Faults:

No problems to date, just an oil change after 30.000 miles (the manual says it's advisable to do it at 20.000, but it was kept for a while longer).

Electrical problems such as starting issues or power loss may have been caused by dirty pins on the computer (especially pin 8). Nothing serious, but it's the only problem I can report in these two years.

General Comments:

It's one of the most expensive vans on the market, but it's worth the price. The number of features it has, its smooth ride, its soft suspension, and its comfortable handling are almost unmatched in a vehicle like this. I can say with complete certainty that it's practically like driving a regular car.

This Sprinter is fitted with a couple of factory options, including the 'Cargo Pack' which comprises a two-passenger bench seat, solid cabin bulkhead with fixed window and side-entrance assist handle, wooden cargo bay load floor and floor-to-roof wall-trim using 5.0mm-thick wood panelling.

The van comes standard with 16-inch steel wheels and 235/65 R16C tyres plus a full-size spare, keyless start, steering wheel paddles for manual shifting, multi-function leather steering wheel, three USB-C ports and two 12-volt sockets, side marker lights and heated exterior mirrors.

There’s also daytime running lights, a parking package with reversing camera and front/rear parking sensors, traffic sign assist, tyre pressure monitoring and lots more.

There’s also plenty of cabin storage starting with two tiers of bins in each door, with the highest being spacious enough to hold large bottles.

Also includes a deep shelf on the passenger side lower dash, a large lidded compartment in the central dash-pad and overhead shelves with lockable storage on the passenger side. Plus, the dash offers a total of eight cup/small-bottle holders.

The base cushion of the two-passenger bench seat is also hinged at the front, which allows it to tilt forward and provide access to a large hidden storage area beneath.

A crew of three can travel in relative comfort (for a commercial van that is) thanks to a central seating position that provides a sturdy hoop-handle for support, sufficient knee clearance from the dash even for tall people, and a reasonably flat and spacious floor area.

The 2.0 turbodiesel engine is much more powerful than the one in the previous Sprinter, produces 125kW of power at 3800rpm with peak torque of 400Nm served between 1700-2400rpm.

Fuel consumption is one of the main highlights (besides comfort), at around 9 liters per 60 miles, which I consider quite low for a large cargo van. This efficiency is especially noticeable on long journeys.

As I said before, driving is excellent. Large handles on the doors and overhead shelves assist climbing aboard and there’s enough adjustment in the well-bolstered seat and leather-rimmed steering wheel to find a comfortable position.

Driver views from all angles are excellent thanks to well-designed mirrors along with cameras supported by active aids like blind-spot monitoring etc.

The cabin, with its high roof relative to seat height, has a spacious and airy feel and all controls are reasonably intuitive and easy to reach.

Is also impressively quiet at speeds up to 60 mph. Tyre and wind noise (the latter mainly around the large door mirrors) naturally increase at highway speeds, but remain far from intrusive. And with the engine requiring less than 2000rpm to maintain 70 mph, it’s well-suited to highway work.

Faults:

No failures.

Full Mercedes service this year £(2,500) and regular oil/filter changes.

General Comments:

An ex-ambulance here in the UK on a modular body. Heavy duty 5 tonne (5000kg) chassis, suspension upgraded etc. Also has Telmar braking system fitted.

Dually (4 wheel) rear axle.

Obviously its previous owner being the NHS (National Health Service) meant that most servicing items were replaced new like for like (including an engine at 250k). The paperwork was pretty extensive but primarily wear and tear (and a couple of small accidents). The original 2008 bill of sale shows £243,000 (after all the emergency equipment was fitted in the back) and £186,000 for the actual truck itself with the mechanical upgrades.

It’s just a tweaked 2.1 litre 4-cylinder 150hp engine, but even weighing in at 3400kg, it really pulls away swiftly when asked, and I’ve seen North of 160km/h (via dash-cam GPS display). The actual speedo showed a bit higher.

It’s remarkable how much torque that this (by some standards) ‘tiny’ engine actually has. It won’t embarrass you, and again mine is not just a regular 3 1/2 ton chassis!

It has been converted to a FT home on wheels and for the past 4 years of my ownership, it literally has not failed on any score.

It has a great cabin with loads of space and storage all over the place. Nice controls and good switchgear. All very Mercedes! Lovely windscreen view with a commanding view over other vans, excellent electric dual-zone mirrors with built in indicators.

Mine has a 5-speed automatic gearbox, but can also be ‘side-shifted’ to hold or change gears. Around town I hold it in 3rd gear mostly (up to about 2000rpm/ 50kph anyway) so as not to labour the engine unnecessarily. (Mercedes engineers built in the option, so why not make use of it and drive smart!)

The steering is smooth and precise, and the turning circle is ridiculously good!

Although mine is just a MWB with the unique extended box body on the back, its rear interior is only a couple of inches shorter than a LWB, so I have the best of both worlds really when it comes to parking and manoeuvring.

I can’t really speak about bodywork as the only standard Mercedes doors I have are the driver and passenger one, but both of those have got rust on them below the black panel as per Mercedes circa 2000+ I guess.

Recommendation I can give ultimately is that this drivetrain and body has done over 300,000 miles, and being an ex emergency vehicle, will have been driven fairly hard at times, but it seems to have just taken all of that in its stride - and is now in its retirement phase plodding around, only doing about 5000 miles a year.

As a point of interest for its expected longevity, when the NHS retired this vehicle, which they do at 10 years service, it was due to be sent to Eastern Europe to continue duties as an ambulance in Ukraine but I snagged it first (this was in 2019 by the way, so before the Russian invasion).

So there was every expectation that it would continue to give good service for many more years to come in, probably tougher conditions.

I would say that’s a pretty good recommendation!

I would drive this thing anywhere without any concerns at all (in fact, I will be planning to do exactly that for a trip around Europe next year and I have every confidence that my Mercedes will look after me).

I spoke to the mechanics at a local ambulance fleet repair centre and they said that Mercedes ambulances rarely break down and usually they will just make a funny noise to let you know that they are not happy (which usually gives you a chance to deal with it).

Contrast this with the new cost saving exercise that the UK are doing by replacing all of the Mercedes with newer but cheaper Fiat vans as frontline emergency vehicles.

The paramedics really hate driving them (cheap cabin, clattery engine and underpowered, even in 190ps 3.0 litre V6 version, claustrophobic and with stupid tiny foot pedals).

And the mechanic's adage is that FIAT stands for, ‘Fix It Again Tomorrow’.

You pays your money, you takes your chances.

But I know which vehicle I would rather have to depend upon if my life depended on it, and I also know which one I would prefer to drive every day for four years…

And finally, don’t you just love that Sprinter front end? Has character and a big 3-pointed star that says, ‘I’m a Mercedes - discussion over”