{"id":3799,"date":"2026-01-06T03:59:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/max2voyages.com\/?p=3799"},"modified":"2026-01-06T03:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:59:50","slug":"evs-like-the-mercedes-esprinter-we-tested-promise-silent-speed-one-out-of-two-aint-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/?p=3799","title":{"rendered":"EVs Like the Mercedes eSprinter We Tested Promise Silent Speed. One Out of Two Ain\u2019t Bad."},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/path><\/svg>Pros<\/h3>\n
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  • U.S. model\u2019s more usable top speed<\/li>\n
  • Decent at turning and stopping<\/li>\n
  • Smooth, quiet acceleration\u2014what little there is<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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    <\/path><\/svg>Cons<\/h3>\n
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    • Lower payload than diesel model<\/li>\n
    • Archaic fast-charging speeds<\/li>\n
    • Limited range limits its use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      Our first exposure to Mercedes-Benz\u2019s electric eSprinter van<\/u>, at an early drive in Stuttgart<\/u>, left us mildly traumatized. Mercedes invited MotorTrend <\/em>to drive the eSprinter on a no-speed-limit section of the autobahn, the punch line being that the German version of the van is electronically limited to 99 kph (that\u2019s 61.5 mph for those of you who prefer your numbers in units of freedom). Also, we were driving the 134-hp version of the eSprinter, as opposed to the 201-hp version we will (eventually) write about in this story. Even so, we figured that with electricity powering the wheels, the eSprinter would still scoot like a scooty thing, as most EVs are wont to do<\/u>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Boy, were we wrong.<\/p>\n

      Playing Frogger on the Autobahn<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Germany\u2019s autobahns, despite the lore, are not the exclusive domain of low-flying Porsches, Audis, and Benzos tickling the sound barrier. Trucks drive on it, too, generally at a lumbering 80 kph, a speed known to us \u2019Muricans as 50 mph. Germans take the whole slower-traffic-keep-right thing like a religious mandate, God bless \u2019em, but for us in the glacial eSprinter, that meant trying to find a crack in a short but solid wall of semis before the merge lane dissolved into guardrail. In the diesel Sprinter, we could simply surge ahead or drop back for a gap and quickly match speeds. The eSprinter\u2019s limited speed and acceleration, which called to mind a sloth with shin splints, limited our options.<\/p>\n

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      We managed to find a Sprinter-sized space, by which time our knuckles were looking appreciably paler than the rest of our hands, and we seriously considered hanging with the trucks for the rest of our drive. However, journalistic integrity and ego dictated we drive the Sprinter as fast as possible. Also, the quicker we drove, the quicker we\u2019d make it to lunch.<\/p>\n

      Getting past the slow trucks in the only slightly less slow eSprinter meant waiting for a big enough gap in the center lane; we figured one roughly the length of Iowa would suffice. We soon realized such a gap was unlikely to appear until the next ice age killed off all our fellow drivers. No choice, then: We floored the accelerator, plopped into the center lane, and waited an eternity for 100 kph, and then waited another couple of eternities to pass the convoy. Underpowered Volkswagens and Opels piled up behind us, flashing their lights in Europe\u2019s two-digit version of the middle-finger salute. If you\u2019ve ever played Frogger<\/u>, you know exactly how we felt.<\/p>\n

      America Gets a Speed Bump<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Those not so fond memories came flooding back when Mercedes offered us a U.S.-spec eSprinter to test. We were buoyed by the fact that the U.S.-bound version has its limiter turned up to a more useful 120 kph, which around here goes by the pen name 75 mph. We\u2019d also be getting the 201-hp version of the van, as opposed to the 134-hp variant we drove in Germany. We haven\u2019t been able to find any acceleration estimates for the lower-power van, no surprise since you can\u2019t get a 0\u2013100 kph time on a vehicle that only goes 99. Still, horsepower describes the rate of doing work, so while torque is the same for both versions\u2014295 lb-ft\u2014we figured merging in the higher-horsepower van might not be quite so harrowing.<\/p>\n

