Topic: First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

[Autos_Editor]

Mercedes' Sprinter is well-suited to work and leisure, but will face new competition from Ford in the near future.

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[Solstice2006]

For a commercial vehicle these are good, what scares me is the amount of Sprinters that have so much rust on them, with only being a few years old.  I know the Nissan NV vehicles aren't as fuel efficient, but maybe more than the Ford/Chevy vans?  Not sure, can't find reliable comments on them, a 4.0L V6 says between 12mpg to 16mpg, seems strange to me

[tpl]

The rust thing.   Are the M-B Sprinter bodies made in Germany? and where were the Dodge Sprinter bodies made.  I wonder if the Dodge ones were not galvanised for instance?

[dirtyjeffer]

The rust thing.   Are the M-B Sprinter bodies made in Germany? and where were the Dodge Sprinter bodies made.  I wonder if the Dodge ones were not galvanised for instance?

not sure if the bodies are made here or not, but it is likely the Sprinters sold here come from South Carolina.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Sprinter

[Blueprint]

Indeed, the 1st gen (for us) Sprinters show an alarming level of rust, esp. with white body colour.

Nice cupcakes 

[Northernridge]

Just for fun I've looked at a few RV conversions on the Sprinter platform. Can't remember which brands they were but they struck me as very stylish and quite spendy.

[nlm]

Just for fun I've looked at a few RV conversions on the Sprinter platform. Can't remember which brands they were but they struck me as very stylish and quite spendy.

Starting at $100,000 you got that right....

[Fobroader]

Just for fun I've looked at a few RV conversions on the Sprinter platform. Can't remember which brands they were but they struck me as very stylish and quite spendy.

Yeah, spendy, but the fuel mileage on the ones based on a V8 GM chassis or a V10 Ford chassis is absolutely atrocious...this would be the kind of C-Class I would look at.

[jipsi]

Some transport guys have outfitted these for the film, television and commercial industry. The body has camera/grip/lighting and a trailer holds a small office/lounge/H.M&W station. I like the Sprinter, it suits our needs for 2nd/Insert Unit shooting as well as commercial and digital productions. Normally we would be whipping around in 5 tonnes + a trailer or 10 tonnes w/ a genny and trailer. In fact that's the only real drawback for us, you can't really fit a proper silenced genny on it.

An example are these trucks from Whites, great for what they do but for the most part are far too cumbersome for smaller productions:

http://whites.com/equipment/package-trucks/

Another example from PS Production Services:

http://www.psps.com/equipment/package-trucks/

Oddly enough I can't find pictures right now of a Sprinter package in action but here's a listing to give you an idea:

http://www.younglionstudio.com/departments/truck-equipment

The moral here is, the Sprinter imho is a very versatile truck that's perfectly suited for many needs, I've illustrated one of I'm sure hundreds out there.

[jamie1]

The rust thing.   Are the M-B Sprinter bodies made in Germany? and where were the Dodge Sprinter bodies made.  I wonder if the Dodge ones were not galvanised for instance?

Any reason to slam Dodge, eh? All the "Dodge" Sprinters came from Germany.

[Seafoam]

The rust thing.   Are the M-B Sprinter bodies made in Germany? and where were the Dodge Sprinter bodies made.  I wonder if the Dodge ones were not galvanised for instance?

Any reason to slam Dodge, eh? All the "Dodge" Sprinters came from Germany.

I don't think it has anything to do with Dodge or Germany. If one looks at all of these white utility vans,they are all rusty. The ford and gm are the same. As a rule companies dont rustproof so they are all a pile of rust after only a few years. The white colour only makes it more visible.

[mmret]

Hm. Maybe it is just me but I would think that for a $100k+ RV that weighs the better part of a million tons I'd want something more punchy than 185hp / 325torque?

[kenm]

Hm. Maybe it is just me but I would think that for a $100k+ RV that weighs the better part of a million tons I'd want something more punchy than 185hp / 325torque?

Why? Are you going to track it on the week-ends? 

[mmret]

325lbft trying ot get 9000lbs+ dry weight up to speed on a short onramp can't be pretty.

[chrischasescars]

Just for fun I've looked at a few RV conversions on the Sprinter platform. Can't remember which brands they were but they struck me as very stylish and quite spendy.

Yeah, spendy, but the fuel mileage on the ones based on a V8 GM chassis or a V10 Ford chassis is absolutely atrocious...this would be the kind of C-Class I would look at.

Similar to the hybrid vs. non-hybrid cost argument. Spend now to save later, or save now and spend later. A nice diesel is a great fit in an RV, IMO.

[Fobroader]

Just for fun I've looked at a few RV conversions on the Sprinter platform. Can't remember which brands they were but they struck me as very stylish and quite spendy.

Yeah, spendy, but the fuel mileage on the ones based on a V8 GM chassis or a V10 Ford chassis is absolutely atrocious...this would be the kind of C-Class I would look at.

Similar to the hybrid vs. non-hybrid cost argument. Spend now to save later, or save now and spend later. A nice diesel is a great fit in an RV, IMO.

The problem is on an RV you get to see your gas savings right away.....dont have to wait for 5 years like on a car.

[Blueprint]

The rust thing.   Are the M-B Sprinter bodies made in Germany? and where were the Dodge Sprinter bodies made.  I wonder if the Dodge ones were not galvanised for instance?

Any reason to slam Dodge, eh? All the "Dodge" Sprinters came from Germany.

...as kits and assembled in the US, to work around the "chicken tax", I guess.  No idea if all the steel came from Europe naked or primed for paint.

[lostcomma]

I have been a fan Winnebago View and  Itasca Navion Sprinters motorhomes for a long while.
The chassis  are all built overseas.
Yahoo has a group for both motor homes and commercial chassis. Winnebago's Skinnie-Winnies,
and  View-NavionTech. It`s a phenomenal resource for owner and looking to buy.
A dealer out of Forest city sells them for dramatically less than $100k. It not far from the factory.
If u need the room and GC or GV wr. Then the ford is the way to go but no diesel.
 V10 is 305hp 425ftlbs. Strangely their V6 produces the same hp, torques not.
But most of the ford motorhomes are way wider and longer. HUGE comes to mind.
But 8 mpg is the norm or less.  From what I have read 15 to 18 is not beyond the norm
for the sprinter motorhomes.

[lebowski]

I really like the idea of the fully gussied-up versions of these vans that have the full-on luxury/first-class cabin treatment. It's like having all the luxury of a Maybach without any of the exterior ostentation. If I were a high-flying VIP who wanted to travel in both anonymity and sumptuous luxury, this would be at the top of my list.