Mercedes Benz Viano test drive since 2003 Minivan

Mercedes-Benz Viano- a car for a trip around the world

Sports cars are best suited for extreme driving lovers, and comfortable and prestigious sedans are best for businessmen. For fishermen, hunters and other actively vacationers - SUVs, but what is best suited for travel? Of course minivans! But only the most-most large ones are such as Mercedes-Benz Viano ...

If we talk about the size, then Viano is the flagship of the Mercedes -Benz passenger range. In fact: a long -bous S -class in the current generation on the road occupies 5.165 millimeters, and Viano in its top modification with the longest wheelbase - as many as 5.220 mm! By the way, Viano’s wheelbase is also out of competition - depending on the modification, it can be 320 and even 343 mm ...

The car, which will be discussed in this material, is the representative of the second generation of full -size minivans from Mercedes -Benz. The first appeared in 1995, however, it was then called differently, in light-V-Class. And the commercial truck, which was used as a basis, was designated as Vito. Both versions had about a similar appearance (with a small decorative slope on luxury versions), were practically identical in constructively and even produced at the same factory in Spain.

The current generation made his debut last year, but the first copy of the new Mercedes -Benz Viano reached Minsk only this spring - its Belarusian debut took place at the 2004 motor show. Actually, it was this car exhibited at the DaimlerchrySler regional representation in the Republic of Belarus and came to us on test.

As before, the Viano passenger is based on one aggregate base with a commercial vito van - the debut of both versions took place simultaneously and they are still produced at the same enterprise.

But now the range of modifications has expanded many times. The Vito/Viano family is offered with two options for a wheelbase, with a low or high roof and even with different body lengths. In length, cars differ due to the fact that Vito/Viano, at the request of the customer, can have a rear overhang of different lengths. Option A1 is a standard wheelbase and a 765 -mm rear overhang. Option A2 implies lengthening the posterior overview to 1.010 mm, while the wheelbase remains unchanged. But the option A3 is the same 1.010 -mm rear overhang, but already in combination with a wheelbase of 3.430 mm. In general, taking into account the possibility of ordering a high roof, the total number of modifications of this family increases to several tens.

If you add three more diesel and two gasoline engines here, combined either with a 6-speed mechanical or with a 5-speed automatic transmission, it becomes clear that to select your Viano, you need to study the price lists and lists of additional equipment for a long time and painstakingly. The thing comes to the point that even the doors can be chosen to the buyer - those that open access to the trunk are double -winging swing or in the form of a single lifting. And in both versions they are supplied with glazing and without it.

The main and most important difference between the new Viano and the previous generation model, except for the new design, is a change in the layout. The first V-models had a transverse engine and front wheel drive, but the new model was arranged in a completely different way. The engine is now located longitudinally, and the drive is carried out on the rear wheels. Why did you leave the front -wheel drive scheme? It is difficult to say, because the rear -wheel drive layout also has its drawbacks. According to the Mercedesovs themselves, when creating a new generation, they were interested, first of all, security - a longitudinally located motor during the accident goes down, under the floor, and this allows the safety of passengers. But we found another, quite logical explanation - the classic layout, among other things, reduces the costs of developing and manufacturing a car. After all, engines, say, along with gearboxes, can be borrowed from passenger models and SUVs Mercedes-Benz.

So, by the way, the Germans acted: all engines, except for the base 88-horsepower 2.2-liter diesel, are borrowed from the cars of this brand. In particular, the 150-horsepower version of this motor, with a turbocharger and a direct fuel injection system with Common Rail, is used on C-and E-class models, and its deformed 109-horsepower version was developed specifically for Vito/Viano.

Another engine, a 3.2-liter 218-horsepower V6 is generally an old acquaintance for everyone who has ever encountered Mercedes-Benz brand. This engine with three valves on the cylinder is used on almost all Mercedes models, and now also on the topovy Viano. By the way, specially for some markets, a deformed version of this motor was developed, developing a capacity of 190 hp.