      Still, we were a bit unnerved to learn that our test van was the high-roof, long-wheelbase, big-momma configuration, and it was fitted with the larger and heavier 113-kWh battery. Mercedes offers an 81-kWh battery that decreases EPA range from 206 to 150 miles but increases payload by about 500 pounds. Since the eSprinter is designed to be a local-delivery vehicle, Mercedes says, long range isn\u2019t critical.<\/p>\n

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      Off to the test track we went, curious to see how electric power compared to a diesel model. We hadn\u2019t tested a diesel Sprinter in this configuration (we\u2019re MotorTrend, <\/em>not VanTrend<\/em>), so the closest we could get for comparison purposes was our recently departed long-term diesel Sprinter<\/u>, also a long-wheelbase, high-roof spec, but with its 208-hp diesel engine driving all four wheels. (All eSprinters come exclusively as rear-drivers.) We thought our long-termer was a porker at 6,062 pounds, but the eSprinter outweighed it by 910 pounds. Its single electric motor trailed the diesel by only 7 hp, and its 295 lb-ft of torque represented 37 fewer lb-ft of twist.<\/p>\n

      Wait, Aren\u2019t EVs Supposed to Be Quicker? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Normally we do our acceleration in Sport mode, but the eSprinter has no such thing; there\u2019s only Comfort, Eco, and Max Range. We figured Comfort was our best bet. Acceleration testing in the AWD diesel Sprinter (which we did on four separate occasions<\/u>) was always a great time to catch up on our reading, and the eSprinter was no different, but with a more librarylike environment. It made it to 60 mph in 11.9 silent and smooth seconds, 0.2 second slower than our long-termer.<\/p>\n

      We figured the 75-mph speed limiter might be a problem in our quarter-mile testing. Nope\u2014the eSprinter was only doing 73.4 when it crossed the finish line some 18.9 seconds after starting. In case you\u2019re an eSprinter driver wondering if you should challenge the next diesel Mercedes van that comes along, our advice is not to try: Our AWD diesel took 18.3 seconds at an even 74 mph, and we imagine a rear-drive, betailpiped Sprinter would be slightly quicker. (By the way, if you\u2019re a real Sprinter fanatic, you\u2019ll be interested to know that a lighter-weight, short-wheelbase, low-roof 4×4 Sprinter we tested<\/u> at TOTY 2025<\/u> made 60 in 10.4 and the quarter in 17.6. If you\u2019re not a Sprinter fanatic, you probably fell asleep two paragraphs ago.)<\/p>\n

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      Outcorner Hummer H1s and Dump Trucks <\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Braking? 138 feet from 60 mph, 6 feet shorter than our all-wheel-drive van, which is all tires. The eSprinter\u2019s stop felt shorter than it was, thanks to good behavior from the van\u2014arrow-straight stops with none of the shakes, wobbles, or swerves we expected from something so big and heavy. We can name many, many SUVs\u2014and even a few cars\u2014that feel less secure in panic stops.<\/p>\n

      Finally, it was time for our figure-eight handling test. We dreaded this one in our long-termer\u2014it seemed like a great way to bring the side windows into a closer acquaintance with the pavement\u2014until we figured out that the Sprinter\u2019s sophisticated stability control system, which calculates the height of the center of gravity every time you drive it and adjusts itself accordingly, made for easy driving. We did the whole thing with the accelerator to the floor. Turning in would trigger stability control and drop the van\u2019s speed to 30 mph, and the diesel could only pick up another 10 mph or so on the straightaway.<\/p>\n

      The eSprinter had the added advantage of that big battery set under the floor, as well as the entire electric drive mechanism. It leaned like crazy but never felt like it would tip, and, as with the diesel van, the stability system cut the power to keep the van, uh, stable. The strong brakes let us carry our speed deep into the corners, helping the eSprinter spank the diesel. It made the circuit in 31.2 seconds as opposed to the diesel\u2019s 32.7. That time put the eSprinter right up there with such track-ace luminaries as the Ineos Grenadier<\/u> and the previous-gen Jeep Wrangler Rubicon<\/u>. Our long-term diesel Sprinter, meanwhile, was back in the dust with only the Hummer H1 Alpha<\/u> and a Ford F650 dump truck<\/u> for company.<\/p>\n

