Automotive

New look Mercedes-Benz Vito available in front, rear and all-wheel drive

New look Mercedes-Benz Vito available in front, rear and all-wheel drive
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a four-wheel drive option for more rugged areas
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a four-wheel drive option for more rugged areas
Interior of the Mercedes-Benz Vito
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Interior of the Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the assembly line
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the assembly line
The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the assembly line
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the assembly line
The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the paint line
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito on the paint line
Detail of the Mercedes-Benz Vito painting process
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Detail of the Mercedes-Benz Vito painting process
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is the latest generation of the series
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is the latest generation of the series
The Mercedes-Benz Vito multi-role van
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito multi-role van
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is available in front, rear, and four-wheel drive
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is available in front, rear, and four-wheel drive
The Mercedes-Benz Vito's chassis
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito's chassis
The Mercedes-Benz Vito cockpit
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito cockpit
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a light to medium capacity van
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a light to medium capacity van
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito comes in three versions
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito comes in three versions
The Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI
The Mercedes-Benz Vito
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has five engine options
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has five engine options
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has vva rear-wheel drive option for heavier cargo
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has vva rear-wheel drive option for heavier cargo
The Mercedes-Benz Vito hasaa rear-wheel drive option for heavier cargo
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito hasaa rear-wheel drive option for heavier cargo
The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer Select
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer Select
The Mercedes-Benz Vito showing its seating capacity
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito showing its seating capacity
The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer BASE
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer BASE
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is longer than previous versions
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is longer than previous versions
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is scaled to handle car parks and car washes
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is scaled to handle car parks and car washes
The Mercedes-Benz Vito comes in petrol and diesel options
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito comes in petrol and diesel options
The Mercedes-Benz Vito rear detail
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito rear detail
The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer PRO
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer PRO
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a standard six-speed manual gearbox
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a standard six-speed manual gearbox
The Mercedes-Benz Vito passenger version
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito passenger version
The Mercedes-Benz Vito does up to 190 bhp (140 kW)
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito does up to 190 bhp (140 kW)
The Mercedes-Benz Vito is designed for urban and rural markets
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito is designed for urban and rural markets
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a restyled body
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The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a restyled body
View gallery - 34 images

Vans may not be the sexiest rides on the road, but they are among the most practical for both businesses and consumers, so its small wonder that car makers pay so much attention to them. Mercedes-Benz has rolled out the latest generation of its Vito – a restyled, re-engineered take on the mid-size van introduced in 1996 that's aimed at a wider market, with a variety of drivetrains and lengths as well as a redesigned crew cabin.

Mercedes sees the Vito as a multi-role van ranging from a panel vans carrying light and medium cargoes to a minibuse. Reflecting this, its available in three styles in the latest iteration; the Vito Tourer PRO, the Vito Tourer BASE, and the premium Vito Tourer SELECT. These have up to 1,369 kg (3,018 lb) of cargo capacity, which Mercedes says is the highest in its class.

The three versions of the Vito also come in three lengths, each 140 mm longer than in the previous generations of the van. All heights are beneath two meters to avoid trouble in car parks, car washes, and similar small areas, and the restyled body is aerodynamically designed, with a fuel efficiency boosting Cd value of 0.32. Otherwise, the new styling reflects a desire to make the front less sharp and reallocate space to the interior.

Interior of the Mercedes-Benz Vito
Interior of the Mercedes-Benz Vito

The Vito is available in a fuel efficient front-wheel drive, a rear-wheel drive for heavier loads, and four-wheel drive for taking on rural roads. It’s powered with a choice of engines, including a transverse-mounted, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine available in two power ratings.

  • the Vito 109 CDI – 88 bhp (65 kW)
  • the Vito 111 CDI – 114 bhp (84 kW)

The rear wheel drive option comes with a 2.15-liter four-cylinder engine with three ratings.

  • the Vito 114 CDI – 136 bhp (100 kW)
  • the Vito 116 CDI – 163 bhp (120 kW)
  • the Vito 119 BlueTEC – 190 bhp (140 kW)

Behind this is a standard six-speed manual gearbox, though a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic with torque convertor is available as standard or optional on some versions. According to Mercedes, this is the world's only automatic transmission with torque converter and seven gears that’s available for vans.

The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a four-wheel drive option for more rugged areas
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has a four-wheel drive option for more rugged areas

The Vito sports an optimized suspension and there’s a precision electromechanical steering system. It also has a suite of driver assistance functions, including Attention Assist, which monitors the driver’s condition and assists accordingly; Crosswind Assist, which eliminates the effects of wind gusts hitting the van; tire pressure monitoring; Active Parking Assist, which Mercedes says is unique in vans; Blind Spot Assist; Lane Keeping Assist; and Intelligent Light System (ILS), which uses LED headlamps that adjust to road speed for best coverage on motorways or country roads.

Inside, the Vito puts a premium on ergonomics and a more upmarket feel with seating for up to eight in the passenger version.

The Vito is priced from €18,000 (US$23,000) in Germany.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

View gallery - 34 images
5 comments
5 comments
Mel Tisdale
Having once owned a swb, rwd version of the current generation of Vito vans, I am pleased to see that it has a fwd option. I just hope that that that allows room for a spare wheel under the floor at the rear. The last thing you need when tackling a 1500 mile European trip is to be worried about getting a puncture.
Also, fwd should be a no brainer, that's where the weight is most of the time. Mine had traction control, which was as much use as a chocolate tea-pot. It still got stuck, but did it jerkily as the rear wheels tried and failed to get any traction. Let's hope that they have ditched the Torx screws for good old-fashioned Allen headed ones so that one can easily replace blown bulbs using a normal tool-kit.
bergamot69
Odd decision to carry on with a RWD version- although it does mean easier adaption for 4WD. Larger vans, such as Ford's Transit and Renault's Master (plus the Vauxhall/Opel/Nissan badged variants) offer a choice between FWD and RWD, but they are operating at the heavier end of the market to the light-duty Vito.
Even for towing there isn't all that much need for RWD- the AA (Automobile Association- UK-based rescue service) has for quite a few years now used similar sized Renault Trafics, VW Transporters, etc, which all have FWD and are all used as tow vehicles with special semi-permanently mounted fold-out towing dollies, and they tow even quite large car with no great problem from personal experience. Although, having driven fully kitted AA vans on a fleet movement basis to be 'de-fleeted', they do carry a lot of weight, which is useful for towing- you don't want to tow a heavy load with a light vehicle.
Slowburn
Why would anyone want a FWD van?
Michael Wilson
@ slowburn....good question
quax
@slowburn, having three kids and living in Canada I would love a FWD van.