Go Drive & Camp May 2019

20 |May2019go! Drive&Camp

NEWS

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

Thethird generation Mercedes-Benz

Sprin terhas just beenlaunched inSouth

Africa.Threemain versions of this bus are

available:apanel van, apeople carrier and

acargo truck. In addition,the Sprinter is

availabl einthree wheelbases, four body

lengths andthree roof heights.

Thanks to amultitude ofoptional extras,

morethan 600possiblevariations are

officiallyavailab le from Mercedes-Benz,

but Mercedes-approved coachbuilders

may, of course,offercountlessfurther

variationsand create arig th at meetsyour

specific needs.

Mercedes-Benzhopes to buildonits

success in the long-distancetaxi indu stry,

but alsowantsto makeastronger

presenceinthe motorhomemarke t.The

manufacturer believesthatthe popularity

of motorhomes will increase inSouth

Africa and,asinEurope,willultima tely

outperform caravan sales.

At thelaunch, they showcased just such

acustombuild by Travelsta rofK nysna. It’s

based ona6967 mlongpassengerversion

of the319 CDi Sprinter (with ahighroof)

and is powere dbyMerc’sownV6 diesel

engine (petrolheadsknow thisengineas

the OM642and itsusedint he S320 and

GLC350D, among others).

According to NadiaTrimmel,vice

presidentofMercedes-BenzVans South

Africa, the new Sprinteriss ignificantly

better than its predecessor.“The

operating costsare better than those

of its already economical predecessor,”

says Trimmel,“and its fuelconsumption

is 5,8%lower.Moreo ver, thecent-per-

kilometreoperatingfigureis4 ,5 %lower

at 30,1 c/km.“(These figures include

the purchase price, fuel consumption,

maintenance, insuranceand resale value,

but arebased onEuropean conditions.)

Serviceintervals arenow every

20 000km inst ead of 40000 km,but the

5year/100000 km warranty remains.

AllSprinters ar eelectronically limited

to atop speedof100 km/h,and youmust

have aC1driver’slicens e, as even >

Jump on the Merc holidaybus!