German marque Mercedes-Benz may have a name for luxury vehicles, but it’s no slouch when it comes to commercial vehicles as well.  This is clearly demonstrated by the practical and versatile new Mercedes-Benz Vito.  This line-up of vans includes the Vito Panel Van, the Vito Crew Cab and the Vito Tourer. All have the well-known Mercedes logo proudly displayed on its front grille (which is just as classy as you’d expect to see on a vehicle from this manufacturer), and they’ve been designed for busy people with a business to run, but we’re talking about a more hands-on sort of business here.

All three variants of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito have a particular type of business in mind. In the case of the panel van, the ideal owner would be a busy tradie who needs plenty of cargo space and room for one off-sider (or two at a pinch). The Vito Crew Cab is aimed at larger work crews of up to 6 people but still allowing plenty of room for the necessary gear.  Finally, the Mercedes Vito Tourer is a real people-mover that can seat eight people, making it suitable for shuttle services. Indeed, the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito offers plenty of choices with plenty of potential, with the Panel Van and the Crew Cab offering a choice between a medium wheelbase and long wheelbase, and two diesel engines, making a total of nine choices. That’s before we even start getting into the exterior paint colours – 12 options for all models and 13 for the Tourer

It’s likely to be practical issues that help you make the final choice.  Obviously, if carrying people is your aim then the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer will be the one for you.  If you need to carry as much gear as possible, then the Panel Van LWB will be the best option, as this has 6.6 m³ of cargo space and has the ability to tow 2500 kg more (braked).  The 116 CD Panel Van with the medium wheelbase, however, is the one with the best fuel economy, clocking up a combined figure of 6.9 L/100 km under ideal conditions. If exterior size matters, then don’t worry whether you will be able to fit any of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito lineup in an underground carpark or something along those lines, as even the tallest of them (the

Let’s break it down a bit more to make the choice easier, starting with the engines.  Both units are four-cylinder diesel units, with the 116 being able to displace 1.6 litres and the 119 having 1.9 litres of displacement.  As you might imagine, the 119 is the more powerful and torquey of the two, delivering 140 kW of power at 4200 rpm and 440 Nm of torque at a nice low 1350–2600 rpm (perfect for towing). The 116, on the other hand, delivers a respectable 120 kW of power at the same engine speed (i.e., 4200 rpm) and 380 Nm across the 1250–2400 rpm range.  The fuel consumption, under ideal conditions, varies depending on what body style you want or need, with the best being the 116 CD Panel Van MWB, as described above, and the least frugal being the Vito 119 Crew Cabs (both lengths) at 7.5. All of the different variants of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito have a nine-speed automatic transmission system and all have rear wheel drive, and the Panel Van can have a front wheel drive setup as well.

The main differences after that involve the layout of the seats and the cargo bay, especially if you need to decide between the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito Panel Van and the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito Crew Cab (and the windows, naturally – anyone riding in the rear of the Crew Cab will want to look out of the window).  Both have been designed with a handy sliding side door and a tough easy-clean wooden floor in the cargo space. Yes, a wooden floor, as wood is robust and lightweight as well as being environmentally friendly and sustainable – although it doesn’t look like wood at first glance, as it has been covered with an easy-clean coating. The Panel Van has the option of rear opening doors as an alternative and an array of LED strip lights to illuminate the cargo bay is another very useful option that’s available at extra cost. 

The vans in the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito lineup may have been designed with business in mind, but the designers have maintained their reputation for quality across the board and haven’t skimped on any of the features you’d expect to find in a modern vehicle of any type. Take, for example, the safety features. As well as all the usual suspects, such as lane keeping assistance, blind spot assistance, the full shebang of airbags, ESP and braking assistance, they’ve all got the handy Crosswind Assistance feature which detects when things are getting blustery and helps you hold your driving line.  If you’ve ever driven a van in a high wind, you’ll know exactly why this is an important safety feature.  The 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito also has a generous lineup of driver aids, including cruise control, automatic driving lights and Attention Assistance (giving you the mechanical equivalent of a jab in the ribs if it thinks you’re nodding off during the drive home after a long day’s work). A nifty aid in the Tourer is the system for opening the sliding side door – this can be operated by the driver from her/his seat, allowing passengers on and off easily.

The different variants are more or less equal in terms of the comfort and entertainment department. Busy tradies will appreciate the Bluetooth handsfree integration and space to store the phone numbers of all the clients on your books (up to 800 of them). The Audio 30 system comes as standard, which features voice control, a 7-inch touchscreen, audio streaming and the ability to play nicely with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Which one is the best?  Well, that really depends on what your needs are.  However, whatever your needs are for a comfortable, stylish and practical commercial vehicle, the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito will be able to meet them.

The current 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito models include:

• Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI Panel Van, medium wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI Panel Van, long wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 119 CDI Panel Van, medium wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 119 CDI Panel Van, long wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI Crew Cab, medium wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 CDI Crew Cab, long wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 119 CDI Crew Cab, medium wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito 119 CDI Crew Cab, medium wheelbase
• Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer

For any more information on the new 2023 Mercedes-Benz Vito or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Mercedes-Benz dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!