Mercedes T-Class | test | Diesel consumption 115 CV

When you know that you are going to try a Mercedes, you think of sportsmanship. You think of luxury and comfort. Then you find out you’re going to wear something big. But also that you can find with this, the mercedes t-class. It is the cheapest tourism in the house of the star. Part of €29,722. A price that makes you consider it if you are looking for a model like the Volkswagen Caddy or the Renault Kangoo.

After spending a week driving it, with my family on board much of the time, there are aspects that I liked, especially that it is a spacious and versatile vehicle. The starting price is also convincing, nothing exaggerated for these times. Especially seeing that it has more standard equipment than other Mercedes, both cars and vans.

Be careful, as always we talk about prices without discounts. You can find offers for the Mercedes T-Class in our new car section, published by official dealers of the brand throughout Spain. We also have interesting tools to finance the car that will help you pay for it more comfortably month by month.

The truth is that it is a model that shares many elements with this Kangoo or with the Nissan Townstar or even the Citan Tourer. Why choose it if it is more expensive than them? That is what we are going to see now:

Abroad

Already with the car loaded to the top, it’s time to see it from the outside, right? And honestly, it’s not a design that changes much from the Citan Tourer we tested a while back. Mercedes had a fabulous idea some time ago, which was to convert the Vito van into the Mercedes V-Class, today undoubtedly the benchmark for luxury minivans.

With the T-Class… Well, there isn’t much luxury at first glance, although it must be understood that the brand has another compact minivan in the range, the B-Class. That’s why there is no radical transformation of the Citan Tourer. Only a few details differentiate them.

We find some chrome strips on the grill and, in the most complete finishes, such as the Progressive line, High Performance LED headlights (halogen as standard). Also the mirrors in body color, no bumpers or bottoms in black plastic or 17-inch wheels (16 as standard).

There is also a range of colors somewhat different from the Citan Tourer, with some very striking and behind a chrome bar or rear lights have an attractive design with diffused lighting.

And the measures, very compact. The T-Class measures 4,498mm lengthJust a few millimeters difference from the Volkswagen Caddy or its French cousin, the Kangoo. The Toyota Proace Verso, born by Stellantis, is somewhat shorter.

Other dimensions are 1,859 mm wide and 1,811 mm high. As standard it has roof bars and they are very interesting because they integrate the roof rack. By the way, in the second half of 2023, a longer version, 4.90 meters long, with three rows of seats, will be added to the range.

Inside

Interesting detail of the doors that we already saw in the Kangoo, which open at an angle of 90 degrees and are very large, which allows very comfortable access to the passenger compartment. The driving position is upright, quite comfortable and you won’t have space problems, much less height. And in the seats, I have to say that I notice improvement compared to the Kangoo. By regulations of all kinds, manual, yes, and also by the finish, which combines synthetic leather and microfiber.

And how are the interior finishes? Well, we find details that we like, such as the moldings in the color of the body… although curiously finished in matte. And with the Progressive finish, the finish of the dashboard or the door moldings are in NeoTech, which is a kind of neoprene, between microfiber and synthetic leather, which mounts the EQE itself. Be careful, in the simple finish the upper part of the dashboard is made of hard plastic, but with a good texture.

The steering wheel is the usual one in Mercedes and through it we see a fairly conventional instrument panel, with clocks and a central screen. This is one of the differences with the Kangoo. Another, the design of the turbine-type air conditioning vents and, above all, the infotainment system screen in the center of the dashboard

In the Mercedes T-Class there is always an infotainment system with a 7-inch screen. It is not the top of Mercedes, with the giant vertical screens that we saw in the GLC or C-Class. But it seems to me that it has advantages over them: it is easier to handle and the menus respond quickly, which is what is requested. In addition, it has voice control that responds to the “Hey Mercedes” command. It is the smallest among its rivals, but also the one that works best.

There are chiaroscuro in the holes to carry objects. There is one common in vans on the head, but we do not have the space on the dashboard that the Kangoo offers. In the center console there are USB sockets and even an induction charging area, but little else apart from two. And we were not convinced by the armrest anchors or the glove box.

In the rear seats, little to say that we have not seen in the Kangoo. Standard sliding doors on both sides from the basic version. You do not have to pay for the second as in other models. And with windows that go down to the bottom.

They are not three individual seats but after forms. I miss some modularity that the Class B does offer, upon payment. Only the two side seats have Isofix and you can have a third in the front seats. The high seats. There is no longitudinal space left over, but a lot of height and thus good forward visibility is offered. Storage holes.

