Mercedes Benz V-Class 2.3 V230 Ambiente Review

Overall Rating

Space, seating, cruise control, versatility, can take seats out which makes it into a van, heated seats.

Engineering design, material quality, reliability, interior trim quality, door locking, security system, steering, gearchange cable, starter motor, build quality.

Having owned a very high quality and reliable Mercedes estate, a Mercedes people carrier was an obvious choice. However we have never been more disappointed or suffered so many problems with any vehicle ever. Bought the Mercedes Benz V-Class 2.3 V230 Ambiente Mini Bus at 10,400 miles, we only later found out that the vehicle had already had a continuous stream of warranty repairs prior to our purchase. The trouble started on the first day of ownership when the windows came down, but wouldn't go up again. We were almost on first name terms with the Mercedes Emergency Breakdown people. During our ownership of two years, the vehicle was towed away 6 times because it wouldn't start. At 30,000 miles the steering rack had to be changed because the track rod end was nearly worn through (dangerous) and the tyres were wearing unevenly as the car wandered around the road. The sliding door nearly fell off because no locking devices are used to stop bolts coming undone. The windscreen had to be changed because the seal came out. (For a while we had to drive around with it stuck in place with black unsightly mastic by the dealership). The interior plastics broke; the table hinge design anyone could see was destined to break without anyone trying. One of the seats armrests broke and the whole seat had to be replaced (£1,000!) The wheel nuts went rusty and were changed, after 6 months they were rusty again. The gearchange cable (auto) broke three times. The dealership had to drill a hole in the bottom of the gearbox/engine bellhousing to let the water drain out that accumulated in it. The starter was replaced then 2 months later had to be replaced again. The central locking continuously failed and the dealership disabled the security sensors for the alarm, as they couldn't fix them. Speaking to other V class owners, ours was the worst, but everyone we spoke to was furious and had a stream of complaints. Most were driving courtesy vehicles because theirs was in for repair. DONT GO NEAR THEM. They are not Mercedes. The only thing Mercedes about them is the badge and the price. I would have changed the three-pointed star for a Skoda badge, but it would have been more of an insult to Skoda! Our ownership ended when the vehicle, which was always light at the front, left the road on a bend and wiped out the side on a hedge. My wife refused to ever travel in it again and we eventually managed to get the Mercedes Dealership to buy it back, we lost thousands of pounds on it. Whenever I drove a courtesy car from the dealership, which was quite often I would get in and say "This is a Mercedes). The V class is a disgrace to Mercedes and brings the brand into disrepute. I had to sign all the 'Signature Warranty' claims and it was running at about £2,000 a year. At one point the dealership said they could not fix all the problems because there were so many warranty claims that the insurance company wouldn't accept it, and would we manage with the faults and they would fix them over a period of time. Fortunately all the problems were paid for by the warranty, but the reliability meant we never knew if we would be able to use the vehicle on any day. Also the courtesy cars were seldom a people carrier and also the insurance to take the courtesy car was needed every time at £25 from my insurance company, but Mercedes did refund that as well.

Members' Comments oniandownie's Review

• timblack57 on 4th May 2006

  A "Mercedes" made in Spain. Need I say more (I live there by the way). Funny thing is "Mercedes" is a Spanish girlsīname (it means "Mercies"). There must be a pun there somewhere (merciless review, etc).

• EBROOKS on 5th May 2006

  Carl Benz and Mr. Daimler went partners in the first Mercedes car--the French weren't too fond of the Germans and Daimler was a German-sounding name. A Mr. Jellinek was a large investor in the new firm and thought the Daimler name would spoil sales in France. He suggested the car be named after his daughter Mercedes. Mercedes seems to be based on the Spanish word merced meaning grace, with mercedes being the plural. Mercies is listed in the dictionary as a somewhat antique synonym in English.