DRIVEN: Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer Pro and V250d

I’ll always have a soft spot for vans, or Kombis as I like to think of them regardless of brand.

One of my fondest memories of early childhood was my family’s awesome Volkswagen van – the originators of the word Kombi, mind you.

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It had the usual two rows of seats, ample space for me and my two older siblings, who each had the luxury of a full-length stretchout on a bench for themselves on long road trips with the floor in front of the first row providing ample space for this laaitie to stay out of their hair.

Space and comfort were the key attributes of our ride and my dad had ours converted into a V6 nogal.

Although the conversion ate into the boot space, we never had a shortage of space for the five of us, the luggage and the family labrador Tessa.

With the whole world going SUV gaga for many years now – which has taken its toll on sedans’ popularity and ultimately sales – vans have sort of flown under the radar when, in fact, there are many great van options on the market.

This is unlike the days when your only two options were a red and beige VW with David Kramer promoting them on television. So when Mercedes-Benz recently offered us not one but two vans, my hand was up first to try them out.

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At first we were given the Vito Tourer Pro 111 nine-seater, basically their plain Jane people carrier in the commercial line-up, followed by the v250d, a luxurious seven-seater for the family who can afford to cruise in fine style.

Starting with the Tourer Pro, it is part of Merc’s line-up that also includes a full panel van and a mix of the panel van and people carrier with one row of seats and more boot space.

Because of the third seat up front and both rows in the back featuring long benches that both face forward, it’s not really intended as a comfortable family carrier, but it surely shouldn’t be written off as one.

My two little girls absolutely loved all the space, constantly playing musical chairs.

Even with two of their grandparents on board, we could have still fitted three more souls and a big dog or two with some luggage.

Yes, the 111 doesn’t have a rear park assist camera, but it actually handles and parks pretty well. At face value, the 1.6 diesel 84kW engine might sound slightly light, but it is an absolute beaut.

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It’s undeniably slow off the mark, but it was never intended for straight line speed and excels carrying a load.

With 270Nm torque on offer, the 111 is at its happiest cruising at 120km/h at a very steady 2 200rpm.

At R618 470, the 111 is very good value for money in my book and what you lose in added features in any similarly-priced SUV or sedan, you make up in space and economy as we managed a tad over 7l/100km as far as fuel consumption goes.

As a daily transporter for plenty of children with bicycles and the family dogs, it’s just plain great and it will take you to your holiday destination at a decent running cost.

What rounds up the deal perfectly is that service intervals are set for every 20 000km or two years.

Move over to the v250d and you are instantly reminded why this vehicle costs a quarter of a million more at R967 000.

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From the outside, the fancy nose with colour-coded bumper and door handles, as well as the attractive 21-inch mags reminds you that are in business.

On the inside, there are two seats in the front and the back TOURER PRO features two separate seats in the first row facing the back three-seater bench, all clad in leather and sitting under two huge sunroofs.

The front is as comfortable as you would expect, with all Merc’s typical great features, including an awesome fridge under the centre console, cup warmer/coolers and buttons for the electric sliding side doors.

There are are also heaps of power on offer with the 2.1TD engine producing 140kW and 440Nm through its smooth 7G-TRONIC PLUS seven-speed automatic gearbox.

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There might be a few alternatives on the market nowadays, but you can’t go wrong with one of these two Merc options if you can afford one.

And you can always still listen to David Kramer over the sound system if you get nostalgic like me.

Likes

• Very spacious.
• Easy access through sliding doors on both sides.

Dislikes 

• Tight space between manual gear lever and vent controls on 111.
• V250d engine slighty lazy when not in Sport mode.

Verdict 

If you have lots of people, plenty of luggage and a big dog to move, a van offers a great alternative to sedans or SUVs.

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