2015 Mercedes -Benz Sprinter 4×4: Doing the Dirty Work – The Car Guide, Mercedes -Benz Will Offer A 4×4 Sprinter Van – The Car Guide
Mercedes-Benz Will Offer A 4×4 Sprinter Van
Only available with the 3.0L BlueTec Engine (188 HorsePower and 325 LB-FT OF TORQUE) and the 5-speed Automatic Transmission, the 4×4 Sprinter feature A LOCKING CENTRAL DIFFERAT! At the Touch of A Button (Okay, Maybe not exactly like a jeep), the low-strang is activated, shorting the gear ratio by 41 pierent. As you can see in the picture, the van is also a little higher than the rear-wheeel drive models, featuring a (11 cm up front and 8 cm at the rear) body lift.
2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4: Doing the Dirty Work
There’s no Doubt that the Hardest-Working Passenger Vehicles in Canada Are Pickup Trucks. They can be found throughout the country hauling dirt, motorcycles, landscaping Equipment, and any other number of work and leisure related articles. For Cargo that needs to be sheltered from the elements, there’s the venerable cargo van. Not as popular as the pickup, it nonetheless offers More versatility, Allowing the Capability of Carrying EITHER Cargo or Passengers, OR SOMETIMES Both. One area the cargo van can’t match the pickup is in off-road capability, mostly belcus pickups are available with oven-goheel drive, and vans are not not.
Mercedes-Benz Wants to Change That, and for 2015 is offering the Sprinter 4×4. Introduced in Canada in 2003 (As a Dodge), the Sprinter Van is not a leisure vehicle but a workhorse, and the folks from Stuttgart have Determined that it was over time this workhorse got its hooves dirty.
- Also: 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: Battle of the Vans
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Expanded versatility
What better way to enhance the Usability of the Sprinter Than to Add Four-Oheel-Drive Capability. Mercedes has done this quite Easily by Adding a Transfer Case and A Forward Differential to the Existing Sprinter Platform. It is on part-time, Rear-Biased System, So Unless You Select Four-Wheel Drive, the Sprinter is a rear driver. This Improves Fuel Economy, Especially AS It’s likes the Sprinter 4×4 will spend Most of its Time on paved roads.
It is not a variable-ratio 4×4 system, but rather used a fixed front/rear ratio of 35/65 pierce. There is also an Optional Low Range That Lowers the Overall Drive Ratio by 42 Percent To Help The Sprinter Climb Steep Hills in Low Traction Conditions. The ENTIRE SYSTEM ADDS ONLY ABOUT 120 KG OF WEIGHT AND HAS DONE VERY LITTLE TO Affect the Sprinter’s Maximum Payload and TOWING CAPACITIES, WHICH Are 2.370 Kg (Versus 2.490 kg for the 2wd Model) and 3.400 kg (The Same AS The 2WD Model).
Selecting Four-Wheel Drive is done by pressing a button on the dashboard at speeds below 10 km/h. It can also be selected at a stop, Though you might have to roll forward a bit for the system to engage, otherwise the 4×4 light will flash and eletually turn off.
To Further Enhance The Sprinter’s Off-Road Capability The Body has been raised by 10 cm at the front and 7.5 cm at the rear, which not only gives the sprinter 4×4 an aggressive off-road appearance, but also improves grind clearance.
Onely One Engine/Combination Transmission is available, The 3.0-Litre Bluetec Diesel V6 MATED TO A FIVE-SPEED Automatic Transmission. The Engine Produces 188 HP and 325 LB.-FT. Of Peak Torque.
Built for Hard Workouts
Although Fewer Variations of the Sprinter 4×4 (9) Are available compared to the Two-Wheel-Drive Version (14), there are Still Planty of Choices. You can get eITher the 144-inch or 170-inch Wheelbase, you get Two Roof Height Choices (Low and High-The Extra-High Roof is available only on the 2wd Models), you can choose from Cargo or Passenger Models (up to 12 Passengers), and There’s Even A Crew option that Seats Six, While Offering Much More Cargo Space Than. The Sprinter Chassis Cab is not available with Four-Wheel Drive.
If you’re look for a luxurious interior you should maybe consider an s-class. Even Though Marketing Literature Claims That the Interior is “NoticeAbly Upgraded” There Are Few Comfort Features and Few Interior Options Available for the Sprinter 4×4. The Cabin is designed instead to take some abuse. Panels are made of hard plastic and floor mats are rubber, but if you spill your tim hortons double-double while filling out your delivery paperwork, you can wipe it up with a Paper Towel. If you sully the Floor with your muddy construction boots, you can wash it off with a garden hose.
Despite this, the interior is relatively Quiet on the Highway, with Wind Noise Subdued to a very Reasonable Level in Vans equipped with Insulating panels. If you choose a sprinter with an unfinized cargo area, spend the extra money for the optional trim panels (about $ 500); your ears won’t regret it.
One Thing to note is that due to the 4×4’s added ride height, it is difficult to get in and out of the sprinter. I’m six feet tall and it was somewhat challenging.
