The emergence of the Mercedes-Benz V-Class replaces the old Mercedes-Benz MPV, the Viano. Mercedes-Benz has integrated many of the luxury elements of its own cars into the V-Class. The V-segment on the Chinese market is still a five-door, seven-seater MPV, while its European counterpart has been extended to an eight-seater.
 
The V260L with a 2.0-liter engine accelerates to 100 km/h in 10.84 seconds, two seconds faster than the previous 2.5-liter naturally aspirated Viano. The combination of the engine and the 7G-tronic automatic transmission is a bit aged, and the powertrain has a dull feel throughout the acceleration. To increase agility, Mercedes pairs the V-Class with several driving modes such as Eco, Manual, Comfort and Sport. But in most cases, the driver will only choose Comfort mode, so this mode is tuned to fit the temperament of an MPV. In economy mode, the throttle response is a bit slower, and shifting gears is hesitant. The adaptive dampers work well on city roads, but don't drive too fast or you'll make the suspension look vulnerable. In most cases, the output of the Mercedes-Benz V-Class is still very secure, after all, few people pursue high performance in MPVs.
 
The wheelbase of the Mercedes-Benz V-Class is the same as that of the Viano, because Mercedes believes that too long the wheelbase will only sacrifice handling. Since the MPV carries more business attributes, Mercedes-Benz has put a lot of effort into the interior space of the V-class. Mercedes' multimedia system has always been bad, but the entertainment system on the V-Class has a completely new feel. Featuring a tablet-style central display, an intuitive touchpad controller, and a smart two-piece floating dashboard design. Although the center console is full of technology, the design is lacking, and like the A-class, the V-class center console also uses cheap-looking plastic. The power sliding doors on both sides of the body provide easy access to the rear of the cabin, and the rear seats have a sliding design that does not overcrowd the passenger's legroom, even when fully loaded.
 
Compared with European consumers, the seat layout that Chinese car owners can choose is still too simple. However, the rear row of the V-class can already be used as a mini-office, and passengers in the second and third rows of seats can talk face-to-face, and the fly in the ointment is that the seat adjustment of the V-class needs to be done manually.
 
Mercedes-Benz's powertrain has been tested in many car series, and most of the problems have been solved. In addition, Mercedes-Benz's manufacturing level among German cars has always been at a high level.
 
In terms of safety, the Mercedes-Benz V-Class participated in the Australian A-NCAP crash test in 2015 and received a five-star safety rating. The more stringent E-NCAP and IIHS do not have a Mercedes-Benz V-Class test record, but the overall safety of cars in this class is good.
Mercedes-Benz V-Class evaluation report