Fleet buyers in North America have flocked to European-designed cargo vans, particularly in the compact class where models like the Ford Transit Connect and Ram Promaster City are now staples of the commercial vehicle class.
Sensing there was room to take the segment upscale a notch or two, Mercedes-Benz got in on the act a few years ago when it began importing its Metris here to slot in below the full-size Sprinter. Benz markets the Metris as a mid-size van whose footprint is about the same as that of a typical minivan but boasts a taller roof to ease ingress and egress and the loading of cargo.
The passenger version of the Metris gains a number of standard features for 2018. One is a backup camera, a feature mandated by a Canadian safety regulation that goes into effect in May 2018. Other additions are cruise control, a centre console with added storage, multifunction steering wheel, instrument cluster with a pixel matrix display and 17-inch allow wheels.
An optional deluxe appearance package gains a chrome grille, fog lights and illuminated exits. Elsewhere on the option sheet is new face-to-face rear seating that flips the second row to face the third, and your Metris can now be fitted with electric front seat adjustments. There's also a "vehicle incomplete" option that delivers your passenger Metris with no rear seats so that you can have custom seats installed by an upfitter.
The Metris's basic specs are unchanged, so the sole powertrain remains a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine that sends 208 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission.
Standard is a suspension engineered to support a payload of 850 kg and a 2,267-kg tow rating, but buyers looking for a more comfortable ride can trade some of that capability for a softer suspension setup.
Despite the three-pointed star on the grille, the Metris is a pretty utilitarian machine with few creature comforts. You have to pay extra for heated seats, blind spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers, lane keeping assist and automatic emergency braking.
This vehicle has not yet been reviewed
