What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Hopping behind the wheel of the new Vito, and the first conclusion is that the dash is fairly stylish and well put- together, but maybe lacking some of the car-like features and look Ford has managed with the Transit Custom. The same is true when you start looking at areas of functionality. There’s no clever load-through hatch from the bulkhead that helps accommodate lengthy cargo, like you’d see in the Custom, Vauxhall Vivaro and Renault Trafic, and likewise Mercedes hasn’t taken on board items such as the blind-spot mirror pioneered by Renault and GM.

It’s fair to say the cabin is an improvement over the previous Vito, but there’s a feeling that mercedes has concentrated on making what previously existed better, rather than examining what Ford did when it launched the Transit Custom and using that as a benchmark and target. The centre console doesn’t look like a premium product, and while there’s nothing wrong with it, there’s the impression it was built to a budget with some cheap, hard plastics evident. The optional satnav system is also unnecessarily complicated, and an aftermarket or phone- based alternative would be less stressful.
Interior functionality is another area where this feeling prevails because there’s not the same level of adaptability. Renault and Vauxhall appeared to work particularly hard on the interior environment to make it as easy as possible for users to turn the cabin into a workspace. Calling it a mobile office was pushing the point a little, but in everything from oddment storage to comfortable places to complete paperwork, the Vito is behind its rivals. There’s nothing wrong with a solidly built, good- quality interior, but there’s not the level of innovation, cleverness or ‘wow factor’ others have managed to inject into their light commercials. Equipment levels are reasonable, though, with every Vito having cruise control with speed limiter, trip computer, Bluetooth and inputs for USB, aux and SD memory card.

Although the Vito has a three-seat cabin, the middle seat is devoid of legroom thanks to the intrusion from both the transmission tunnel at floor height and the gear lever at knee height. Three adults in the cabin is not an option, but it’s perfectly comfortable for two, the seats have a welcoming feel, while the driving position is good.

Where Mercedes does, however, excel, and genuinely leads the industry, is safety. Like the Sprinter, the new Vito gets the industry-first crosswind assist, which joins attention assist, driver and passenger airbags, hill- start assist, adaptive ESP anti-skid control, tyre pressure monitoring system and the innovative Rescue assist QR codes in the door pillars that help emergency services identify where to cut the vehicle to extract occupants in the event of a serious incident.

On the road, the Vito is impressive, with the rear-drive 136hp 114 CDI model driven here pulling strongly despite tugging around a half-load. There was certainly a clear difference in performance between this model and the 88hp 109 CDI we also sampled,and for any kind of mileage
the more powerful option is most preferable. Refinement is fine, and the solid feel to
the gearshift is a mercedes characteristic that’s thankfully carried over, while the Vito is a tidy-handling machine that will give anything in the class a run for its money on twistier roads or a long motorway slog. Front- or rear-wheel drive are both composed and without criticism.

Compared with the equivalent Transit Custom (LWB 290 125 Trend low-roof) and Vivaro (LWB 2900 L2H1 1.6 Bi-turbo 140) models, the Vito looks like a good deal. Despite being the only rear- wheel drive van of the three, it’s actually cheaper than either rival, although the 870kg payload is 172kg behind the Ford and a huge 400kg off the Vauxhall. Top payload for the Vito range comes at 1255kg, which is only good enough for fifth-best in class. Load space matches the Vivaro at 6.0m3, but the Ford can offer an extra 0.8m3, and the Vito is both shorter and lower than its two competitors. Efficiency for this model sits at 44.1mpg, beating the Ford’s 40.4mpg but losing out to the Vivaro’s 46.3mpg despite the Vauxhall being the most powerful of the three.
The economy champions of the range are, maybe surprisingly, the most powerful engines, with the 116 and 119 Bluetec models both returning an official 47.1mpg, just off the class best of the Vivaro and Renault Trafic at 47.9mpg.

The van version’s standard twin rear doors can be opened back to 180 degrees, or locked in place at 90 degrees, and the van can also be specced as a no-cost option with the tailgate that’s standard on crew and Tourer models. Twin sliding side doors are also standard, as is a full bulkhead.

Mercedes has kept its flexible servicing pricing at the same level as that of the outgoing Vito, which is £8.83 per month for 36 months to cover the first three services. The company also offers 30-year free roadside assistance cover, and claims to arrive within an average 58 minutes to fix 83% of vehicles at the roadside.

The Vito is a very capable and well-rounded van without significant weakness, but the trouble is that Mercedes doesn’t seem to have taken into account the strides in innovation, usability, quality and all-round cleverness that others have made, and as a result you’re left with a very competent, good quality van missing some of the ability and character of rivals.