Trunk

What would you use the Class T for? For family? To work? For adventure sports? All of that involves loading stuff. Many. Can you face a T-Class with a “double” mattress, 190×135 of the fat ones? Let’s see.

The trunk announces 520 liters of capacity up to the tray. Each manufacturer gives a data, because Renault says that its Kangoo has 775 liters… and it’s the same car. Without a doubt, the Caddy wins here, with 1,213 liters.

The gate opens up. This has a good part, which improves visibility, and a bad part, which is that you need a lot of space behind to open all the way. What we see is a better finished space than the Kangoo, more careful. As she has a luggage cover tray that folds. With a little care, you can drop it between the rear seats so you can load it all the way up.

Will the 135cm mattress fit us? We have a low loading edge, just 56 cm from the ground, and we have a fairly wide gap, 120 cm. The height is 110 cm. Very fair, but we trust that it is somewhat flexible. And of course, it’s time to fold down the seats to see if it fits long.

When folding down the rear seatbacks, the front seats have to be pushed a little forward, since the rear bench goes a little forward so that the edge is flush with the body. Be careful, this can affect driving a bit for taller drivers… but it’s not ideal, let’s face it.

The resulting space is 2,390 liters in capacity… The length is also somewhat fair for the 190 cm mattress, since it is 1,880 mm long… but it fits

Engine

Eye, dampers yes to open the hood. And here you can count on two mechanics, one diesel and one gasoline, all with four cylinders and each with two power levels. More than those offered by the Kangoo or the Nissan Townstar.

In gasoline a 1.3 turbo is offered with 102 hp (T 160) or 131 hp (T180) and in diesel a 1.5 four-cylinder with 95 hp (T 160 d) or 116 hp (T 180d). All are associated with a six-speed manual gearbox and, except for the access gasoline engine, can be associated with one or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

We have the most powerful diesel here today. With 116 CV of power and 260 Nm of torque. Associated with the automatic transmission, it delivers 260 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm and it is not a car that stands out in acceleration, since it takes 13.6 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h. In fact, it is the slowest of its rivals in this section:

Does anyone imagine such a car in a drag race? Loaded with family and the trunk full? I don’t, so let’s look at consumption. It promises a combined cost of 5.7 l/100 km.

Behavior

When I drove the Citan Tourer, I commented that it had a suspension closer to a passenger car than a commercial vehicle. It got along much better than the van variant, at the cost of losing cargo capacity. That leaves us with a car with good rolling capacity, which seeks above all the comfort of the occupants and with a steering that guides the car well.

Yes, it drives like any car. You just have to be a little more aware of the width when driving in narrow places, but visibility is good and, with the cameras and sensors, it is easy to maneuver.

On the road, the suspension swallows bumps well and, beware, it can be quite agile when changing direction, something that helps because it doesn’t weigh too much, it shows 1,678 kg on the scale. It is not a car that invites you to run too much, but it does not put you in difficult situations.

Why not run? Because the engine doesn’t ask for it either. The diesel moves the car well, even loaded. Associated with the automatic transmission, I would say that it is even quieter, although the acceleration data is a few tenths better (13.3 versus 13.6 seconds). That does not mean that you cannot maintain high speeds… but it is difficult to reach them.

Of course, at high speeds some rolling and aerodynamic noise reaches the passenger compartment. One of the tolls you have to pay with a car of this type.

And, yes, if you can afford the 1,100 euros difference, bet on the 116 CV engine compared to the 95 CV one that we tested in the Kangoo and the Citan Tourer. Not so much for benefits, but because it shows that the car is looser. And be careful, with the automatic transmission they approve the same consumption, of 5.6 l/100 km. In our habitual consumption route, we are very close to achieving it, we end up with an expense of 5.7 l/100 km.

Reviews cars.com

The T-Class plays in that league of practical cars where you can carry a lot of things without having a gigantic vehicle. Its design is not revolutionary, there are few differences with the Citan. It is not as special as the V-Class is with respect to the Vito.

In our opinion, the T-Class offers a neat interior and a good multimedia system that shows that (screen) size doesn’t matter as much as good software. What did not convince us? That its benefits are somewhat behind its rivals, that there is little aesthetic differentiation with the commercial variant and its price, somewhat high compared to almost identical models such as Kangoo or Citan Tourer.

At the time of testing this car, the prices of a Mercedes T-Class with the most powerful diesel engine show us that it is not the most expensive in the segment. That “privilege” corresponds to the Caddy in those moments:

Crazy prices, the best thing to do is look and compare at coches.com… and decide on the one that suits you best.

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