Mercedes Benz Sprinter 311CDI 3.2 Turbo Diesel

Mercdes Benz Sprinter 311CDI 3.2 Turbo Diesel Van Review:I've been using vans for years now and I have always used Transits. Recently however, I had the oppertunity to try a Sprinter and to be honest, Im not going back to the blue oval! The Interior is more spacious, it has a column mounted gear selecter as opposed to the transits floor mounted one, which keeps it nicely out of the way. The power steering is slightly heavier which gives you more feeling, but the most noticable difference is the power! I swear this thing would pull a tree stump out of the ground! The only downside as far as driveability goes is the traction control system, which in all honesty is pretty crap! Instead of trying to control wheelspin, all this system does is cut the power to the engine, resulting in the van almost stopping if you pull away with any gusto in the wet. Luckily, there is a switch on the dash to switch it off, which trust me, you will be using a lot! Unfortunately the system will switch itself back on when you get over 40mph, which to be honest is a pain, but its a small niggle in an otherwise great van.

The stereo is also dissapointing. The sounds in my 52 plate transit sounded great, but the sprinter has got two useless 10 inch speakers which, when asked to produce anything bassy just fart at you in a tinny way. The van also lacks in central locking which you have to pay for as an extra. Merc are lagging behind ford in this area as well, but all in all, I would rather spend my day driving the sprinter. It commands respect from other road users and it goes very well while delivering a good MPG despite the size of the engine.