by Kelly Fisher
If you’ve read enough of my reviews you’ll know I have a real soft spot for a van. The Vito Tourer is an 8-seater which occupies the space between a fairly hard-working commercial shuttle and the more upmarket V-Class. I like it just as much as I like the next van, which is to say I like it a lot. Here’s what you need to know before you go shopping.
1. It costs a lot, and it feels like it
The Vito 119 CDI Tourer starts at around R1.375m and can go as high as R1.4m depending on the specification and optional equipment. That’s a very substantial sum for a van and it certainly places you in the premium SUV bracket. The cabin is very much in its own right and does a good job of justifying a fair bit of that price. It’s very modern and quite upmarket the moment you get in, thanks to the 10.25″ MBUX touchscreen and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s not a V-Class and the materials make that very clear. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
2. It’s a van, and that’s the whole point
This isn’t a car for tight parking garages. Parallel parking was a bit of a struggle (I eventually got it). If you’re a family of five or the type of person who is always on the move and out and about then the practicality is hard to beat. There’s space for people, for bags, for bikes and all the other bits and pieces you’ll have on a weekend.
3. It can handle a boisterous family
My three are 17, 18 and 25. They’re tall, big and boisterous, really, and subtlety isn’t really in their lexicon. They flop, they grab, they slam with the same degree of enthusiasm (which is sometimes all the enthusiasm you need). The power-opening sliding doors are a real plus as you can’t actually slam them. The tough cabin is another advantage for the Vito really. Those robust plastics and leatherette seats look quite tough – you’d be quite happy to have people who weren’t particularly gentle with things sitting in them. A more plush interior would have me flinching every time someone flopped onto a seat.
4. The seats are clever, but heavy
The Tourer seats up to eight across three rows on rails so you can slide them, remove them or turn them around. That’s a huge amount of flexibility in theory. In practice, the seats are very heavy and reconfiguring the cabin is a proper effort. Once you’ve decided on your layout, you’re best off sticking with it. The boot is very generous and can cope with both luggage and gear at the same time, which is useful when you’ve got three adult-sized passengers each with their own bags.
5. It’s a great long-distance cruiser
The 2.0 litre turbodiesel is smooth and powerful, making highway driving easy. The comfort suspension does its job, and the ride is very settled with the family in the car. There’s a good amount of assistance in the form of Active Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist, cruise control and front and rear parking sensors, which all go a long way to making driving this big a vehicle a little less of a chore. My only niggles are road noise on rougher sections and the lack of keyless entry, which feels like a real missed opportunity at this price.
The bottom line is that the V-Class has the more plush interior with the softer materials and more detailing. The Vito is all about durability and for us that’s a perfectly acceptable compromise. It comes with a 5-year / 100k km warranty from Mercedes-Benz and service plans are optional, so you’ll need to factor that into your budget. If you’re after a capable, comfortable upmarket people mover that can cope with a very noisy family life then the Vito is definitely in the running. Go for a test drive and take the whole family with you.
