Mercedes-Benz launches clean, ‘green’ van range

Local Mercedes-Benz dealer Ciceley Commercials is now offering a new range of vans with engines that meet the latest round of tough EU emissions limits.

As well as being cleaner, the Euro 5 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters are smoother, quieter and more powerful, and significantly cheaper to run.

The 313CDI model, for example, is 15 per cent more fuel-efficient than the popular 311CDI it replaces. This equates to an extra 4.5 miles per gallon, while CO2 emissions are cut by 13 per cent. Mpg improvements on other models vary between five and 12 per cent.

An entirely new design, the 2.1-litre, four-cylinder OM651 is available with 95hp, 129hp and 163hp power ratings. The long-stroke unit’s unprecedented smoothness, even when cold, owes much to its twin, counter-rotating Lanchester balancer shafts (named after the pioneering British engineer Frederick Lanchester), which are used for the first time in a van.

Other innovative features include increased pressure common-rail injection and – in the two most powerful models – twin sequential turbochargers. At low speeds only the small turbo is active, allowing a high charge pressure to be built up quickly to boost responsiveness. The bigger blower becomes active at higher engine speeds, increasing motorway performance.  

The new engines offer approximately 10 per cent more power and torque than their equivalent predecessors, while the redesigned oil pump, coolant pump and alternator are now demand-controlled and operate only when needed, thus further contributing to economy.

While the OM651 is entirely new, the 3.0-litre OM642 V6 has been retained but heavily revised and updated to meet the Euro 5 standard. A masterpiece of Mercedes-Benz engineering, the six-cylinder engine matches its four-cylinder siblings in offering more power – up slightly, to 190hp – and at 440Nm, 10 per cent more torque, while sipping less diesel too.

The Euro 5 emissions rules came into force on October 1st 2009. New Sprinters can also be optionally specified to meet the even more stringent, but voluntary, Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle (EEV) standard.

Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to achieve Euro 5 and has done so using a sophisticated, water-cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system. The only other mainstream van maker able so far to meet the Euro 5 limits has employed the alternative Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, which relies on a urea-based solution called AdBlue, carried in a separate tank, to clean nitrogen oxide gases.

As well as their cleaner, ‘greener’ engines, Sprinters now come as standard with a new six-speed manual transmission called ECO Gear, which has been designed specifically for vans to improve flexibility and maximise fuel economy by reducing engine speeds. ECO Gear’s main feature is the very wide – 16 per cent broader – spread between the top and bottom ratios. It also boasts a higher torque capacity, and is quieter and smoother-shifting than the unit it replaces. There are two versions of the new gearbox, six-cylinder engines getting their own, heavy-duty variant.

Although the most significant advances are restricted to the driveline, the latest Sprinter models also benefit from several other improvements, primarily relating to safety. For example, instead of merely illuminating, the new Adaptive brake lights – also now a standard feature on Mercedes Vito van models – flash under heavy braking, providing an additional warning to traffic behind.

Meanwhile, the maximum permitted towing weight of the 3.5-tonne Sprinter has been increased to the same figure, 3.5 tonnes. And if a customer asks for their vehicle to be fitted with a trailer coupling at the factory, the Sprinter’s Adaptive ESP® anti-skid system will be set up to incorporate ESP® trailer stabilisation. This recognises ‘sinusoidal oscillations’ around the vertical axis of the vehicle – colloquially known as ‘fishtailing’ – and intervenes by applying the brakes to bring the van and its trailer safely back into line.

James Bell is Van Sales Manager at Ciceley Commercials, which has dealerships in Bolton, Blackburn, Carlisle and Dumfries. He declares: “Achieving environmental compatibility often entails having to make performance sacrifices, but that’s not the case with the low emission Euro 5 Mercedes Sprinter range. Improved fuel economy means the new Sprinter is kinder to the operator’s wallet, as well as to the environment, while the increased power outputs and smoothness make it even more of a pleasure to drive.”

All Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, chassis and crew cabs, and Traveliner minibuses bristle with active and passive safety features, and are backed by three-year, unlimited mileage warranties.

For more information, contact your nearest Ciceley Commercials branch.