It’s not daily that I get to drive a brand new two-seat, rear-wheel-drive car, particularly not one from a premium model like Mercedes-Benz. Even rarer, for now at the least, is when such a car has an electrical powertrain and is constructed right here in America. On this sunny day in Newport Beach, California I’m driving Mercedes’ latest EV, which inserts all of these standards and is popping a ton of heads.
Oh, did I point out that the EV in query is a cargo van, and the heads it’s turning are principally these of different van drivers? Yeah, that explains it. The 2024 eSprinter is the primary electrical van provided by Mercedes-Benz within the U.S., and it’s the following prong within the model’s technique to go totally electrical the place it might probably by 2030.
Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz invited me to Newport Beach to drive the eSprinter, and as a lover of vans, I needed to say sure. Mercedes put me up in a pleasant resort throughout the road from a flowery mall and introduced me to Nobu for dinner, which was the most effective vegetarian meals I’ve ever had. The day after the occasion I drove again as much as LA within the pouring rain and my R129’s roof didn’t leak, so it was a hit throughout.
Not solely is the eSprinter Mercedes’ first EV van for the U.S., it’s launching on the identical time in Europe — till now, Mercedes solely provided electrical variations of the Metris and V-Class abroad. The eSprinter will probably be produced at two completely different factories in Germany and a plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, and Mercedes says the van’s manufacturing is internet carbon impartial. Half 1,000,000 Sprinters have been offered within the U.S. because it was launched in 2006, with America being the second-largest market after Germany.
At launch within the U.S. Mercedes will solely offer one eSprinter configuration: a cargo van with the longer 170-inch wheelbase and the excessive roof. On the internal-combustion Sprinter you will get a 140-inch wheelbase or get 170-inch one with an extended physique, and there’s additionally a normal roof peak possibility. Expect these to be obtainable after the primary mannequin 12 months or so, as will non-cargo variations ultimately. Aside from the shortage of exhaust ideas and the completely different badging there’s no actual solution to inform the distinction between a gasoline Sprinter and an eSprinter, and the EV is offered in 22 colours together with a number of reds, a tremendous teal inexperienced, the retro China Blue and even a vibrant pastel yellow.
Mercedes engineered the eSprinter’s powertrain to encompass three separate “modules.” The first is all the high-voltage elements, that are discovered beneath the hood and are the identical throughout each model of eSprinter no matter configuration. The second is the batteries, that are discovered beneath the ground between the axles, and the third module is the rear axle and its built-in electrical motor.
Customers can order the 2024 eSprinter with both 134 horsepower or 201 hp; no matter energy the rear-mounted electrical motor places out 295 pound-feet of torque, and each eSprinter has a 113-kWh battery pack. Mercedes doesn’t quote a 0-to-60 mph time, however says the eSprinter’s most torque might be delivered for “at least” 30 seconds and the van has a prime pace of 75 mph. The most payload is 2,624 kilos whereas the max GVWR is 9,370 kilos and the GCWR is 11,023 kilos. That means there’s no four-wheel-drive mannequin but, which is a serious motive vanlifers love the Sprinter, and there’s additionally not but an electrical equal to the 3500 and 4500 variations.
We don’t have U.S. vary estimates but, however Mercedes says the eSprinter has an general vary of 273 miles on the European WLTP cycle and a WLTP metropolis vary of 329 miles, and the EPA vary will in all probability find yourself within the low 200s. The eSprinter can DC fast-charge at as much as 115 kW — greater than double what a Chevy Bolt can do — which is sweet sufficient to replenish the battery from 10 to 80 % in about 42 minutes. Plug right into a 240-volt wallbox and it’ll take about 12 and a half hours to completely cost the battery from 0 to 100%. The charging port, which nonetheless makes use of the CCS connector, is built-in into the massive Mercedes emblem within the entrance grille — simply press on a nook of the encompass and the brand pops open to disclose the port. Mercedes says this location is good for a big car just like the Sprinter, as most charging stations have pull-in parking spots.
With nicely positioned steps and seize handles climbing into the Sprinter is straightforward, and from behind the wheel it doesn’t really feel international. It has an everyday Mercedes-Benz steering wheel, analog gauges with a display in between them, bodily local weather management buttons, and a big panel sitting atop the middle of the sprint that has an built-in 7-inch touchscreen working the MBUX infotainment system, bodily media controls and two massive air vents. Optional is a bigger 10.25-inch touchscreen that you just get in different Benzes, with navigation and a variety of different helpful connectivity options.
The eSprinter has three completely different drive modes. Comfort is the usual mode, giving drivers the complete energy quantity, whereas Eco limits the motor’s output for higher effectivity. Eco mode undoubtedly makes the eSprinter really feel slower, but it surely’s nonetheless loads for getting round. Then there’s the Maximum Range mode, which significantly reduces energy and limits using options like local weather management. In the vary mode I must flooring the accelerator for some time to even attain 30 mph — it’s okay for low-speed metropolis driving, however in all probability not appropriate for the rest.