Another Mercedes-Benz Viano modification came to us-with a long base, but with a more economical 2.2-liter 150-horsepower engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. The performance is modest - Trend, but thanks to a huge list of custom -made equipment installed in this copy, the tested car turned out to be luxurious than other state -owned business lines. True, the price turned out rather big ...

The machine looks respectively of its cost: a silver liner with tinted glasses in some angles resembles a four -star tourist bus. Long, very long and very large. Huge headlights, a huge Mercedes star, a huge windshield in the area - the closer you come, the more viano turns out to be huge. Impressive, I must say. And the color is successful.

But sitting inside, you don’t notice the gigantic dimensions of Van: there are no feelings that you control the bus. Perhaps because the visibility from the driver's place is very good - thanks to spherical rear view mirrors. They give an excellent picture from the sides, but the inner mirror was useful only for a visual acquaintance with the girls sitting in the back seat, but the rear dimensions cannot be controlled through it.

The rest of the driver’s workplace in Viano is excellent: you sit high, like on a throne. The steering column is regulated in two directions, and in a very wide range. True, no matter how you regulate it, the tidy is still not read as good as it should - its glass glare in the sun, and because of this I could not even really photograph it. A pity - the tidy is actually beautiful.

The lever of the gearbox in the form of the joystick liked it in all respects: it is literally at hand, clearly turns on, has small moves. In general, on the way you yourself do not notice how the programs are changing - the process is so convenient and pleasant that everything happens as if automatically.

By the way, about automatism ... an amazing thing, but all Viano versions with an automatic 5-speed transmission are faster and more dynamic than modifications with a mechanical gearbox. Even despite the difference in the number of steps! For example, a 150-horsepower Viano turbodiesel, similar to the tested, accelerates to hundreds in 13 seconds, which in itself is a good result for a full-sized diesel van. But the automatic Viano does the same noticeably faster - in 11.1 seconds! Paradox...

However, we were distracted from the salon. And here, by the way, there is still something to see. Mercedes-Benz Viano can have from five to seven seats, by the way, just such a seven-seater version came on the test. The seats are located traditionally: two in the front row, two on average, and the back is a three -seater sofa. Consisting, in turn, of one- and double chairs collected in one structure.

Both armchairs of the middle row can be moved in the floor in the longitudinal direction, as well as unfolding them against the move, which was done in a tested car. Between them, a small box perched between them, also moving back and forth, which can transform into a small table - you can see it in the picture. By the way, the table can also be used on a picnic - the box is easily dismantled and removed from the car.

The rear sofa can simply move back and forth, each of the seats in the cabin has an adjustment of the angle of inclination of the back - now such an option is found in almost all single cars.

But just like most other Van, a good idea requires great talent for its successful embodiment. The Mercedes did it, but not really. The chairs move, regulated, folded and turned over, but what efforts are needed for this! To raise the rear double sofa can only be two men, and the single seat turned out to be very difficult - it feels, its weight is about 35 kilograms.

It was even harder to put everything in place - to install each chair in the grooves allotted for him, in the floor, serious efforts and a certain dexterity were needed. In the end, the efforts of three people, somehow it was possible to return the entire structure to a pristine state. Strange, was it really impossible to do everything somehow easier?

It also seemed unusual that the chairs dismantled from the cabin and the rear sofa could not be laid out until they again find themselves in their rightful place. As you snapped them when folding, so they will remain folded - an attempt to arrange a luxury picnic was unsuccessful. Either we messed up something, or the Germans were greatly puffed up with the structure - in other Venans, the chair is easier and laid out in any conditions.

True, not every manufacturer can offer the consumer such a huge Van passenger. An elongated wheelbase and a high ceiling turn Viano into a super-steam-limousine, on which you can go on a trip around the world and use for representative purposes. One of the reasons, by the way, why the current owner of the car chose Mercedes-Benz Viano, was his unusually spacious interior. Five people in the passenger half and two more, a driver and navigator, in front are a completely normal composition, and none of the passengers will create discomfort to their neighbors. Even in such a position, when the middle armchairs are set to facing the rear sofa, the place remains more than enough, so the legs of the passengers do not come into contact!