Sprinting in the dirt
A Fair Portion of Our Road Test Took Place at Mica Creek, Along Unpaved Roads Within The Remote Backwoods of British Columbia. The conditions were unfavourable, with temperatures in the single digits, overcast skies, and occasional showers and melting snow creating muddy conditions – in other words, almmost ideal for the sprinter 4×4.
We Drove Up a Narrow, Unpaved Logging Road to An Elevation of 1,000 Metres Before Turning Around, and the conditions Worsened as we approved the Top. In Four-Oheel-Drive Mode the Sprinter Easily Handled the Semi-Diffeult Conditions Near the Bottom, But Had a Tougher Time as the Mud Got Slicker and Deeper On The Way Up, Though No One Got Stuck.
The Sprinter Uses Mercedes ’4ets Electronic Control System to Aid Traction by Braking Wheels that begin to spin, Thus Transferring Power to the Wheels with Grip. It’s the Sprinter’s Achilles ’Heel When Driving Off Road in Very Slippery Conditions. In the Very Muddy Conditions We Experienced It was Was Suggested We Turn It Off to Allow For More Wheel Spin, Which was neded to keep Momentum in Slippery Conditions. However, if the Wheels Spun Too Fast, the System Would Begin to Intervene Anyway, and it would Eventually Revert to the Default ‘On’ Position. Although this Never Got the Sprinter Stuck, It Did Resetting, and Some Backing Up Before Moving On. The 4ets is meant More for Getting You Out of A Snowy Parking Spot Than Wading Through Axle-Deep Mud.
Alone in its class
This Sprinter 4×4 is a specialized work Truck That Willly Appeal to Ski Resorts, Rafting Companies, Construction Companies, and Other Enterprises that Operate in Remote Locations. It features collision assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist, and Crosswind Assist, Though the Last One is not available on the 3500 Models. MERCEDES ALSO CLAIMS A LOW LONG-TERM Cost of Ownership, and has extended the maintenance intervals to 30,000 km for 2015.
Direct comparisons will be difficulty because the sprinter 4×4 is the only all-wheeel-drive cargo (or passenger) van Available in canada. Princes start at $ 49,900, which might seem steep, but if you outfit some of its competitors with their diesel engine options, it is still very competitive. A Similarly Equipped Ford Transit Diesel Costs $ 42,700, The Chevrolet Express Diesel Costs $ 47,700, and the Dodge Promaster 2500 Diesel Costs $ 44.300, and none of Those Offer Four-Wheel Drive.
Again, this is not a vehicle designed for serious off-roading, so if your friends ask you to follow their jeep wrangler rubicons into the trails, you might want to pass. Light off-road is More in the Sprinter 4×4’s Capacity, and it will take You Farther Into the Woods Than Any Two-Oheel Drive Vehicle.
- Only 4×4 van on the market
- Very Romy Cockpit
- Huge Cargo Area
- Relatively Quiet Highway Ride With Interior Panels Installed.
- Difficult to access the cab, very high
- 4 and intrusive is too in slippery conditions
- No Interior Frills (Though this is a work truck…)
- Rear View Camera Optional
Mercedes-Benz Will Offer A 4×4 Sprinter Van
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (Trainly Known as a Dodge) is one of the best commercial vans on the market Today. Sale the Departure of the Ford E-Series, it is one of the best values in the segment. However, Many Contractors, Workers and Delivery Services Stay Away from this vehicle for a very simple reason: in our winter Wonderland, a rear-wheel drive with little to no weight on the back axle is Useless when You Move Away from the Big City, and you have to be the road before the snow plows. They usally end up in pickup trucks with 4WD. Mercedes Realized this Oversight was leeching Sales Away from them, so they decided to offer a 4×4 version of the sprinter (Already Sold in Europe for the Past Couple of Years) in North America.
Only available with the 3.0L BlueTec Engine (188 HorsePower and 325 LB-FT OF TORQUE) and the 5-speed Automatic Transmission, the 4×4 Sprinter feature A LOCKING CENTRAL DIFFERAT! At the Touch of A Button (Okay, Maybe not exactly like a jeep), the low-strang is activated, shorting the gear ratio by 41 pierent. As you can see in the picture, the van is also a little higher than the rear-wheeel drive models, featuring a (11 cm up front and 8 cm at the rear) body lift.
- Also: 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: A Garden Shed on Wheels
- Also: Mercedes -Benz Sprinter Arctic Drive Diary – Day One
When the 4×4 system is engaged, torque is split with a 35/65 ratio from front to back. From there, the esp system monitors each whel and appies individual brakes to ensure optimal traction in all situations.
Almost all versions of the Sprinter Will Be Available With Four-Wheel Drive, Except the Chassis-Cab and Heavy-Duty (3500) Models.
With our Everlasting Winters (This One Especially!), The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4 Will Be A Welcome Addition to Commercial Fleets, Which Until Now Had to Haul People and Cargo in Multiple Smaller Vehicle.