Question. We were recently asked by a customer, what is the difference between a Mercedes Sprinter and a VW Crafter as he was undecided on which van was the right one for his needs? Having driven Mercedes all his life he was looking for a change and noticed that Quadrant Vans had better deals on the used VW vans with both similar mileage and age when compared to the Mercedes models!
Answer. This is a tough question as the only difference is a visual one, it’s the badge that sits on the front grille, engine, size, payload and performance wise both vans are exactly the same. There is one noticeable difference and that’s that Mercedes offers a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty, whereas the VW Crafter offers a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty. Even with a lesser warranty perspective buyers shouldn’t be put off because when it comes to performance and reliability the VW Crafter is in a different class when compared to its competitors. The Iveco Daily 35s12 H2 3950 Xlwb was also a suggestion as one of the customer’s main concerns was body length being in the shop fitting game. Due to the loads being carried the van needed a minimum of 4.0m internal length and both the VW and Mercedes fitted the bill perfectly giving a load space of 4.3m. The Iveco on the other hand comes with an amazing 4.5m load space, which happens to be the biggest in the 3.5 Tonne market. One final vehicle considered was the Citroen Relay L4 H2 2.2 Hdi 120Bhp, as we have these vehicles readily available, with a standard load space of 4.0m.
Other issues to consider giving the ever increasing fuel prices were running costs and residual values. When we researched the customers issues regarding this we established that the both the Mercedes Sprinter and VW Crafter give on average 36.0 mpg with Co2 emissions output of 207.7g/ Kg. The Iveco Daily on the other hand was considerably less fuel efficient with a combined fuel economy of just 26 mpg so as you can see the Mercedes and VW are streets ahead when it comes to fuel economy. As regards resale value the Mercedes sprinter and VW Crafter are just like their cars, both have fantastic residual values and customers are likely to pay over the odds due to the build quality and comfortable driving experience which is often a big factor in any purchasing decision, especially if you intend to spend most of the working day behind the wheel.
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