheel arch as you must in a COE van.Inside, the Vito had a neat dash layout, lots of pockets to store the workday needs and a two-speaker sound system.  On the road the Vito was comfortable, another virtue of the SBV design, the ride supple and absorbent, the handling precise and balanced, the brakes powerful.Power came from one of two engines at launch, one petrol and one diesel. The petrol engine was a double overhead cam 2.0-litre four-cylinder, which with fuel-injection put out 95kW at 5300revs, and 186Nm at 4500revs, and gave the Vito a decent amount of grunt.The diesel was a 2.3-litre four-cylinder unit which delivered a modest 58kW at 3800revs, which was very economical if lacking legs.  The real change came in 1999 when Mercedes released a double overhead camshaft 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel engine and transformed the Vito.In 2001 it was joined by the 112 CDi which gave 90kW at 3800revs, and 300Nm at 2500revs, for even more zip. The Vito came in one size. It had a payload of 1.1 tonnes, a payload volume of 4.9cum, with load zone measuring 2300mm long, 1630mm wide and 1390mm high.Tracks on the roof allow operators to fit roof racks for additional carrying capacity. Access to the work area was through a tailgate and sliding doors on both sides.  Airconditioning came standard on the 112 CDi, but was optional on other models.IN THE SHOPThe Vito is a worker so it has to be checked for signs of hard work. Look at door hinges and latches for wear and looseness; the sliding door mechanisms have been known to fail completely. Also look for damage inside the load zone where poorly restrained loads have been allowed to slide around and bump into the body sides.Mechanically, look for evidence of regular servicing. Dip the oil and look for contamination and sludge. Check the cooling system. The clutch can be a problem if the Vito is worked hard at close to full-load capacity, so look for signs of slippage.Check the body work for signs of neglect such as bumps, scrapes and paint touch-ups. Also look for mismatched paint, uneven panel gaps and wobbly doors that might indicate a crash.Generally the Vito is owned and operated by small business operators and tradesmen who often use it as family transport, so they tend to get better looked after than some fleet vehicles.