Viano trunk also impressed with its size. When the back door was opened, it even seemed to me that the curvature of space occurred. Just sitting in the cabin, fully stretching his legs forward, and never reaching the chairs of the middle row, and now I see in front of me almost a meter of free space! It seems that the owner of Viano may not limit his girlfriend in the number of suitcases that you need to take on a trip - if desired, she can even take a refrigerator with her! And the TV and the washing machine ...

But a real revelation is a salon with dismantled chairs of the second and third row. Here it is already time to consider the volume of the trunk not in liters, but in cubic meters, like in trucks. However, Viano is also a truck, only in luxury configuration. Free space - almost four meters! You can transport anything - from furniture and equipment to building materials.

It is a pity that the commercial genealogy Mercedes-Benz Viano resembles not only the volume of the cargo compartment, but also some other features. In particular, the chassis: the suspension is frankly tough. Not as much as in the minibuses of sprinters, but still with a clear sports slope. At the joints and small pits, you can feel everything: the number of cracks in the asphalt and their size. And if Viano loves even roads, then he does not really like our directions, and he is in a hurry to inform the driver and passengers about this.

True, the owner of Viano Likes the Suspension Set: Comfort is still at the level, and the controllability of the Mercedes Van will be envied by both French and American models. According to him, in a turn, the car confidently stands even at a speed of about 160 km/h, and even in the city you can completely ride a racing with sedans.

We agree with him: Renault Espace, of course, is softer and more comfortable, but Viano will steer much better and practically does not roll on turns. Even the snake that we tried to portray on Borova was worthy of worthy: the body did not swing, and the car is clearly controlled on the trajectory.

By the way, knowing about the tendency of high veins to drifts, Mercedes experts equipped Viano with numerous electronic collars - ABS, ASR systems and ESP stabilization. So, even if you turn off the asr by pressing a special key and a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in the center lights up on the panel, the machine is actually controlled by electronics. For example, an attempt to rock it on the turn has not led to anything - as soon as the danger of a skid arose, ESP instantly strangled the engine and slowed down the rear wheels in order to stabilize the machine. So: fast, but safe. Typically in Mercedesian ...

Typically Mercedesovsky can be called the steering of Viano. In some ways, it is elusively resembles passenger meres. The hydraulic wrap works efficiently, and the efforts on the steering wheel are minimal (even on the snake does not bite the steering wheel), and on the highway, when you move at high speed, a clear zero is felt. In general, Viano is quite easily controlled model, even despite its dimensions and mass. And the real Mercedes-Benz is felt in it even in trifles such as the breakdown of the front wheels during a turn. If you turn the steering wheel strongly, then the angle of turning will become so large that they themselves will begin to argue towards the turn. Previously, this had to be met only on cars of this brand ...

A turbodiesel with a capacity of 150 hp It differs in good traction on the bottoms and in the zone of average revolutions, but its noise is a pure crime. It is clear that the ICE with ignition of compression is much noisy than gasoline units, but this is still Mercedes-Benz. And the explanation that, they say, the basis for Wan was a commercial model, is not suitable for us. The motor is always heard in any situation - except that when you drown it out, silence occurs in the cabin. At idle, he shakes it, and at medium - it rumbles quite loudly, and all these sounds are well audible in the cabin ...

However, having re -read the material again, I came to the conclusion that not so hard and noisy - I wanted to present Mercedes -Benz Viano to our readers. On the contrary, I wanted to talk about its huge salon, a very burdened engine and magnificent brakes, a light touch to which causes intensive slowdown. And the fact that 150 km/h on this Vena does not seem at all a flight into space - it is felt that for Viano this is a completely normal regime. The same, that is, the desire to ensure worthy controllability, you can explain some rigidity of the suspensions. And the fact that the diesel is noisy is only I noted - the owner of this Viano, in response to my remark, only shrugged ...

Pavel Kozlovsky
 
 

Source: Autogazet / N 26 (465) dated 07/13/04