Forbes writer, Jason Fogelson may never need a van like the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500XD Crew Van, but during his weeklong test-drive, he found myself thinking about why he should own a Sprinter and listed his top five reasons why to buy one. You can also view his past test-drives here.
1. You can load most anything in the back, and still carry passengers. I drove a Sprinter with a 144-inch wheelbase, and it can hold 261.3 cubic feet of cargo. I’m six feet two inches tall, and I can comfortably stand in the back. The back doors open a full 180 degrees, and the door opening is over 72 inches tall and 60 inches wide. The floor is over 70 inches wide at its broadest points. I imagined stuffing a room full of furniture in the back, or a pair of motorcycles, or a pile of mattresses – all behind the removable second row bench seat.
Imagine what you can load into a Sprinter.
2. It’s easy to drive, and even fun. My test car came with a 3.0-liter V6 turbo-diesel engine (188 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque) with a seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. While those figures may seem modest, the Sprinter is sprightly off the line, and has no problem keeping up with traffic. The high seating position provides a great view of the road ahead, and there’s little chance that anyone’s going to miss seeing a Sprinter in traffic.
3. The Crew Van is a blank slate, perfect for upfitting. If you’ve got an idea for how to use a van, it’s likely that the Mercedes-Benz parts and accessories team has an assortment of workbenches, shelving and other modular parts designed to work inside the Sprinter to turn it into a mobile workshop, store or even kitchen.
Sprinter can be a mobile workshop.
4. Available 4×4 can turn the Sprinter into a go-anywhere base of operations. A high- and low-range 4×4 transfer case (part of a $7,800 package) can even be fitted on 3500 models like the one I test drove, which came with dual rear wheels. Just image the terrain you could cover.
5. Maybe the best (and worst) reason of all to buy a Sprinter: It just looks cool. There’s something about the way the 4×4 Sprinter sits that just says “I’m ready for anything.” And that’s cool, and that inspires my fantasies about all the great things I could accomplish, if only I owned a Sprinter.
Even in silver, it’s a cool-looking van.
The Sprinter comes in multiple configurations, starting at $33,790 for a Cargo Van. If you’re really ambitious, you could start with a Cab Chassis (starting at $39,790), and go the full custom route to create the exact vehicle you want. For me, the 3500XD Crew Van that I test drove hit the sweet spot, usable for up to five occupants, but still with enough configurable open space in the rear to be really useful. With an as-tested price of $71,496, the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500XD Crew Van will not an impulse buy for me – but it is a thoroughly capable, attractive and inspirational vehicle. If it fits your needs, I’d recommend checking it out.
