Mercedes recently gave its V-Class a mid-life refresh, and it’s now on sale – priced from £74,670. The Marco Polo campervan is also available, from £88,440. Pushing the people carrier further into the upmarket segment provides a rival not just for the new Lexus LM, but for traditional limousines like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes’ own S-Class.
Two trim levels are offered on the new V-Class: Premium and Exclusive. The Premium comes in seven or (identically priced) eight-seat guises, and with the option for Long or Extra Long (+£1,010) bodystyles – the latter extending the wheelbase by 230mm.
As standard, every V-Class gets twin 12.3-inch dashboard screens fitted with Mercedes’ latest MBUX infotainment system. This includes a touchpad control on the centre console, sat-nav, and a “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant. To go with the redesigned dash (which includes a new bank of climate control switches in the centre), there’s a new steering wheel with touch-sensitive buttons and heating functionality.
The V-Class Exclusive costs from £86,820 and adds a new driving-assist package with active cruise control, active emergency stop assist, speed-limit assist, active steering assist and even an emergency corridor function that helps create a gap for emergency vehicles to pass in congested traffic. The Exclusive also gets a panoramic roof, a bespoke grille with horizontal louvres, an uprated sound system and metallic paint.
The exterior design of the V-Class features and new headlight and grille arrangement, plus a new bumper shape. Those headlights come fitted with Mercedes’ Multibeam LEDs with adaptive high beams too.
Just one engine is currently offered – a turbocharged diesel four-cylinder engine available in two states of tune. In the V 220 d it produces 161bhp and 380Nm of torque, while the V 300 d gets 236bhp and 500Nm. Power is sent through a nine-speed automatic gearbox to the rear wheels. A hybrid petrol engine will join the range sometime in 2025.
The Marco Polo campervan only comes with the higher-powered V 300 d powertrain and four seats. As you’d expect it comes with a host of handy camping features such as a kitchenette with a cooker and two gas hobs, a fridge, sink, storage compartments, a locking glove box, yacht-look flooring and a pop-up roof tent with space for two people. There’s electric sliding doors and a split-opening tailgate, too, plus fresh and waste water tanks.
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