The Dodge Sprinter is easily the biggest mini-van on the market. In fact, it’s not really a mini-van at all, more like a king-size people carrier that has as much room inside it as a handball court and can carry enough household items to furnish the average-sized townhouse.
Introduced to the Canadian market last year, the Sprinter is actually made by Mercedes, and has been in use as a commercial vehicle in Europe since 1995. It comes in a wide range of configurations and sizes, including a bare-bones tradesman’s van, pickup truck, and raised roof mini-bus. I got my hands on the long wheelbase (140”) 2500 passenger van, which will accommodate ten people easily and has removable bench seats, dual-hinged full-size rear doors, a sliding side door, and the usual roster of standard equipment, including air conditioning, power windows, heated outside mirrors, all kinds of cup-holders, driver’s side airbag, and a back-up beeper that could wake the dead. All Sprinters come with four-wheel disc anti-locking brakes and a vehicle stability program, which improves the vehicle’s tracking and reduces the possibility of skidding during a panic stop.
All models also come with a 2.7 litre, five-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that is manufactured by Mercedes. It has a direct fuel injection design, and develops 154 horsepower at 3800 rpm, and 243 foot-pounds of torque at 1600 rpm. It’s mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with a manual shift feature…..what DaimlerChrysler calls their “Tip Shift” technology; a simple tap to the right or left will take the transmission up or down a speed. I used it quite frequently. Not the peppiest vehicle on the road, the Sprinter gets off the line fairly smartly and has a nice even power delivery, but virtually all of its power is in the bottom end. It may be co-built by Mercedes, but this is a working vehicle, with all that goes with it.
And that includes a high driving position, decidedly bus-like driving characteristics, and zero in the way of handling. In crowded shopping malls, care must be taken and there is no way you can fit the Sprinter into one parking stall. Nor will it fit into underground parking lots or parkades. The steering wheel – which is non-adjustable – sits kind of flat and you either like it or you don’t. Various seat adjustments help to get you reasonably comfortable, but the Sprinter is true to its delivery-van roots and isn’t the kind of rig you’d want to drive coast-to-coast. Although, having said that, it does see duty in Europe as a camper, and displays surprisingly little in the way of NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness).
The Sprinter’s biggest selling point is its interior dimensions. With all the seats removed, there is an unbelievable 13,400 litres (473.2 cu. ft.) of cargo space back there. You could play lacrosse in the back of this thing, and, at five foot-eight, I could stand up straight without banging my head.
However, to get those seats out requires the strength of Hercules and more than a little planning. They do not recline, and have no adjustments. To remove them, you lift up on a plastic release handle and just manhandle them out of the vehicle. Which is easier said than done, because the rear seat, for example, must weigh at least 100 pounds and is a tight squeeze out the back doors. It took me the better part of fifteen minutes to get the third row seat out, and once I had accomplished that, I just didn’t have the energy to take out the centre and front row seats
But it didn’t matter. Even so, the Sprinter had enough room to handle a full-size couch, a couple of dressers, a bed and box spring, and assorted boxes, throw carpets, lamps, and chairs. If I hadn’t been so lazy, I could have done it all in one trip, but as it was, we managed everything in two goes, with room inside for five passengers.
Although I was obviously impressed with the Sprinter, I would suggest that they do something about those seats if they want to make a dent in the North American market. I think they should also make tilt/adjustable steering standard equipment and need to refine the outside mirrors…..backing up and parking was harder than it needed to be because of the rear-views.
But, hey, this is a working vehicle and the emphasis is on function over form.
Price tag for my Dodge Sprinter long wheelbase 2500 is $43,465 base, with an options list as long as your arm.
|