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      Yesterday\u2019s Fast Charging, Today <\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Given that its 113-kWh battery is big, the eSprinter\u2019s EPA-rated range of 206 miles might seem rather short until you consider its challenging aerodynamics. Our MotorTrend<\/em> Road Trip Range test, which measures range at a steady 70 mph until the battery hits 5 percent, indicated a similarly tepid 169 miles. Mercedes will probably say none of this is relevant to the eSprinter, which is designed as a stop-and-go delivery van with low daily mileage and plenty of opportunity for range-extending regenerative braking.<\/p>\n

      Similarly, commercial operators will likely not be fussed by the eSprinter\u2019s unimpressive charging performance. Fast charging in the eSprinter is limited to 110 kW, and even that relatively unimpressive figure is an option. Standard \u201cfast\u201d charging is 50 kW, which is slower than the CHAdeMO chargers that juiced the first-generation Nissan Leaf<\/u> and Mitsubishi i-MiEV<\/u>. Even with the optional 110-kW gear, we only added 43 miles in 15 minutes and 89 miles in half an hour. That\u2019s pitiful if you\u2019re a #vanlifer trying to road-trip in this thing, but not a problem if you\u2019re a freight distributor charging your fleet overnight. It\u2019s optimized for this duty cycle, nosing into the charger banks with the plug socket in the front, behind the Mercedes logo. Heavy on Battery, Light on Boxes<\/p>\n

      Testing is all good fun, but vans aren\u2019t meant to go fast, they\u2019re meant to work\u2014so how does the eSprinter work? Payload is the big issue here. The eSprinter is built on the same basic platform as internal combustion Sprinters, though it does have a slightly higher GVWR of 9,370 pounds, as opposed to 9,050 pounds for the Sprinter 2500 diesel. (GVWR\u2014gross vehicle weight rating\u2014is the maximum permissible weight of the van itself and everything in it, including cargo, fuel and people.)<\/p>\n

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      The problem is that batteries are heavier than diesel engines, as you\u2019ll gather from the elephantine mass of the eSprinter we tested. So, while a Sprinter 2500 diesel can have a payload as high as 4,211 pounds, the best you\u2019ll do in an eSprinter is 3,516 pounds, and that\u2019s a low-roof, short-wheelbase model with the small battery. For our big-momma van with the big-juice battery, payload dropped to 2,398 pounds. (We noted that the Mercedes\u2019 build-and-price tool won\u2019t let you configure a van with the big battery, so you can\u2019t see true payload of the longer-range van. Very sneaky, Stuttgart.)<\/p>\n

      We used the eSprinter for the same job<\/u> our long-termer performed often and well: hauling an 800-pound load of hay. Even more so than the diesel, the electric motor shrugged off the load, with little detectable difference in acceleration and a slight smoothing out of the ride. (The eSprinter has a different rear suspension than the diesel van, and our loader put all eight bales directly over the axle.) The van consumed less power than it had been averaging; we certainly didn\u2019t drive any slower, but we imagine the extra weight imparted extra momentum that the regenerative brake stuffed back into the battery.<\/p>\n

      A Sprinter for Work, Not Wanderlust <\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Having faced our fears and overcome our trauma, what have we learned? Arguably nothing useful for the potential customers of this van, who are more likely to be reading Drayage Today<\/em>, Palettes & Packages<\/em>,or Tales of Hot Delivery Girls <\/em>than MotorTrend<\/em>. If you\u2019re looking for a platform to build an eco-friendly motorhome, the eSprinter isn\u2019t it, unless most of your camping trips will be in your backyard; the range and charging are simply too low and slow. Better to buy a 20-mpg diesel Sprinter and run it on biodiesel. For commercial operators, so long as you don\u2019t make a habit of drag-racing diesel Sprinters, you should be fine. Still, we can\u2019t help but wish the eSprinter had the overall versatility of its oil-burning sibling.<\/p>\n

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      Pros U.S. model\u2019s more usable top speed Decent at turning and stopping Smooth, quiet acceleration\u2014what little there is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-tests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}