Presentation of the Mercedes Viano/Vito in Hamburg (part I)

A few days ago we travelled to the German city of Hamburg to attend the presentation of the new Mercedes Viano/Vito, in a setting that blended the residential neighbourhoods along the city’s various canals with an impressive industrial landscape, together with its port, one of the largest in Europe.

This Hanseatic city (a member, in the Middle Ages, of the Hanseatic League, together with other trading cities of northern Europe) was the chosen venue for presenting to us the renewed Mercedes Viano and its counterpart aimed at the industrial world, the Vito. After the jump we will reveal the new features of the Viano/Vito range, without forgetting the Viano Marco Polo, which we also had the chance to test.

Besides the noticeable aesthetic changes, both models now feature more efficient engines and a series of improvements to reduce consumption and emissions, while the finish is also noticeably improved, among other elements. This new version updates a model that has been on sale since 2003/2004 and that derives from the concept the star brand launched in 1995/1996, the Vito and Clase V. It is also manufactured in Vitoria.

Renewed exterior look and new interior materials

The exterior changes of the new generation are plain to see, with new front light clusters, a redesigned central grille and a new bumper. As a novelty, the Viano can be equipped with bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, as well as cornering and turn lights, equipment that was previously not available on this model. At the rear there are also new light units.

As for the more hard-working variant, the Vito also gets this new redesign, including the option of bi-xenon headlights, something that is surely welcome in a commercial vehicle.

After reviewing the exterior, we are left with the interior of the Viano/Vito, since new materials appear on the centre console, improving the visual and tactile quality of the dashboard. A new steering wheel also appears as standard from the TREND trim of the Viano, and we find a new audio and navigation system, which was surely necessary, as we pointed out at the time in the road test we carried out on the Viano 3.0 V6 CDI X-Clusive, since the navigation system of the previous generation was rather old and not very functional.

Completing the interior, there are also new door trims and new ambient lighting. In the case of the Vito, the new multifunction steering wheel and new radio systems can also be optionally fitted, and there are improvements to the interior and floor coverings, as well as new lighting.

More efficient engines, Start&Stop and new running gear

To conclude the changes of the latest generation of the Viano/Vito, we still need to talk about its engines, which are updated with the BlueEFFICIENCY package as standard (optional on the Vito), featuring Start&Stop, low rolling resistance tyres and a gear shift indicator (among others), reducing consumption and improving the efficiency of these engines.

The engines available for the Viano are the following:

• 2.0 CDI with 136 CV and 7.2 l/100 km combined consumption
• 2.2 CDI with 163 CV and 7.2 l/100 km combined consumption
• 3.0 V6 CDI with 224 CV, automatic, and 8.5 l/100 km combined consumption
• 3.5 V6 with 258 CV, automatic, and 11.9 l/100 km combined consumption

In the case of the 2.0 and 2.2 CDI, power and torque increase while emissions are reduced by up to 15%, and they also debut a new six-speed manual gearbox with a shorter first gear and a longer sixth gear to improve consumption. We will talk about the 163 CV 2.2 CDI in the second part, as it was the unit we were able to test. Finally, the V6 CDI increases its power to 224 CV compared with the 204 CV of the previous generation (see Viano 3.0 V6 CDI X-Clusive road test).

The engine changes can be extrapolated to the Mercedes Vito, which offers the following engines:

• Vito 110 CDI with 95 CV and 7.4 l/100 km combined consumption
• Vito 113 CDI with 136 CV and 7.4 l/100 km combined consumption
• Vito 116 CDI with 163 CV and 7.4 l/100 km combined consumption
• Vito 122 V6 CDI with 224 CV and 8.6 l/100 km combined consumption
• Vito 126 V6 with 258 CV and 11.9 l/100 km combined consumption

Finally, we have the new running gear, with all the front axle components redeveloped, thereby achieving an improved response to driver inputs. The rear axle has undergone similar work, with components modified to improve comfort.

Payload has also been improved and the maximum authorised weight has increased to 2.8 t (compared with the previous 2.77 t), and the payload increase is, depending on the version, up to 100 kg. The changes to the running gear, payload and maximum authorised weight can be extrapolated to both the Viano and the Vito.

In the next part we will tell you about our driving impressions of the Viano and our assessment of the model, together with our interior impressions and handling behaviour of the Viano Marco Polo.

Photos | Diego G. Moreira (Hamburg)