[Rico]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3BN28La2cI



And complete with a corresponding Autoblog article.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Ford Transit can haul on the track - Autoblog

 

[VanMan]

Its a euro spec. model, not what we get. After driving the 3.5 ecoboost, you can't compare them to a Sprinter for speed/power.

Lets get some beers and have a tug of war:trailer hitch to trailer hitch and see who wins or transmission explodes first.

The european Transit's get the better Blue color.

 

[Chance]

I liked the objective part of the review the most. One van had more power, torque, seemed to handle better, etc... and the time difference was only around 3 seconds in a minute and a half, or roughly 3 percent. The driver acted like the Sprinter was crawling along due to lack of power yet in real life I would never care about 3 seconds on a track. And our standard Transit engine has far more power than either tested van.

Besides, what are the odds 3 percent slower would cause an accident or other significant event. Just shows that extra speed takes a lot of extra power and hence extra cost.

Would have liked to have seen Ducato tested also.

 

[bbird]

watched the video, ist, my mother can drive better than this guy, and she's been dead for 5 years. Also the biggest mistake with these comparisions is. you should put Identical tires on both vans.

 

[VanMan]

Why isn't the guy manually shifting the Benz? all the Sprinter guys here say thats what you have to do to get them to run (shift) right?

 

[Chance]

....cut......Also the biggest mistake with these comparisions is. you should put Identical tires on both vans.

Depends a little on buyer. I expect factory tires to last me first 4 or 5 years and I'm not about to replace them before they wear out, so performance with factory-tires is of value to me.

I think a mistake of these comparisons is testing vans empty. Who buys a huge van to drive around without a load?

 

[ted]

If you maintain your tires well they might even last you beyond 5 years but after that it gets a bit risky.

 

[carnut]

...One van had more power, torque, seemed to handle better, etc....

Yea, with all his animated bounced around in the Sprinter seat I was expecting 20 - 30 seconds of lap time. And, how about mentioning the 22" extra wheelbase of the Sprinter Mr. dumbaxx tester. Might have impacted cornering some don't you think?

 

[orton]

What the video shows is both vans handle rather well for big top heavy vans. Ford looks like ours but ours has a completely different drive train and much more power. For the test to have any real meaning the two vans should have been closer in wheelbase and the same rear wheel configuration. Would really like to see a similar test with US vans.

Sure would be nice to have a manual transmission. Maybe a 6 speed out of a Mustang with the clutch from Europe? Wonder if the clutch mounting holes are in our "One Ford" vans?

 

[kingkabong]

Good fun, thanks for posting!