Dodge Sprinter w/ Mercedes Diesel

[KIseminger]

This moring I saw a Dodge Sprinter being driven around by a sales manager from one of the dealers and a rep from DC. I had seen these occasionaly with a UPS logo on the side, but apparently they are selling them as vans, chassis cabs, etc.



He also said that they have a 5 cyl. Mercedes Diesel in them that gets 25mpg loaded (coming from a car salesman that may be an overstatement). I was pretty impressed; even though I would aviod buying a van unless I had to. But I would like to see if it as the power to pull steep grades like we have around here (Colorado). He told me they were trying to sell them to a transportation service that picks people up at DIA and brings them to the mountains. They drive Ford vans w/ V10's now.



Here is the link to the Dodge site.



http://www.dodge.com/sprinter/index.html?context=sprinter-capability&type=left

 

[E7mack96]

I've had one for 15 months now. They kick a**. at least 25mpgs, and plenty of power thanks to the VGT turbo.

 

[datablitz]

yea, they are very economical, and i happen to work for the nation's largest sprinter dealer... ... kinda cool to see them on the lot... looks like a sea of them



btw, its Bob Caldwell Dodge Country in Columbus, Ohio

614-265-2999

www.caldwelldodge.com

 

[LandShark]

My brother has had one for 9 months now (from Freightliner). Seems to be well built. I especially liked the aux diesel heater which was programmable. He is able to put a 16' kayak inside and close the doors!

 

[Andy Perreault]

FedEx and UPS have bought a lot of them, and now DHL is buying them like crazy, at least in the Seattle area. One cool feature that is great for the cargo carrying business, is that you can swing the back doors all the way open and they stick to the sides of the van with magnets. That means a driver can back all the way up until the bumper touches a loading dock without smashing the doors. Smart engineering there. I've even seen a Sprinter ambulance! Check out some of the ads in Motorhome magazine next time you're at a news stand or magazine rack. There are a bunch of conversion companies making small RV's out of Sprinters. Sprinters are available with all-wheel-drive in Europe, but not here.

Andy

 

[DKarvwnaris]

Our UPS terminal up here has alot of them. Driveline wise they are doing great, except for the front ends. Our gravel roads are anything but kind to these trucks. One of my buddies works as a mechanic at UPS at night, his only compliant with them is the rattling they are developing from the rough roads and drivers not using common sense with their speeds on them, it is really tearing them up.

I bet with a little more exposure, the 4wd versions will surface here as well. Lots of interest in that I bet, so far, just the ford E bodies with 4wd available in a diesel.

The fronts remind me the Mercedes SUV's here in the states, just with actual usable cargo area.

 

[bighammer]

I have some pics from the auto show in Detroit on my webpage. (open my profile, then web link, then auto show pics)

 

[DOUGMartin]

My wife workes for an ambulance comp. They have three. well they did one was smushed in a head on didnt hold up well at all and one rolled/fell over while driving. The people at the ambulance comp dont care for them ad all they call them the sphincter's.

 

[jrobinson2]

My UPS driver says they have good power and economy but are terrible in a crosswind and very unstable in general, UPS and FedEx have both rolled several in this area and he claims UPS is trying to get out of the remaining portion of the Sprinter contract because of driver complaints.

Jared

 

[michigandon]

I think one of those dual wheel chassis-cabs would make a helluva nice Class C!



Don

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

The technician who calibrates our test equipment we use for medical device maintenance drives one of these.



His has been quite an experience. First it died in a construction zone with 1 lane, totally blocking everyone 'til he could get help pushing it off the road. Everyone was honking and letting him know he was #1. Getting it fixed was a real headache, evidently there is a limited number of locations where they can be serviced due to the parts availability and it being mostly 'Benz. After 3 rounds of it dying on him they finally found a faulty electrical ground.



Next he had transmission trouble. He took it to a dealership and they ordered parts, and while it was there the dealership burned to the ground. Unfortunately, so he thought, the van came through unharmed, but resulted in another delay. They finally got him on the road like 2 weeks later.



He is OK with the van otherwise, decent power and mileage.



Vaughn