Luckily, in Comfort mode the eSprinter feels downright fast. It can greater than sustain with different automobiles and has no bother merging onto the freeway, and when you don’t get the identical gut-punch acceleration as in an everyday electrical automotive, the eSprinter’s instantaneous torque is basically satisfying and it continues to tug as much as the 75-mph prime pace. The steering is mild and direct, and as somebody with out a lot van-driving expertise the eSprinter is very easy to maneuver by means of visitors.
There are additionally three completely different regenerative braking settings, essentially the most highly effective of which doesn’t fairly obtain one-pedal driving however is powerful sufficient to carry out the vast majority of the deceleration, and the transition to hitting the precise brake pedal is clean. The eSprinter has an Auto mode for the regen that adjusts itself based mostly on the highway and visitors circumstances, which is good for coasting on the freeway however not reactive sufficient in metropolis driving for my tastes.
When I first hop into an eSprinter with a 99-percent cost the gauge cluster exhibits a 181-mile vary in Comfort mode. Seventy miles of driving later — together with stop-and-go within the metropolis, climbing up and over some massive hills, and a great deal of freeway cruising — the van’s cost is at 67 % and exhibits 129 miles of vary. With local weather management on and never attempting to drive notably environment friendly, my drive associate and I common 2.0 miles per kWh general, seeing as excessive as 2.6 mi/kWh in some sections, which is fairly spectacular for a car like this. Mercedes says its engineers did 275 miles in a single cost, driving from Las Vegas to Long Beach.
Visibility out of the entrance is basically nice, and the massive break up facet mirrors present a surprisingly good view of the facet of the van. You’ll undoubtedly wish to go for the $736 digital rear-view mirror, although the obtainable rear window is simpler to see out of than I anticipated, and blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are additionally obtainable for $504. If it weren’t for the tall ceiling and extra upright seating place — I can’t recline the seatback due to the bulkhead straight behind me — I might overlook that I’m in an enormous cargo van.
It’s additionally much more snug than I anticipated, particularly when in comparison with different massive vans. All of the eSprinters I’m driving have a 440-pound payload strapped into the cargo space, which undoubtedly helps out within the ride-quality division, as does the existence of that massive battery pack. It’s fairly quiet, too, each when it comes to wind and highway noise. (It undoubtedly will get blown round extra by gusts of wind than an everyday automotive, although, an unsettling expertise I forgot would in all probability occur.) Sitting at a light-weight with out the noise and vibrations from an inside combustion engine actually makes driving the eSprinter a calming affair, with the electrical torque and fashionable gear additional lessening the stress.
The eSprinter is offered to order now, and it’s expensive. Including a $2,295 vacation spot cost the usual mannequin begins at $74,181, and the high-output mannequin prices $77,611. That’s a fairly large soar up from the inner combustion Sprinter, which begins at $58,795 for an equal physique configuration. It will get even pricier once you begin loading it up with choices, lots of which its opponents can’t get like heated seats and steering wheel, automated local weather management, LED lights and energy sliding doorways. I’m capable of configure an eSprinter as much as $89,552, and that’s with out including any manufacturing unit equipment.
Ford’s E-Transit begins at $51,890 for the shortest, lowest van or $57,890 for the tallest, longest one (nonetheless not so long as the eSprinter). Pricing for the lately revealed Ram ProMaster EV hasn’t been introduced but, however it’s going to in all probability be a lot nearer to the Ford than the Mercedes in value. The E-Transit is a bit more highly effective and prices a bit faster than the eSprinter however solely has a spread of as much as 126 miles (108 for the larger van), and the ProMaster EV has a 162-mile vary and 150-kW charging, but it surely’s front-wheel drive. Both American vans have higher payload figures, however they’re based mostly on older fashions than the Mercedes, and the Sprinter undoubtedly has the nicest inside and driving dynamics.
All three vans really feel like stopgaps earlier than extra devoted electrical vans hit the market in a number of years. EV powertrain tech is bettering so quickly, and this new eSprinter will in all probability be outdated not solely in specs but in addition design and have content material when Mercedes’ modular VAN.EA platform comes out in 2026. A devoted electrical structure, VAN.EA will underpin each midsize and huge industrial vans in addition to luxurious passenger vans — that’s proper, we’ll lastly get the V-Class.
That doesn’t imply the eSprinter received’t be vital till then. It’s an absolute no-brainer for vans like this to go electrical, even disregarding them being plain higher to drive than internal-combustion counterparts. The proliferation of electrical vans and different industrial automobiles will make cities a lot quieter, cleaner and energy-efficient, one thing I’ve already skilled in different nations. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, supply automobiles and light-duty vans drive a median of round 12,000 miles a 12 months, equalling out to some dozen miles per day. In the overwhelming majority of labor use instances, eSprinter drivers received’t ever must cost to get the job performed. Once van drivers expertise electrification, I believe it’ll be onerous to return.
Source: jalopnik.com